Finding Your Roots Season 12 Finale Features Kate Burton and Barry Diller

The season 12 finale of “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” aired on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, spotlighting actor Kate Burton and media mogul Barry Diller as they explored their family histories. The episode, titled “Rags to Riches,” revealed how both guests—despite growing up in comfort—descended from ancestors who endured significant hardship to build better futures.

According to Arizona PBS, the episode aired at 7 p.m. And focused on the extraordinary sacrifices made by Burton’s and Diller’s forebears, tracing journeys from shtetls to coal mines to orphanages. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Guided the guests through these stories, prompting reflection on what modern generations inherit from those who faced far greater challenges.

The PBS listing for the episode confirms it is Season 12, Episode 10, with a runtime of 52 minutes and 9 seconds, and includes closed captions. It notes that Gates maps the family trees of both guests, emphasizing their lineage of resilience despite their own privileged upbringings.

Thirteen.org, Recent York Public Media’s platform, describes the episode similarly, highlighting how Gates traces the roots of actor Kate Burton and media mogul Barry Diller—two individuals who grew up in comfort thanks to ancestors who did not.

Ancestry.com’s blog also covered the episode, framing it as a conversation between Burton and Diller about the sacrifices made by their predecessors to escape poverty.

The episode is part of the ongoing PBS series hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., which uses genealogical research and DNA analysis to uncover the ancestral histories of notable figures.

No further details about specific ancestral discoveries, genetic findings, or personal revelations from Burton or Diller were included in the verified sources.

As of the date of broadcast, the episode was available for streaming on PBS platforms and remained accessible through May 15, 2026, according to the PBS video listing.