Some babies require a wait of more than nine months. After numerous delays, the U.S. version of Who Do You Think You Are? will be broadcast Friday evening on NBC with an episode featuring Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker.
Who Do You Think You Are? started as a television program in England where it became a big hit and continues to be a hit several years later. It also spawned the popular Who Do You Think You Are? Live exhibition held in London this past weekend. Since its appearance in England, the show's producers have licensed local versions of the program to be broadcast in Australia, Canada, and elsewhere. Now it is being broadcast in the United States but with an all American focus: American personalities tracing typical American family trees (which means that most of the family trees go back to Europe, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and elsewhere... typical American family trees).
In the coming weeks, the U.S. version of Who Do You Think You Are? is going to be spotlighted in several major media outlets. Among them, Oprah will designate an entire hour to family history next Tuesday.
My suspicion is that all this publicity is going to generate genealogy interest in the American population unlike anything we have seen since Alex Haley's Rooots.
Here’s a list of a few shows to watch for (all dates/times are subject to change):
- The Joy Behar Show (HLN – Headline News) – 9 pm ET, Friday, March 5
- Today Show (NBC) – 10-11 am, Monday, March 8
- Martha Stewart (check your local TV listings), Tuesday, March 9,
- Oprah (check your local TV listings)
- Craig Ferguson (CBS late night), Friday, March 19
- Bonnie Hunt (check your local TV listings)
Episode Schedule
In case you’re curious about the celebrity line up and dates for the episodes, here is the current schedule:
March 5 – Sarah Jessica Parker
March 12 – Emmitt Smith
March 19 – Lisa Kudrow
March 26 – Matthew Broderick
April 2 – Brooke Shields
April 9 – Susan Sarandon
April 23 – Spike Lee
And don’t forget to tune in on NBC this Friday, March 5 at 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central to see if Sarah Jessica Parker traces her roots back to ancestors who participated in Salem Witch Trials. Check your local listings as some stations will "time shift" the program and broadcast it later.
