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The Worst Episodes of Finding Your Roots

Every episode of Finding Your Roots ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Finding Your Roots!

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Noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people discover long-lost relatives hidden for generations within the branches of their family trees. Professor Gates utilizes a team of genealogists to reconstruct

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    Finding Your Roots Season 12 Episode 2 - Great Migrations
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #1 - Great Migrations

    S12:E2

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Finding Your Roots Season 6 Episode 8 - Slave Trade
    6.8/10(47 votes)

    #2 - Slave Trade

    S6:E8

    Questlove, S. Epatha Merkerson and Ava DuVernay explore the unexpected places where their ancestors were scattered by slavery.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Finding Your Roots Season 1 Episode 5 - Rick Warren, Angela Buchdahl and Yasir Qadhi
    6.9/10(43 votes)

    #3 - Rick Warren, Angela Buchdahl and Yasir Qadhi

    S1:E5

    Pastor Rick Warren, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Sheik Yasir Qadhi are of three different faiths, all with complex family histories that profoundly shaped their religious beliefs. Our research of their roots unearthed a story about the spiritual foundations of this country, an unrelenting struggle to achieve our ideal of religious freedom and tolerance, but also the difficulties sometimes of holding onto one's faith and still feeling like an "authentic" American.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Finding Your Roots Season 11 Episode 2 - La Famiglia
    6.9/10(32 votes)

    #4 - La Famiglia

    S11:E2

    Exploring the Italian roots of television host Joy Behar and actor Michael Imperioli.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Finding Your Roots Season 11 Episode 9 - Moving on Up
    6.9/10(21 votes)

    #5 - Moving on Up

    S11:E9

    Laurence Fishburne and Sheryl Lee Ralph learn about their family histories.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Finding Your Roots Season 2 Episode 4 - Roots of Freedom
    7.1/10(39 votes)

    #6 - Roots of Freedom

    S2:E4

    Actor Ben Affleck discovers his mother's past as a Freedom Rider in 1964, NAACP President Ben Jealous learns how far his great-grandfather would go to keep his family whole, and actress Khandi Alexander learns about her grandfather's death. This episode is not available from pbs because actor Ben Affleck had persuaded Gates to omit information about his slave-owning ancestors. In the investigation, PBS said that producers violated network standards by letting Mr. Affleck have “improper influence” and “by failing to inform PBS or WNET of Mr. Affleck’s efforts to affect program content.”

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Finding Your Roots Season 5 Episode 6 - Roots in Politics
    7.2/10(37 votes)

    #7 - Roots in Politics

    S5:E6

    Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the diverse family histories of politicians Paul Ryan, Tulsi Gabbard and Marco Rubio. They each see a shared vision of the great American melting pot reflected in their ancestors’ stories.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Finding Your Roots Season 11 Episode 5 - Family Recipes
    7.2/10(25 votes)

    #8 - Family Recipes

    S11:E5

    Exploring the ancestry of chefs José Andrés and Sean Sherman.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Finding Your Roots Season 8 Episode 10 - Where Did We Come From?
    7.3/10(37 votes)

    #9 - Where Did We Come From?

    S8:E10

    Henry Louis Gates, Jr. journeys with Erin Burnett, Amy Carlson and André Leon Talley, three guests from diverse backgrounds, as they meet the ancestors who laid the groundwork for their success.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Finding Your Roots Season 4 Episode 10 - Funny Business
    7.4/10(36 votes)

    #10 - Funny Business

    S4:E10

    Guests: Amy Schumer and more. Guests who have found fame mining their family stories for comedy learn about ancestors who overcame immense suffering.

    Director:Hazel Gurland-Pooler
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Finding Your Roots Season 7 Episode 10 - Laughing on the Inside
    7.4/10(31 votes)

    #11 - Laughing on the Inside

    S7:E10

    Guests: Lewis Black and Roy Wood, Jr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. provides comedians Lewis Black and Roy Wood, Jr. with accounts of hardship in their family trees which may have led them to each find humor in adversity.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Finding Your Roots Season 11 Episode 1 - Larger Than Life
    7.4/10(41 votes)

    #12 - Larger Than Life

    S11:E1

    Research into the ancestry of singer Lea Salonga and actress Amanda Seyfried reveals relatives who survived heart-wrenching ordeals.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Finding Your Roots Season 12 Episode 1 - American Dreams
    7.4/10(14 votes)

