NBC Television to Offer "Who Do You Think You Are?" American Style

A genealogy television program in the U.K. has become one of the more popular television programs in that country. In fact, "Who Do You Think You Are?" has also spun off a magazine, computer software, and an annual conference in London that attracts nearly 15,000 attendees. Some American genealogists have wondered, "When we will get a similar program?"

The time is now. Well, this year.

Quoting from NBC's web site:

Who Do You Think You Are?

The answers lie in the past.

From producer Lisa Kudrow comes a new series that is unlike anything on U.S. television. Based on the popular BBC documentary series, Who Do You Think You Are? takes viewers on an inspiring and personal journey into the past of America's best-known celebrities, sharing their emotion and surprise as they uncover stories of heroism, tragedy, love and betrayal that lie at the heart of their family story. At the same time, the series celebrates the making of our great nation and the people who traveled here in search of freedom and opportunity.

The same web site promises that the show will spin off an online archive of celebrity ancestry info as well as the ability for users to get started on a personal search into family history.

NBC's version of "Who Do You Think You Are?" will be an all-American show, not reruns of the BBC program. It will feature American celebrities and their ancestry.

You can read more at http://www.nbc.com/Primetime/Who_Do_You_Think_You_Are/index.shtml although it is obvious that the site is still under construction.

Comments

[Suzia]

Great news, with a caveat. I have ties to NBC but was hoping the American version would be a PBS venture. It's gratifying that NBC programmers think "Who Do You Think You Are?" has commercial appeal, but their idea of "America's best-known celebrities" and the potential for sensationalism makes me a little queasy. I hope they have taken the high road. Ah well, it's all in the procees, right?

[Betty]

Hello. In the U.S., we have "History Detectives" which occasionally does a segment about a "search for an ancestor's information. And, we are now getting "Who Do You Think You Are?" which is about the family-tree of celebrities. I'd REALLY love for someone to start a new show, called "Genealogy Detectives."

I'm sure that a Producer of such a show would be FLOODED with requests to have a "genealogy mystery" included in such a show.

I would send in several requests - for each of my genealogy "concrete-block walls" - some more important to me than others ! (Like who were my maternal grandmother's birth-parents when she was conceived in the summer of 1888 in New England?)

[Andrea]

I agree with Betty! Who cares about celebrities' family trees and the sensationalism that will surely come with it? Let's get real people on the show and help them get through the road blocks. I've got a couple myself that are very frustrating!

[Diane]

I don't care about celebrities either. I love the idea of a "Genealogy Detectives" program! Boy, do I have some mysteries in my ancestry that I would love to have on a program like that! Our favorite program is "History Detectives" on PBS - we never miss it. We learn a lot about facets of American history we knew little about before and there often is a genealogy angle involved, too.

[Jan]

I agree, why feature the rich and famous. They have pleanty of money to have a professional research their family tree.

[Carol]

Why do television producers all think we care about celebrities anyway! Our lives are so much more interesting and compelling than theirs. I second the idea of a Genealogy program for REAL people. Many of our ancestors had very important roles in the shaping of our country! Please NO MORE CELEBRITY PALAVER!

[Dick]

It seems that:
If it's successful it may spawn a "real person" version on PBS or elsewhere. At the least it will cause people to wonder about their family's part in American History.

[Harry]

You can't get the viewers without the celebrity focus. Gary Boyd Roberts and his celebrity focus, have probably done more for popularization of genealogy than anyone except the creators of Family Tree Maker and Ancestry.com. In my mind, whether this commercial TV venture works all comes down to the taste and abilities of the producer. We'll see. Personally, I'll be glad for anything close to interesting on NBC. To me, all commercial TV of the past couple of years has resembled Newton Minow's "vast wasteland".

[Jon]

I agree that NBC doesn't need to focus on "celebrities" to make this show a hit. In the 50's and 60's, there was a long-running TV show called "This is Your Life," which followed the same basic premise. The show normally reunited someone with lost family.

[Kristy]

Have I forgotten? (Maybe I can plead extreme youth?) I remember the program...and the celebrities whose lives were done each week, by real people from their pasts. At any rate, we cannot expect that the multitudes of real watchers-of-TV will give two hoots about whether or not I can find GGG-gma Desire Briggs. I'm not sure I can even get many genealogists to care about her. But if we convince real people that genealogy is fun and interesting, we'll have more contacts out there, more companies supporting research, and somewhere, sometime, someone will know our grandmothers. It sounds good to me!

[Kathleen]

Let NBC do their 'thing' with celebs. Here's hoping that someone from PBS (Hey! Creative Director? PR person? Can ya hear us???) will read our comments on Dick Eastman's fab site and start a new series (Betty's brilliant suggestion) called "Genealogy Detectives." With genealogy being the number one hobby in North America (or #2, depending on the source), it has to become a hit! Hey, PBS... where do I sign up???

[Mary]

Maybe it wouldn't have to be an "either - or" program. Why not a mixture. Do one celebrity & one regular person. The celebrity to attract viewers and the regular person to say "Hey - that's more like me!"

