The series is split into four hour-long episodes, each focusing on different time periods. The series begins with the star's immediate family trees, incorporating aspects of each star's life with the lives of their family members. The second traces their ancestry back to the Civil War, while the third goes back to early Colonial times. The fourth episode introduces DNA Analysis, allowing the participants to learn about their early genetic ancestors.
At its core, African American Lives 2 is primarily a series about African American history, though with an added bit of biography. Beginning with the present and working backwards, the series manages to hit every major topic in African American history while also connecting these moments to the lives of the stars involved. Although it doesn't spend much time analyzing each moment, listening to the various stars' reactions to each brings a new sense of place to the events. Each episode presents issues through the eyes of each star's ancestors, adding a new sense of weight to the issue at hand. These lead to some of the show's more engaging moments, such as radio host Tom Joyner's reaction to his grandmother's brother's wrongful execution and his decision to try and clear their names nearly one-hundred years later.
Although African-American Lives 2 doesn't feature any extras, the main presentation is fascinating enough to make up for the lack of extra content. Watching each of the participants discover their family histories and connect them to their own lives is fun and might even spark viewers into looking into their own past.
