Ground-breaking 1970s television mini-series Roots; a brutal re-make
Ground-breaking 1970s slave drama Roots is returning - and it's set to be even more brutal Hakeem Kae-Kazim says the new drama will not pull any punches The remake stars Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Malachi Kirby, Forest Whitaker, Anna Paquin and Laurence Fishburne Ground-breaking 1970s television mini-series Roots is having a brutal re-make. The US drama, based on Alex Haley’s book charting the life of slave Kunte Kinte, was one of the highest-rated shows of the decade. Now a new “more realistic” version is being filmed on location in New Orleans and South Africa and will be screened in the UK later this year. One of its stars, Brit actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim, has told how Roots isn’t pulling any punches in how it realistically portrays how slaves were treated. He told of his mixed emotions about agreeing to take the role of vicious Samson - whose role is to “break in” the new slaves. The 52-year-old Hotel Rwanda and Pirates of the Caribbean star, who was born in Nigeria, ...