The story of Kunta Kinte, Kizzy, Chicken George, and the rest of Alex Haley’s ancestors is now being rebooted by the History Channel. The trailer has just been released, giving a first look at the newer adaptation of the classic story.

Roots was a critically acclaimed mini-series that became a staple in depicting the story of African Americans in America when it was released in the 1970s. In 2016, the story is being redone with a completely new cast and the benefit of nearly 40 years of progress in film.

According to Indiewire, the series will premiere on Memorial day (May 30) and be a four-night, eight-hour event. A world-wide search was underway to find actors to portray Kunta Kinte “Chicken” George, including New York, Los Angeles, London, South Africa, Kenya, Paris, Ireland, Nigeria and many more places. Malachi Kirby and Regé-Jean Page were finally chosen and can be seen in the trailer.

Other familiar faces that will appear include Laurence Fishburne, Forest Whitaker, Derek Luke, Anika Noni Rose, Anna Paquin, Mekhi Phifer,  Tip “T.I.” Harris, and many more.

The four episodes were directed by Phillip Noyce, Mario Van Peebles, Thomas Carter and Bruce Beresford, respectively.

I grew up often envious of my elders because they got to participate in the collective experience of watching Roots for the first time in 1977. The opportunity has now come around again for me to experience first hand with a slew of familiar faces.

Take a look at the first trailer for Roots (2016) below:

Photo Credit: YouTube