[Kathleen]

Using celebrities on a genealogy show becomes a human interest story - good for the masses who love seeing their favorite celebs. Depending on the depth of the show, a serious researcher might get some tips and 'ah-ha' moments to help them in their own research, but I feel the show will be mostly entertaining.

A teaching genealogy show will be advantageous to ALL family researchers and genealogists.

There is so much that they could do with a one hour show; i.e., using Kristy's (posting above) GGG-gma Desire Briggs as an example of what women had to endure during the Civil War, etc., let's say.

Then on another 15 minute segment, titled, "My Brick Wall," they would solve a problem that has been hard to solve and they would go through the steps to the solution. That would benefit us all to see how they got from 'here' to 'there.'

I would also add another 15 minute segment for a different state and another 15 minute segment for a different country each week, expanding on the best sites or areas to check for the specific state and/or country, with tips and how-tos included.

PBS could even have different levels of a genealogy show, depending on where the person's experience lies.

There is so much that could (and should) be done. It's all out there, waiting to be tapped.

Here's a great article from Kimberly Powell on genealogy-
http://genealogy.about.com/library/weekly/aa011502a.htm

[Larry Johnstone]

I agree, the celebrity idea was tried a year ago by the CBC in Canada and I don't think it had the results they wanted because it hasn't been repeated this year.
I think a better idea is what the History Channel did in Canada --they had people contact them for help in tracking down their ancestors and the professional genealogists were actually seen on the show, telling how they managed to track down the ancestors and the person that asked the question was seen during the segmnent meeting the relatives, many times in another part of the world, after they had been tracked down by the genealogists.
The show was called "Ancestors in the Attic" and they had a great host that really carried the program. The show was half an hour and they sometimes handled as many as three mysteries in that half hour. It was on twice a week and of course it was repeated quite a few times during the season. Unfortunately it has now been dropped after about four seasons.

[Sharon Centanne]

I like the idea of using regular people and finding their ancestors. How many of us want to be related to today's celebrities, who are often famous for their misdeeds? Let's use the Genealogy Dectective idea and the Brick Wall idea and get a program which showcases how the average person can conduct genealogical research. There are lots of wonderful new resources to feature, and lots of interesting stories that can be shared about different ethnic groups and how they added to our country's story.
Sharon Centanne
Genealogical Research Instructor

[Charles Osterby]

I seriously doubt that NBC will carry the show beyond a half dozen episodes. Not enough commercial interest for American broadcasters.

[Dorothy]

In Canada we already have a show like that on History Channel called "Ancestors in the Attic". It is a half hour show and features real people getting help with their brick walls and finding truth in their family stories.

http://www.history.ca/ancestorsintheattic/

[Adrian B]

I can only say that the British "Who Do You Think You Are?" was something close to a huge hit - its formula was that it started with celebrities to grab audience attention, but as soon as you go back a couple of generations, their ancestors were the ordinary people who often fought against the odds. The contrast then of a celebrity against someone below the poverty line and in the work-house - who they felt a connection with - made great television.

But there were still family historians who complained that this wasn't proper FH because you didn't see the exact methods used in the archives. In fact, the producers said that the secret of its success was that it WASN'T family history - it was social history. That's probably true - I doubt the general population cares about visiting archives - but we can easily imagine transferring that social history to our own ancestors - hence the popularity among the non-FH community.
And clearly, based on the attendance at UK FH shows, THAT then hooked many more into FH proper.

[Sharon Johnson]

I believe it was said before, and agree, that a celeberty is needed to bring the audiance. However, I also believe ordinary people must be on the show also. Perhaps 2 regular and 1 celeberty. Maybe occassionally pick a person off the street to do their genealogy. PBS, Discovery, and the Travel channels are all good forums and where I would normally look for this type of show, but then again not everyone has cable or satelite. And then again some that do have them may not get those channels. So I am glad that NBC will get the word out. Now if they will put it on at a decent time (before 10pm)that would really be nice for me in CA! Maybe I'll be able learn what other resources to use when I come across "it was destroyed in the fire/flood" or told "go check the indian rolls and census." --Right! I have several dead ends because of this. I am using the DNA testing in hopes that there will more leads.

[Barbara Graser]

Hey

I have a idea! Why not contact PBS ourselves? If they get a lot of emails from us, maybe, just maybe, the powers that be would give it some thought!! Wouldn't hurt to try!

Barb Graser

[Sue M.]

How well I, too, remember the show, This is Your Life. Even more vividly I remember Sid Cesear's brilliant parody of the same show, i.e., when he portrayed a shocked Life subject frantically trying to escape from the studio as he was he was being hauled onto the stage. (I appreciate the great tact that the History Detectives use whenever they have to burst the bubble of an artifact owner.)

[W. David Samuelsen]

Oh yeah..........

I've been watching that British show on KBYU (home of BYU) for last 3 years!

I hope NBC doesn't ruin the good thing.

