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Finding Your Roots

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TV Series

The Resume

Why Finding Your Roots might be annoying:

    It is a more refined version of the Maury paternity test reveal.
    Its existence is kinda obsolete these days (haven’t any of these celebs heard of Ancestry.com)?
    Ben Affleck got PBS to omit footage showing the reveal that he had slave-owning ancestors (April 2015).
    The episode, when made available, showed Affleck having a complete meltdown over the revelation, only to cheer up upon learning another ancestor of his ‘fought in the Revolution’ (would have been funny if Gates chimed in with ‘of course, that ancestor also owned slaves!’).
    Ordinary people and non-celebrities are occasionally featured on episodes, but not nearly enough (and even then usually in large groups).

Why Finding Your Roots might not be annoying:

    It is a huge ratings draw for Public Broadcasting.
    It attracts a diverse array of celebrity guest stars.
    Robert Downey, Sr. was a regular guest.
    Cal Thomas called it 'the most compelling television you will ever see.'
    It was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding News/Information – Series or Special in 2015.
    It gave Henry Louis Gates the opportunity to be known and famous for something other than being arrested for trying to break into his own house.
    Occasionally, results reveal that guests are genetically related to other celebrities (some examples include RuPaul/Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders/Larry David and Rosanne Cash/Angela Bassett).

Credit: BoyWithTheGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 65 Votes: 44.62% Annoying