    #13 - American Dreams

    S12:E1

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Finding Your Roots Season 2 Episode 2 - Born Champions
    7.5/10(39 votes)

    #14 - Born Champions

    S2:E2

    Billie Jean King, Derek Jeter and Rebecca Lobo learn about their family histories. King discovers that her grandmother was an orphan; Derek Jeter investigates his ancestors' lives as slaves; and Lobo finds out that an ancestor was forced to flee Spain because of his democratic ideals.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Finding Your Roots Season 2 Episode 3 - Our American Storytellers
    7.5/10(44 votes)

    #15 - Our American Storytellers

    S2:E3

    Ken Burns learns that his Southern ancestors include Confederate soldiers and a slave owner; Anderson Cooper learns that an ancestor on his father's side was killed by one of his slaves; and Anna Deavere Smith learns about her great-grandfather, who was a free black man and former conductor on the Underground Railroad.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Finding Your Roots Season 2 Episode 5 - The Melting Pot
    7.5/10(36 votes)

    #16 - The Melting Pot

    S2:E5

    Chef Tom Colicchio learns the hardships his family endured in Northern Italy; chef Ming Tsai traces his roots back 2,000 years; chef Aarón Sánchez learns his Mexican roots include Spaniards, Africans and Native Americans.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Finding Your Roots Season 3 Episode 2 - The Irish Factor
    7.5/10(43 votes)

    #17 - The Irish Factor

    S3:E2

    Explore the shared Irish ancestry of three powerful social commentators of our times, Bill Maher, Soledad O'Brien, and Bill O'Reilly.

    Director:Josh Gleason
    Writers:Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

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  18. Finding Your Roots Season 8 Episode 3 - Activists Roots
    7.5/10(40 votes)

    #18 - Activists Roots

    S8:E3

    Henry Louis Gates, Jr. retraces the ancestral journeys of David Chang and Raúl Esparza, whose families fled their homelands, leading them to find lost parts of themselves along the way.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Finding Your Roots Season 2 Episode 8 - The British Invasion
    7.6/10(38 votes)

    #19 - The British Invasion

    S2:E8

    Deepak Chopra, Sally Field and Sting’s ancestry demonstrates the extraordinary influence of the British Empire during the 18th and early 19th century.

    Director:Hazel Gurland-Pooler
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Finding Your Roots Season 2 Episode 10 - Decoding Our Past Through DNA
    7.6/10(42 votes)

    #20 - Decoding Our Past Through DNA

    S2:E10

    Secrets encoded in their genomes challenge these guests’ ideas about their families’ histories and their identities today. This episode features Jessica Alba, Anderson Cooper, Valerie Jarrett, Governor Deval Patrick and more.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Finding Your Roots Season 6 Episode 2 - Off the Farm
    7.6/10(51 votes)

    #21 - Off the Farm

    S6:E2

    Actors Melissa McCarthy and Eric Stonestreet retrace their ancestral journeys.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Finding Your Roots Season 6 Episode 12 - DNA Mysteries
    7.6/10(44 votes)

    #22 - DNA Mysteries

    S6:E12

    Guests: Téa Leoni, Joe Madison. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. uses DNA detective work to solve mysteries in the family trees of actor Téa Leoni, and radio host Joe Madison, introducing each of them to parents and grandparents whose names they’ve never heard before. (Téa Leoni originally appeared in S04E08. Joe Madison originally appeared in S05E10.)

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Finding Your Roots Season 8 Episode 9 - Watchmen
    7.6/10(30 votes)

    #23 - Watchmen

    S8:E9

    Henry Louis Gates, Jr. guides Regina King and Damon Lindelof, the creative forces behind a visionary television series, as they discover that they have more in common than meets the eye.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Finding Your Roots Season 11 Episode 3 - Stranger Than Fiction
    7.6/10(29 votes)

    #24 - Stranger Than Fiction

    S11:E3

    Traveling across China and the American South to reveal the ancestry of novelist Amy Tan and poet Rita Dove.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Finding Your Roots Season 11 Episode 4 - Dreamers One and All
    7.6/10(38 votes)

    #25 - Dreamers One and All

    S11:E4

    Exploring the ancestry of actress Sharon Stone and model Chrissy Teigen includes travelling across Europe and Thailand.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Great Migrations" is the worst rated episode of "Finding Your Roots". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/13/2026. This episode scored 6.8 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Slave Trade".