Lizzy Caplan Uncovers a Shocking Discovery in ‘Finding Your Roots’ Sneak Peek [Exclusive]

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Published Jan 26, 2026, 2:00 PM EST

Marisa is a Senior News Author for Collider. She graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2018 after majoring in Creative Writing with a minor in Folk Studies. She grew up in Kentucky and currently resides in Indiana with her beagle mix rescue, Este. When not writing about her favorite television shows and movies, she can typically be found hanging out with her dog, reading, listening to Taylor Swift, or fangirling about Doctor Who (usually River Song).

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. returned for its twelfth season earlier this year, and ahead of its latest episode on Tuesday, January 27, on PBS, Collider is thrilled to unveil an exclusive sneak peek. The January 27 episode of the hit documentary television series features actor Lizzy Caplan, best known for her roles in Masters of Sex and the 2004 comedy Mean Girls. The fourth episode, "The Road We Took," dives into Caplan's ancestry along with that of comic Hasan Minhaj.

In our exclusive sneak peek, Caplan tries to put herself in her great-grandfather's shoes. As Gates reveals, Caplan's great-grandfather was born in Russia in the late 19th Century and immigrated to the United States in the early 20th Century at just 19 years old. This was proven through a record shown to Caplan of her great-grandfather's application for American Citizenship. Caplan struggles to find her words as she expresses how "wild" it was that a 19-year-old, someone who would very much be seen today as a burgeoning adult, was making monumental decisions.

'Finding Your Roots' Uncovers Unique and Shocking Familial Stories

Over the course of twelve seasons, the PBS documentary series uses genealogical research, presented by Henry Louis Gates Jr., who is a professor, historian, filmmaker, and critic. Gates works with dedicated genealogists, fellow historians, and others to peel back the curtain of public figures' ancestral roots (hence the title, Finding Your Roots). Each guest is given an in-depth family tree, often full of surprises with the ancestor's journey, or a surprising relationship to someone also notable in history or another celebrity.

Sometimes the series helps the guest to piece together a part of themselves they never quite had an explanation for. For example, in the 2024 episode featuring actor and fellow PBS host Levar Burton, he found out that both his grandfather and great-grandfather worked in education as school superintendents. Burton has long since championed literacy, hosting the Reading Rainbow program for decades until its conclusion. He told Gates, "It fills me with great pride that I have inherited this mantle of educator."

There have been other, more humorous connections, including the more than visually similar actor Larry David and Senator Bernie Sanders. During the Season 4 premiere, the pair found out that they were indeed related to one another. David famously impersonated Sanders during the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, so it seems he was inadvertently drawing on a DNA connection in addition to his comedy chops for the role.

Check out the sneak peek for Caplan's episode above. The episode premieres tomorrow, January 27. Stay with Collider for the latest updates.