Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps musician Dionne Warwick & actor Danielle Brooks break down barriers imposed by the slave system to learn the names of their ancestors who endured unimaginable ordeals—but emerged to forge families that thrived.

A 1940 census, reveals that Sonny Hostin's grandmother, Mary's father was absent from her parental home. Mary's father, Robert Cummings, left the family around 1937. This absence likely impacted Mary, who was close to her mother but didn't discuss her father much.

Jesse Williams learns about his great grandmother, Inge, who left her small farming parish in Sweden to study at the Royal Music Academy in Stockholm in 1871 -- a significant move for a young woman at that time.

Jesse learns about his ancestor, July Hadley's life as an enslaved individual, tracing connections to Samuel Hadley's estate and the cultivation of cotton. Despite geographical proximity to ancestral lands, the emotional impact of visiting evokes a profound sense of connection and reflection.

Through investigative efforts, Sunny Hostin's ancestral lineage was traced back three generations to Fermín Beza, Sunny's third great-grandfather, from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the extraordinarily diverse roots of journalist Sunny Hostin and actor Jesse Williams—telling long-lost stories of African and European ancestry that compel his guests to rethink their own identities.

Iliza Schlesinger's great-grandmother Esther journeyed from Poland to New York in 1921, leaving behind five siblings who faced hardship during World War II in Poland. Eliza reacts to the emotional impact of discovering family history tied to tragic events such as the Holocaust.

Iliza Schlesinger learns that she shares significant DNA segments with fellow comedian Sarah Silverman, indicating a closer genetic relationship than usual.

Bob learns that his fifth great-grandfather, Friedrich Karl, didn't list his mother, Marie Catherine Bein, on his marriage record. Further research reveals that Marie had a relationship with the Duke of Plune and had several children with him, including Bob's ancestor. This surprising revelation leads to Bob discovering that he is descended from royalty, making his sixth great-grandfather a Duke.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. uncovers the roots of comedians Bob Odenkirk and Iliza Shlesinger—two very funny people whose family trees brim with stories that are more drama than comedy. Moving from Napoleonic France to Nazi-occupied Poland to the castle of a European duke, Gates introduces them to relatives who took great risks and overcame enormous hardships for the sake of their families.

Ed O'Neill's maternal ancestors migrated from Ireland to Youngstown, Ohio, in the 1800s to escape the Great Potato Famine. They worked as coal miners, enduring harsh conditions underground.

Sammy Hagar is overcome with emotion while reflecting on his family's difficult past and discussing the challenges his mother faced growing up with a traumatized grandmother and the lack of proper love and support.

Despite assuming a family connection, Sammy Hagar's DNA test results show he doesn't genetically belong to the Hagar lineage as expected. This discovery leads to the question of his true biological surname, introducing uncertainty and curiosity about his heritage.

As a young boy, Ed O'Neil found himself drawn to the local movie theater, where he discovered that he had a unique gift.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps singer Sammy Hagar and actor Ed O’Neill uncover their hidden roots, revealing scandals and secrets that their ancestors went to great lengths to conceal. Traveling from criminal underworlds to Civil War battlefields, they explore the meaning of family bonds—meet heroes and villains—and celebrate the virtue of accepting one’s relatives, whoever they may be.

Wes hears the story of his how his ancestor journeyed on the Trail of Tears, which was a forced displacement of about 60,000 Native Americans, including Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes, from their homelands to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in the 1830s.

LeVar Burton is overcome with emotion when when he reads the 1940 census for Arkansas that reveals that he and his father's ancestors share something truly profound.

When asked, by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., "What are you proudest of?", Levar Burton replied, "...It's gotta be Reading Rainbow... Believing so much in the power of education, as we do in my family, and having an impact on the reading habits of a couple of generations of human beings, It doesn't get any better than that."

Actor Wes Studi's friend Jay WhiteCrow recommended the American Indian Theater Company in Tulsa to help him navigate meeting new people after his divorce.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. meets actors LeVar Burton and Wes Studi — two men who grew up without their fathers, haunted by questions about their family trees.