A new version of the “Roots” mini-series will air tonight on The History Channel.
The program is scheduled to be on from 8 p.m. to 10:13 p.m. tonight.
The broadcast is based on a book by author Alex Haley, who died in 1992, about his ancestors, who were kidnapped in the 1700s in The Gambia in Africa and sold into slavery. It traces their lives through generations in America.
Mark Wolper is listed as one of the executive producers of the new mini-series.
The original “Roots” series was broadcast on ABC-TV in 1976 and became a phenomenon.
This version will run four nights in two-hour segments. Malachi Kirby is cast as Kunta Kinte and Laurence Fishburne plays Alex Haley. The mini-series is rated TV 14 for language and violence.
Alex Haley, the author of “Roots,” was the brother of the late state Sen. George Haley, who represented Wyandotte County, and George Haley also was named an ambassador to The Gambia. George Haley died May 13, 2015, in Maryland. Alex Haley also was the uncle of state Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist., who currently represents part of Wyandotte County in the state Senate.