[W. David Samuelsen]

just a follow up to the comment.

PBS doesn't carry it but KBYU does by special arrangement with BBC for viewing in Utah.

[Virginia Banerjee]

I, too, can do without the rich and famous. A Genelaogy Detective format along the lines of History Detective would be a great way to convey sound genealogy practice that could reach a large audience without being "preachy".

[Bunny Maurer]

Oh, God! Not celebrities, please. They like to "embellish" their lives to make themselves more interesting. Not only that but they are so inane. I can just see it now: first show is Paris Hiltonut, 2nd show Jessica Simpleson, etc. All the shows will be interrupted at 10 minute intervals to plug Viagra, toilet tissue, Depends, etc. Let's let PBS do the show; it will be so much more professional and interesting.

[Helena Howell]

We shouldn't condemn all celebrities as being fleabrains. There are some substantial, world reknown people out there, whose genealogy may be quite interesting, e.g. the men who unraveled the double helix, the founders of Apple or Microsoft, the authors of well known books, well-loved musicians. The list is endless. I hope NBC gets the many messages posted--assuming their executives subscribe to Eastman's newsletter.

[Sarah Adams]

I have my concerns about NBC doing the program and aspects of sensationalism creeping in. I would have preferred this show on PBS or History channel here in the States.

I have seen the both the British and Canadian programs and I like them. I would much rather seen individuals brick walls and mysterious ancestors being tackled...

[Richard M]

I agree with Adrian and Sharon, you do need to have celebrities to capture the interest of mass audiences. When the BBC show first started out it was made in the style of 'how to trace your ancestors' advice format that people have commented about here on EOGN, but the storytelling element became prominent because this is what held peoples interest the most.

Originally, the programme was shown on the BBC's second broadcast channel, but when it was realised how much interest it stirred, the second series transferred to the mainstream broadcast channel. It has become so popular that it rivals some mainstream shows for popularity (see http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a122699/bbc-genealogy-series-returns-with-69m.html) An audience figure of nearly 7 million viewers is very respectable in today's multi-channel age.

As for us seasoned researchers, I think that it would become very boring after awhile if such a series focussed too much on the 'how to' because it would have to be very basic for a general audience otherwise it would become a turn off for viewers. A complementary format for researches such as the 'Genealogy Detectives' to run alongside the main show would be better but it is likely that it would only be carried by specialist broadcasters like the History Channel.

To conclude, the BBC have got it about right, there is enough to just about please everybody; inspiration for newbies and enough detail to keep experienced researchers happy.

[Anne Peterson]

I too think it would be a wonderful fit for PBS or one of the other public television distribution organizations. I think it would be a good fit with Antiques Roadshow, History Detectives and even, American Experience. If someone could put together a funding base, PBS or one of the larger public television producing stations, (or one of the smaller ones like Oregon Public Television, the Salt Lake City station, Nashville, Kentucky, North Carolina, etc.) could very well be interested.

With rare exceptions, first there must be a funding base for PBS, then the discussions begin on production values, how it could fit in the schedule, how far out it would have to be scheduled, etc.

It wouldn't hurt though to let PBS know that there is a genuine national audience for that type of show. The system has nibbled at similar programming in miniseries, such as Ancestor, for instance.

[Nancy]

Does anyone know how we could get Lisa Kudrow, NBC Producer to see (and maybe care) about our comments?

[Scott]

I think this show is a great idea and might help to further spur interest in genealogy here in the U.S.

Did any of you happen to catch "African American Lives"? The Chris Rock segment was especially powerful:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/profiles/rock.html

I think the celebrity aspect of it is required to interest enough people to keep the show afloat. If its just a genealogy show that looks into the family history of the 'guy next door', I don't think its going to 'grab' enough people that aren't already into genealogy. That the British version of this show is a hit, I think underscores the need to stay with the formula that works. America's love of celebrity should give this show a great chance.

[kate]

TV now has become so boring that more and more people are agnoring it. My former boss dosn't even have a TV set at home though he is almost a millioner. I am afraid you, producers and channals owners, will be bancrupt soon. It's too much evil in TV. I thought you might not know this important information

[Ken J. Marks]

The answer to many of your requests is just around the corner:

Watch for the first TV series dedicated to the genealogy of ordinary everyday people -- like you!

Legend Seekers preview episode THE LIVELY FAMILY MASSACRE will begin airing on public television in select local markets starting with WFYI-TV Indianapolis, Thursday, March 26th at 9:30pm. See the episode trailer at: www.Legendseekers.com/media.html

Filming for the historical reenactment scenes was done on location at Indiana’s Connor Prairie in Fishers, IN.

Bloomington, IN schedule to be announced. Check website often starting in mid-March for a complete listing of listings and markets.

Legend Seekers... the sagas of real American families

www.legendseekrs.com

[Jeanne]

BYU TV is currently taking applications for an upcoming show to be called "The Generations Project." You can see the info and make an application here:
http://www.byub.org/thegenerationsproject/