In this May 27, 2015 file photo, Laurence Fishburne arrives at the 2015 Television Academy Honors at The Montage Hotelin Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Rich FuryInvision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Laurence Fishburne is joining the "Roots" miniseries remake.
A&E Networks said Wednesday that Fishburne will play writer Alex Haley, whose novel about his African-American ancestry was the basis of the original TV miniseries.
The new project will draw on the late Haley's novel, "Roots: The Saga of an American Family," along with new research, A&E said. The 1977 ABC miniseries was a ratings sensation.
Fishburne is a Tony Award-winning stage actor ("Two Trains Running") and Oscar nominee ("What's Love Got to Do With It"). He's become a familiar presence on TV in series including "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," ''Hannibal" and ABC's comedy "black-ish."
No air date or other casting has been announced for the "Roots" remake that will debut simultaneously on the History, A&E and Lifetime channels.
Cynthia Erivo attends the National Board of Review Awards gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Cynthia Erivo, who is starring in the hit musical "Wicked," was named Tuesday as the 2025 Woman of the Year by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.
The theater group, which dates to 1844 and claims to be the world's third-oldest still operating, said Erivo will receive her Pudding Pot award at a celebratory roast Feb. 5. Afterward, she will attend a performance of Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 176th production, "101 Damnations." Actor Jon Hamm, who came to fame starring as ad executive Don Draper on the AMC series "Mad Men," is the 2025 Man of the Year. He will receive his Pudding Pot Jan. 31.
"We are holding space for Cynthia Erivo's arrival," Man and Woman of the Year Events Coordinator Hannah Frazer said in a statement. "We're sweeping out our broomstick closets and prepping some wicked smart humor as we eagerly await her in February. Before she flies off with her Pudding Pot, she'll have to work a little magic to earn it."
Along with starirng in the smash hit musical, the British entertainer is a two-time Oscar nominee and an Emmy Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award winner.
Erivo burst onto the scene with her brilliant performance in the Broadway revival of "The Color Purple." winning her the 2016 Tony for best actress in a musical. She performed songs from the play on the "Today" show, earning the Daytime Emmy for outstanding music performance in a daytime program. And the show's soundtrack won best musical theater album at the 2017 Grammys.
Last year, Erivo starred in and produced "Drift," which follows a young Liberian refugee who has escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. In 2021, Erivo was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of Aretha Franklin in the National Geographic series "Genius:... Read More
