“Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” Announces Star-Studded Season 12 Line-Up Following the Second Consecutive Emmy Award Nomination for the Beloved Series

Following its second consecutive Primetime Emmy Award® nomination in Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special, FINDING YOUR ROOTS announces the celebrity guests for the show’s upcoming twelfth season, premiering on PBS January 6.

The guest roster for this season includes actors Lizzy Caplan, Kristin Chenoweth, Liza Colón-Zayas, Darren Criss, Danielle Deadwyler, America Ferrera, Sanaa Lathan, Tracy Letts and Delroy Lindo; businessman Barry Diller; musicians Flea, Rhiannon Giddens, Wiz Khalifa and Lizzo; filmmaker Spike Lee; athletes Brittney Griner and Chris Paul; journalist Sara Haines; comedian Hasan Minhaj; and one additional celebrity guest to be announced.

Host and Executive Producer Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shared, “I am thrilled to announce another season of FINDING YOUR ROOTS filled with inspiring stories from our wonderful guests that further show us that at the level of the genome, we are all 99% the same despite the forces that try to divide us. It’s especially important to all of us at FINDING YOUR ROOTS that our viewers know, despite the loss of federal funding for public television, our show and PBS are not going anywhere. We encourage everyone to support PBS by becoming a member of your local PBS station if you aren’t already, and continuing to spread the word about the great work PBS is doing.”

FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., Season Twelve is a production of McGee Media, Inkwell Media, and Kunhardt Films, in association with WETA, Washington, D.C. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the writer, host, and executive producer. Dyllan McGee and Peter Kunhardt are executive producers. Sabin Streeter is the senior producer. Natalia Warchol is the series producer. Deborah Clancy Porfido is the supervising producer. Kevin Burke is the producer. Robert L. Yacyshyn is the line producer. Sabin Streeter, Krista Whetstone, and Natalia Warchol are directors.