Kunta Kinte (Malachi Kirby). Photo by Casey Crafford. Copyright 2016.

It begins with one name: Kunta Kinte. Watch “The Journey Begins with a Name,” trailer for History‘s Roots TV series. Roots premieres Memorial Day 2016: Monday, May 30th, at 9:00pm ET/PT. It will air on four consecutive nights. The Roots TV series finale bows Thursday, June 2nd. The reimagined mini-series will be simulcast on History’s sister-channels, A&E and Lifetime.

Roots is based on Alex Haley’s 1976 novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The cast includes: Forest Whitaker, Anna Paquin, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anika Noni Rose, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Matthew Goode, Mekhi Phifer, James Purefoy, Regé-Jean Page, and Malachi Kirby.

Watch History’s “Roots: The Journey Begins with a Name” trailer.

A historical drama, Roots tells the story of one family’s journey from freedom in Africa to American slavery. Endurance and the will to survive is their legacy.

It begins with young Kunta Kinte (Malachi Kirby). Captured in The Gambia, he survives a hellish ocean voyage. Once in colonial America, he is sold into bondage. Throughout Roots, Kunta and family triumph over adversity.

Kunta marries Belle (Emayatzy Corinealdi). Their daughter Kizzy is born on the Waller plantation. An only child herself, Kizzy (Anika Noni Rose) has one son, “Chicken George” (Regé-Jean Page). Thus begins Haley’s family in America.

U.S. history is the backdrop to this family’s epic saga. Roots covers the American Revolution, Civil War, uprisings, and emancipation. Roots uncovers mighty truths about the resilience of the human spirit.

Roots is written by Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Alison McDonald, and Charles Murray. Phillip Noyce, Mario Van Peebles, Thomas Carter, and Bruce Beresford direct.

What do you think? Do you plan to watch History’s Roots TV show? Did you watch the original 1977 series? Have you read Haley’s book>