VIDEO : Laurence Fishburne to Star in 'Roots' Remake for A+E Networks

A+E Networks is getting its Roots casting under way in a big fashion.
The network announced Wednesday Laurence Fishburne has been tapped to star in the remake of the 1977 miniseries.
Set to be simulcast on History, A&E and Lifetime, the Blackish star will play Alex Haley, the author of the novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, an American family origin story based around the life of Kunta Kinte. The show, which will be an original, contemporary production, will incorporate material from Haley's novel, as well as carefully researched new scholarship of the time.