Watch ‘Roots’ 2016 Remake Live Online: Start Time, Channel, And Streaming Video Links For Entire Miniseries


Viewers can watch the Roots 2016 remaking live online and see whether the highly anticipated miniseries can live up to the reputation of its groundbreaking 1977 predecessor.

The four-part miniseries will premiere on Memorial Day across the A&E networks — with simultaneous broadcasts on A&E, History, Lifetime, and Lifetime Movie Network. The the episodes will air Monday through Thursday at 9 p.m. ET/PT (8 p.m. CT/MT). The Roots remake will also be available on streaming video for those hoping to watch online (a link to the streaming video can be found below).

Viewers who watch the Roots live online will see fresh face Malachi Kirby as the role of Gambian warrior Kunta Kinte. Kirby told NBC News that the original series had a profound impact on his life, forcing him to re-evaluate his own life and “where I fit into society right now.”

Kirby added that the original series also stirred strong feelings as he considered the injustices intertwined with America’s past.

“I remember when I watched the first one. I had to pray about some of the feelings I was feeling,” he said. “There was inequity in my heart, there was a lot of pain, there was a lot of hurt; there was a lot of confusion. You need to know how to deal with those things. That’s not just for black people; it’s for white people too. Understanding how to deal with that type of guilt and shame and understanding that that was the past and this is right now. All across the board, especially for young people, there are mental issues that need to be addressed when watching something like this.”

Those who watch the Roots remake live online will see if it can hold a candle to the original 1977 miniseries based on Alex Haley’s classic slavery saga. The original eight-part series was viewed in 85 percent of American households, Mother Jones noted, and had a giant impact on not only the discussion surrounding slavery but also on the television landscape itself.

Actor LeVar Burton, whose portrayal of rebellious slave Kunta Kinte kick-started his career, said he was apprehensive at first about the idea of remaking Roots, but came around on the project after speaking to Mark Wolper, son of original Roots executive producer David Wolper.

Wolper explained that the remake could make Roots relevant to a new generation, Burton recalled, giving it the power the 1977 original series had to viewers at the time.

“[Mark] explained that he had attempted to show the original to his children, and the response was very lukewarm. They understood why Roots was important to him, but they didn’t feel it had much relevance to them. Mark thought, ‘Wow! Perhaps we need to remake it with a different sensibility and with a different set of actors.’ Because part of the genius of David Wolper was that he cast all of America’s TV dads as villains. Ed Asner, Chuck Connors, Lorne Greene, Robert Reed, Lloyd Bridges—they all played the villains, and it was a brilliant idea. But those names don’t mean anything to this generation. I got it right away. I said, ‘How can I help?’ And then immediately I went to the political: Look at what’s going on in America today. Could the timing be more perfect? I don’t think so.”

Viewers who want to watch the Roots 2016 remake live online can ind streaming video through all four networks airing the show. The video can be found through the “Watch Live” button at the History website. Viewers watching on A&E can click the “Sign In” button in the lower right-hand corner, on Lifetime in the upper right-hand corner, and Lifetime Movie Network in the upper right-hand corner.

[Image via YouTube/A&E]

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