Premieres Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV + Friday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. on KPBS 2 / On Demand. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. sits down with Terry Crews and Tony Danza, both guests who overcame adversity, to discover they aren't the first in their families to beat the odds through sheer force of will.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. investigates the family histories of Broadway stars Audra McDonald and Mandy Patinkin, discovering ancestors whose struggles laid the groundwork for their success.
Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps musician Pharrell Williams and filmmaker Kasi Lemons uncover extraordinarily rare first-person accounts of their enslaved ancestors.
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.