One ABC executive explained the blockbuster ratings by saying "One third of America was snowed in, one third of America is black and one third watches ABC anyway"
Georg Stanford BrownGeorg Stanford Brown (Tom Harvey) and Lynne MoodyLynne Moody (Irene Harvey) are the only actors to reprise their roles in Roots: The Next Generations.
This was originally to be a four hour presentation airing on two nights, this turned into a twelve hour presentation airing during six nights.
Originally broadcast on ABC as eight programs. Four 1-hour and four 2-hour episodes apiece, as follows: Episodes 1, 2, 6 and 8 were two hours apiece. Episodes 3, 4, 5 and 7 were one hour apiece. Presented on VHS, DVD, and re-broadcast as six two-hour episodes.
The series takes place from 1750 to 1870.
LeVar BurtonLeVar Burton (Kunta Kinte) and Louis Gossett Jr.Louis Gossett Jr. (Fiddler) would later reprise their roles in Roots: The Gift.
The installment which aired in 30 January 1977 in the USA was the most-watched TV show in US history (since surpassed by the [M*A*S*H] finale in 1983 and {Who Shot J.R.?} episode of [Dallas]) in 1980. In the US 36.38 million households or 51.1% watched it giving it a Neilsen share of 71%.
The show was programmed by ABC to air on several consecutive nights in prime time. It was considered a revolutionary approach to programming a mini-series, since most minis were aired once or twice a week over several weeks' time. It was revealed years later that the reason the network did this was so that they get the show "out of the way" in a hurry because they felt, nobody would watch the story if it aired over a longer period of time.
In {The Big Bang Theory: The Tenure Turbulence}, the socially inept main character, Sheldon Cooper, gives Mrs. Janine Davis, an African-American woman working as the Human Resources Administration (HRA) at Caltech, a copy of [Roots] as way of an apology the bad first impression he made on her.
The author Alex HaleyAlex Haley was sued successfully for plagiarizing by novelist [?] Harold Courlander. The works he plagiarized led to the book that served as the basis for the mini-series [Roots]. Haley paid $650,000 in an out of court settlement.
Ernest ThomasErnest Thomas, who plays Kailuba, screen tested for the role of Kunta Kinte.
