On the first night of History’s recreation of “Roots,” Kunta Kinte (Malachi Kirby in the remake, LeVar Burton in the original) is lashed for refusing to use his slave name, Toby.

TheWrap spoke with Mark Wolper, executive producer of “Roots,” about filming the sequence, which the actors and crew took seriously.

“On that particular day of shooting, LeVar Burton was on the set,” Wolper said. “He made it a point to be on the set that day because of the iconic nature of that scene. There certainly was an air of the spirits there on that scene. The set was very quiet, much more reserved than usual. During the first few test whippings, LeVar Burton actually started crying.”

“After we’d been filming the scene for a while, LeVar went over to Malchi and shortly after that, Malachi collapsed,” he added. “He was being held up by these ropes and he said, ‘Please unhook the ropes.’ He collapsed down on the ground and had a very emotional moment. He said he sort of felt like all this history was surging through him.”

‘Roots’ Producer Will Packer Responds To Snoop Dogg’s Criticism Of Remake

Snoop Dogg’s recent profanity-laced critique of The History Channel’s rendition of “Roots” didn’t impress Will Packer.

The veteran rapper said on his Instagram account on Monday (May 30) that he would not be supporting the miniseries and encouraged his followers to do the same. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the paucity of coverage on the black community’s current accomplishments, saying, “They just want to keep showing the abuse that we took hundreds and hundreds of years ago.”

Will Packer, the show’s producer, claimed reviewers were “uncomfortable revisiting the reality of the time.”

“They’re uncomfortable revisiting the reality of that time,” Packer added. “I understand it. But at the same time, I vehemently disagree.”

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When questioned about Snoop’s controversial stance, which went viral on Monday, Packer said the rapper was free to express himself.

“I think that while I certainly don’t judge Snoop at all because I’m very flawed myself, I just think the irony of having him saying and using the n-word, saying, ‘A real n-word like me wouldn’t watch this,’ I couldn’t help but think there’s a ghost of some horrendous slave owner that is smiling and smirking as he watches this black man say that and call himself that … I think that slave owner probably said, ‘Preach. I agree,’” Packer told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Slave tales, like as “Roots,” are vital stories that should be conveyed from many viewpoints, according to Packer. Audiences appeared to agree: the series opener drew 5.3 million viewers, making it the most viewed miniseries since 2013.

“I don’t think we should get too comfortable as a country, as a society or as a race of people,” Packer remarked. “I think this is a story that’s important enough it should be told in repeated ways.”

Roots is a remake of the 1977 television series based on Alex Haley’s novel.

The series was redone in 2013, with Forest Whitaker as Kunta Kinte and newcomer Malachi Kirby as Kunta Kinte.