( CNN ) One of the biggest TV events of all time is being reimagined for new audiences . `` Roots , '' the epic miniseries about an African-American slave and his descendants , had a staggering audience of over 100 million viewers back in 1977 . Now A & E networks are remaking the miniseries , to air in 2016 . A & E , Lifetime and History ( formerly the History Channel ) announced Thursday that the three networks would simulcast a remake of the saga of Kunta Kinte , an African who was captured , shipped to America and sold into slavery to work on a Virginia plantation . LeVar Burton , who portrayed Kinte in the original , will co-executive produce the new miniseries . A press release describes the new version as `` original '' and `` contemporary '' and will draw more from Alex Haley 's classic novel , `` Roots : The Saga of an American Family . '' Producers will consult scholars in African and African-American history for added authenticity . `` We are proud to bring this saga to fans of the original , as well as to a new generation that will experience this powerful and poignant tale for the first time , '' said Dirk Hoogstra , History 's executive vice president and general manager . `` Audiences will once again feel the impact of Kunta Kinte 's indomitable spirit . '' Executive producer Mark Wolper , son of the original 's producer David L. Wolper , added , `` Kunta Kinte began telling his story over 200 years ago and that story went through his family lineage , to Alex Haley , to my father , and now the mantle rests with me . Like Kunta Kinte fought to tell his story over and over again , so must we . '' The remade `` Roots '' will encounter a new generation of viewers who have witnessed Barack Obama make history as the nation 's first African-American president and `` 12 Years a Slave '' win the Oscar for Best Picture , but also widespread racial unrest over police treatment of black suspects in many U.S. cities . `` My career began with 'Roots ' and I am proud to be a part of this new adaptation , '' said Burton . `` There is a huge audience of contemporary young Americans who do not know the story of 'Roots ' or its importance . ''
The A & E networks are remaking the blockbuster `` Roots '' miniseries , to air in 2016 . The epic 1977 miniseries about an African-American slave had 100 million viewers .