Shows Like Roots
If you loved Roots's Drama storytelling, these series deliver a similar experience — chosen for tone, narrative quality, and viewer satisfaction. Each includes where to stream it now.
★ Top Picks

Roots
An adaptation of Alex Haley's "Roots", chronicling the history of an African slave, Kunta Kinte sold to America and his descendants.

Roots: The Next Generations
Roots: The Next Generations is a television miniseries, introduced in 1979, continuing, from 1882 to the 1960s, the fictionalized story of the family of Alex Haley and their life in Henning, Lauderdale County, Tennessee, USA. This sequel to the 1977 miniseries is based on the last seven chapters of Haley's novel entitled Roots: The Saga of an American Family plus additional material by Haley. Roots: The Next Generations was produced with a budget of $16.6 million, nearly three times as large as that of the original.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
The story of the Menéndez brothers, who were convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menéndez.

Julia
Through Julia Child’s life and her singular joie de vivre, the series explores a pivotal time in American history – the emergence of public television as a new social institution, feminism and the women's movement, the nature of celebrity and America's cultural evolution.

The Slap
Hector and his wife Aisha plan a party for family and friends, but the day doesn't turn out as they expected when Hector's hot-headed cousin Harry slaps a misbehaving child. The party ends abruptly with the child's parents threatening legal action, and a chain of events is ignited that will uncover secrets, challenge core values, and leave the party guests and hosts forever changed.

The Book of Negroes
Kidnapped in Africa and subsequently enslaved in South Carolina, Aminata must navigate a revolution in New York, isolation in Nova Scotia and treacherous jungles of Sierra Leone, in an attempt to secure her freedom in the 19th century.

Parenthood
The trials and tribulations of the very large, colorful and imperfect Braverman family.

Underground
A group of slaves plan a daring 600-mile escape from a Georgia plantation. Along the way, they are aided by a secret abolitionist couple running a station on the Underground Railroad as they attempt to evade the people charged with bringing them back, dead or alive.
More Shows Like Roots

Shaka Zulu
South Africa, 1823. The Zulu Empire, headed by King Shaka, a brilliant but ruthless military strategist, begin to encroach on the British colony of Cape Town. A volunteer cadre of explorers, mercenaries and professional soldiers are sent to Zululand to try to make contact with Shaka and assess the real threat of his army.

The Bible
The story of God's creation of the Earth and the landmark events leading up to the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.


Alex Haley's Queen
Queen is the story about Easter, the illegitimate daughter of James Jackson, III and her lifelong affair with plantation owner Tim Daly, which would result in the birth of Queen. Queen's story revolves around her early years as a slave who yearns to know who her father is, and her condition as a fair skin mixed race woman who spends her life trying to figure out where exactly she fits in.

The Thorn Birds
The story based on a novel by Colleen McCullough focuses on three generations of the Cleary family living on a sheep station in the Australian outback.

Little House on the Prairie
When the big woods of Wisconsin becomes a difficult spot for hunting, Charles Ingalls reluctantly decides to move his family, pioneering west. Their life on the farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s is full of adventure, tragedy, and triumph. Based on the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The Blue and the Gray
The Blue and the Gray is a television miniseries that first aired on CBS in three installments on November 14, November 16, and November 17, 1982. Set during the American Civil War, the series starred John Hammond, Stacy Keach, Lloyd Bridges, and Gregory Peck as President Abraham Lincoln. It was executive produced by Larry White and Lou Reda, in association with Columbia Pictures Television, then owned by The Coca-Cola Company.

Fosse/Verdon
The story of the romantic and creative partnership between Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. He was a filmmaker and one of theater's most influential choreographers and directors; she was the greatest Broadway dancer of all time. Together, they changed the face of American entertainment — at a perilous cost.

The New Edition Story
Follow the story of R&B pioneers Michael Bivins, Ricky Bell, Ronnie Devoe, Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill as they navigate fame from their native Boston to Hollywood and beyond.

The Long Song
Set during the final days of slavery in 19th century Jamaica, we follow the trials, tribulations and survival of plantation slave July and her odious mistress Caroline.

Franklin
In December 1776, Benjamin Franklin is world-famous for his electrical experiments. But his passion and power are put to the test when he embarks on a secret mission to France—with the fate of American independence hanging in the balance.

Sons of Liberty
A radical group of young men band together in secrecy to change the course of history and make America a nation.
Why These Shows Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with Roots (1977): Drama themes, similar pacing, and comparable production quality. NoBadPicks uses TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface series most likely to resonate with fans of Roots.
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