History will reboot of one of the most iconic miniseries in TV history: “Roots.”
The original 1977 miniseries, which aired over eight consecutive nights on ABC to huge ratings, turned LeVar Burton into a star — and featured an all-star cast including John Amos, Ben Vereen, Cicely Tyson, Louis Gossett Jr., Leslie Uggams, Ed Asner and, in a small role, OJ Simpson. It won nine Emmys.
Based on Alex Haley’s best-seller, “Roots” told the odyssey of Kunta Kinte, a slave forcibly brought to colonial Virginia from Africa — and his struggles and triumphs over adversity.
History’s reboot will be eight hours long and will be executive-produced by Mark Wolper, the son of “Roots” executive producer David L. Wolper, according to deadline.com.
While there’s no timeframe for History’s version of “Roots,” slavery is a timely subject, with last year’s big-screen movie “Django Unchained” and now “12 Years A Slave,” which has generated lots of Oscar buzz.
History has yet to hire writers or cast anyone for the project, according to the report.