The all-star remake of the iconic miniseries Roots has an intense first trailer.
Above is your first look at History Channel’s eight-hour American slavery drama starring Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Anna Paquin (True Blood), Laurence Fishburne (Black-ish), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors) and Grammy winner Tip “T.I.” Harris. Roots updates the ground-breaking 1977 ABC miniseries, based on Alex Haley’s novel, that won nine Emmys and shattered Nielsen ratings records.
The network also announced a premiere date: Monday, May 30 at 9 p.m.
“Nearly 40 years ago I had the privilege to be a part of an epic television event that started an important conversation in America,” said co-executive producer LeVar Burton, who starred in the original miniseries. “I am incredibly proud to be a part of this new retelling and start the dialogue again, at a time when it is needed more than ever.”
Filling out the cast is Anika Noni Rose, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Matthew Goode, Mekhi Phifer, James Purefoy, Regé-Jean Page and Malachi Kirby.
This article originally appeared on EW.com
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