The Lifetime movie Showing Roots is set in 1977, when the TV mini-series Roots was broadcast on national TV. In Showing Roots, two young women (one white, Violet played by Maggie Grace; one black, Pearl) who work together at a beauty parlor are inspired to integrate their small Southern town after watching Roots, which was based on the Alex Haley novel. Many people in town are angered by their effort (opening a beauty shop for both white and black customers) and how it’s affecting others.
Pearl is portrayed by Uzo Aduba. She’s known for her roles on Orange Is the New Black (Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren) and in the recent TV broadcast The Wiz Live! (Glinda the Good Witch). Aduba will appear next on the big screen in the film Tallulah with Ellen Page and Allison Janney, and in American Pastoral with Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Connelly, and Ewan McGregor, who is directing. Based on the Philip Roth novel, American Pastoral will be released on October 28. Showing Roots will premiere on Lifetime on Thursday, May 26 at 10pm.
— A remake of Roots starring Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne, and Anna Paquin, will air on The History Channel on Monday, May 30 at 9pm. See trailer below.