CraveTV Acquires Exclusive Canadian Streaming Rights to Buzzworthy Event Series ROOTS

– ROOTS reimagining comes nearly 40 years after the original legendary miniseries first captivated viewers –

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TORONTO, May 24, 2016 /CNW/ - CraveTV today announced it has exclusively acquired the highly anticipated eight-hour event series ROOTS, the reimagining of the classic miniseries from A+E Studios®. With an outstanding ensemble cast that includes Academy Award^® winners Forest Whitaker and Anna Paquin, Academy Award^® nominee and Emmy Award^® winner Laurence Fishburne, Golden Globe^® Award-winning and Emmy^®-nominated actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, ROOTS is a multifaceted, compelling and emotional story about the triumph of the human spirit, about identity, family, dignity and courage - seen through the lens of slavery-era America. ROOTS recounts the journey of one family and their will to survive, and ultimately carry on their legacy despite hardship. ROOTS will stream this fall on CraveTV in the popular Historic TV Collection.

"We're thrilled to add this star-studded miniseries to CraveTV, introducing ROOTS to a whole new generation of viewers," said Mike Cosentino, Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks and CraveTV, Bell Media.

"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 LeVar Burton, Co-Executive Producer and the original Kunta Kinte. "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." 

In 1977, millions of viewers tuned in to watch the first episode of the new miniseries ROOTS; a multi-generational exploration of author Alex Haley's family tree that traversed more than a century of the African American experience, from the colonial-era slave trade through Reconstruction. Over the course of eight nights, the series captivated the nation. Movie theaters shut down, while bars and living rooms filled; dozens of civic leaders across the country declared a celebratory ROOTS week in honour of the program; millions of Americans were inspired to trace their own lineages; and America was forced to confront the brutal reality of slavery and the lingering scars it had left on the nation. Nearly 40 years later, the reimagining of ROOTS is set to introduce the series to an entirely new generation.

Click here for a sneak peek at ROOTS.

Spanning multiple generations, the lineage begins with young Kunta Kinte, who is captured in his homeland of The Gambia and transported in brutal conditions to colonial America, where he's sold into slavery. Throughout the series, Kinte's family continues to face adversity while bearing witness and contributing to notable events in U.S. history, including the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, slave uprisings, and eventual emancipation. The story of Kunta Kinte and the women and men who came after him echoes through the history of millions of Americans of African descent, and reveals powerful truths about the universal resilience of the human spirit.

The incredible ROOTS cast includes Academy Award^® winners Forest Whitaker ("Fiddler"); Anna Paquin ("Nancy Holt"); Academy Award^® nominee and Emmy Award^® winner Laurence Fishburne ("Alex Haley"); Golden Globe^® Award-winning and Emmy^®-nominated actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("Tom Lea"); Tony Award^® winner Anika Noni Rose ("Kizzy"); Grammy Award^® winner Tip "T.I." Harris ("Cyrus"); Chad L. Coleman ("Mingo"); Emayatzy Corinealdi ("Belle"); Matthew Goode ("Dr. William Waller"); Derek Luke ("Silla Ba Dibba"); Mekhi Phifer ("Jerusalem"); James Purefoy ("John Waller"); Erica Tazel ("Matilda") and introduces Regé-Jean Page ("Chicken George") and Malachi Kirby ("Kunta Kinte"). In addition, the series is executive produced by original ROOTS cast member LeVar Burton and Questlove, of the Grammy^® Award-winning band The Roots, is the executive music producer.

ROOTS is an A+E Studios production in association with Marc Toberoff and The Wolper Organization, the company that produced the original "Roots." Will Packer, Marc Toberoff, Mark Wolper, Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal and Barry Jossen serve as executive producers. LeVar Burton and Korin D. Huggins are co-executive producers. Questlove is executive music producer. ROOTS is directed by Phillip Noyce, Mario Van Peebles, Thomas Carter and Bruce Beresford. Arturo Interian and Michael Stiller serve as Executives in Charge of Production for HISTORY.  A+E Networks handles international distribution for "Roots.

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About CraveTV
Created for TV lovers and devoted to television, CraveTV is Canada's premium TV streaming service, providing the most robust lineup of superior television content in the country. From TV's most-acclaimed dramas and beloved comedies to documentaries, music, and factual programming, CraveTV features thousands of hours of premium non-kids TV programming, representing hundreds of unique titles including the entire off-air library of HBO's iconic programming catalogue and hundreds of hours of acclaimed SHOWTIME series and specials. CraveTV is available directly to all Canadians with access to the Internet, as well as to customers of Eastlink, TELUS Optik TV, Bell Fibe TV, Bell Satellite TV, Bell Aliant FibreOP TV, Access Communications, Northwestel, SaskTel, Cable Cable, Hay Communications, Mitchell Seaforth Cable TV, Tuckersmith Communications, Wightman Telecom subscribers, NRTC Communications, WTC Communications, Tbaytel, Execulink Telecom, and VMedia. Available through traditional set-top boxes, mobile apps on iOS, Android, and Microsoft Windows 8.1, the web, Apple TV, Chromecast, and select Samsung Smart TVs, and CraveTV will soon be available via select game consoles. CraveTV is from Bell Media, Canada's premier multi-media company with more than a decade of leadership delivering Canada's most-watched and most-acclaimed television programming across the Pay, Specialty, Digital, and Network TV landscapes. For more on CraveTV, visit www.CraveTV.ca.

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Nicola Krishna, [email protected] or 416.384.5276