Roots to be Remade for The History ChannelPosted by Wilson Morales
November 5, 2013
On the success of Django Unchained, Lee Daniel’s The Butler, and now 12 Years a Slave, The History Channel has decided to get on the bandwagon on exploring slavery by remaking one of most celebrated TV programs of all time, blockbuster 1977 miniseries Roots, reports Deadline.
Instead of the 12 hours that was seen on ABC back in ’77, a new eight-hour Roots miniseries will based from the book the mini was based on, Roots: The Saga Of An American Family, from the estate of author Alex Haley.
Mark Wolper, son of Roots executive producer, the late David L. Wolper has come onboard as executive producer. No writers or directors have been attached at present time. “We would like to revive that cultural icon for a new audience,” said History EVP and GM Dirk Hoogstra.
Deadline states, “The project originated with a remark by one of Hoogstra’s executives, VP Development and Programming Michael Stiller, who suggested the network should try to remake Roots. The idea was put into motion, and meetings were set up with Mark Wolper and the attorney representing the Haley estate. As talks progressed, it emerged that there was a second Roots remake project out there from different original auspices that had been eyed by FX. In the end, History stepped up and secured rights, clearing the way for a new Roots mini on the cable network.”
The mini earned a record 36 Emmy nominations, winning nine including best limited series; supporting actor for Ed Asner; and music, shared by Quincy Jones.
The History Channel have had recent ratings success with miniseries such as “Hatfields & McCoys,” “The Kennedys,” “The Vikings,” and more recently “The Bible.”
Music from Roots
