Exclusive: Kristin Chenoweth Uncovers Enterprising Ancestor in FINDING YOUR ROOTS
An exclusive clip from the episode airing Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, at 8 p. m. ET on PBS shows kristin chenoweth discovering a 19th-century Texas relative who used a bold newspaper advertisement to draw customers to his oyster house, a detail that the episode frames as part of a pattern of ambition and local entrepreneurship.
Kristin Chenoweth discovers ancestor's ad and oyster house ploy
The clip centers on a newspaper notice placed by Chenoweth's ancestor promising the arrival of world-famous soprano Jenny Lind, billed in the ad as the “Swedish Nightingale. ” The episode notes the ad was likely a marketing scheme to get customers in the door; it presents the notice as one piece of a larger portrait showing that the relative ran a restaurant, raised a family, and also served as a lighthouse keeper. The program positions those occupations as concrete signs of the ancestor’s enterprising life in 19th-century Texas as revealed in the episode that premieres on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.
Finding Your Roots Season 12 maps creativity across Europe and the American South
The installment is part of Finding Your Roots Season 12, in which host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the roots of director Spike Lee and actor Kristin Chenoweth while moving across Europe and the American South. The season brings Chenoweth together with Gates to trace ancestors who used creativity to build futures for their families. Season 12 features Chenoweth and 19 other celebrity guests sitting down with Gates; other named participants this season include Darren Criss, Tracy Letts, Delroy Lindo, Kate Burton, Lizzy Caplan, Danielle Deadwyler, Rhiannon Giddens, Brittney Griner, Lizzo, Hasan Minhaj and Chris Paul.
How and when to watch
The episode featuring Spike Lee and Kristin Chenoweth premieres Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, at 8 p. m. ET on PBS and will also air on KPBS TV and stream on KPBS+. Viewers can watch the episode on the broadcast schedule beginning at 8 p. m. ET and use the KPBS+ streaming option for on-demand viewing following the broadcast.
Finding Your Roots Season 12 continues to pair public figures with archival research and genealogical digging; this episode frames the Jenny Lind advertisement and the ancestor’s varied occupations—restaurant owner, lighthouse keeper—as tangible moments that connect the present-day guests to the strategies their forebears used to sustain families. The show’s next confirmed milestone is the Season 12 broadcast of the Chenoweth and Spike Lee episode on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, at 8 p. m. ET.
