Who Do You Think You Are? is an American genealogydocumentary series that is an adaptation of the British BBCseries of the same name. In each episode, a different celebrity goes on a journey to trace parts of their family tree. The series is a partnership between Shed Media, NBC Entertainment and Ancestry.com with executive producers including Alex Graham, Pam Healey, Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky, Stephanie Schwam, and Al Edgington.
Genealogy, also known as family history, is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives.
A documentary film is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education, or maintaining a historical record. "Documentary" has been described as a "filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception" that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries. Documentary films were originally called 'actuality' films and were only a minute or less in length. Over time documentaries have evolved to be longer in length and to include more categories, such as educational, observational, and even 'docufiction'. Documentaries are also educational and often used in schools to teach various principles. Social media platforms such as YouTube, have allowed documentary films to improve the ways the films are distributed and able to educate and broaden the reach of people who receive the information.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London, and it is the world's oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total, 16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting. The total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed-contract staff are included.
The show premiered on NBC on March 5, 2010 where it ran for three seasons before being cancelled in 2012. It was then picked up by TLC, where it has aired for seven additional seasons. The series was renewed for an eleventh season, which premiered on December 3, 2018 and features Mandy Moore, Regina King, Josh Duhamel, and Matthew Morrison.
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial terrestrial television network that is a flagship property of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The network is headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, with additional major offices near Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. The network is one of the Big Three television networks. NBC is sometimes referred to as the "Peacock Network", in reference to its stylized peacock logo, introduced in 1956 to promote the company's innovations in early color broadcasting. It became the network's official emblem in 1979.
TLC is an American pay television channel that is owned by Discovery, Inc. Initially focused on educational and learning content, by the late 1990s, the network began to primarily focus towards reality series involving lifestyles, family life, and personal stories.
Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore is an American singer-songwriter and actress. In 1999, Moore signed with Epic Records and came to fame with the release of her debut single "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her debut studio album, So Real (1999), received a platinum certification from the RIAA. The title single from her second studio album, I Wanna Be With You (2000), became Moore's first top 30 song in the U.S., peaking at number 24 on the Hot 100. As of 2009, Billboard reported that Moore had sold more than ten million albums worldwide.
On May 6, 2019, it was announced that the series will return to NBC.[1]
Production
In early 2009, it was announced that NBC had ordered an American adaptation of the British series Who Do You Think You Are?. It was reported that Lisa Kudrow was set to executive produce the series as well as participate in one of the first-season episodes.[2] The show premiered on NBC on March 5, 2010, as one of the replacement shows of The Jay Leno Show at the ten o'clock hour.[3]
Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. After making guest appearances in several television sitcoms, including Cheers, she came to prominence with her recurring role of Ursula in Mad About You (1993-1999). Kudrow gained worldwide recognition for portraying Phoebe Buffay on the television sitcom Friends (1994–2004), for which she received several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series from six nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Awards from 12 nominations, and a Golden Globe Award nomination.
The Jay Leno Show is an American talk show created by and starring Jay Leno. Premiering on NBC on September 14, 2009, the program aired on weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT through February 9, 2010. The program was modeled upon the format of a late night talk show—specifically, Jay Leno's incarnation of The Tonight Show, opening with a comedic monologue, followed by interviews with celebrity guests and other comedy segments. Sketches from The Tonight Show were carried over to The Jay Leno Show, along with new sketches.
NBC renewed the series for two subsequent seasons before cancelling it in 2012.[4] After the cancellation the series was then picked up by TLC,[5] where it has aired for six additional seasons.[6][7] On August 25, 2017, TLC renewed the series for a tenth season.[8]
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She initially gained recognition as the first woman of African-American descent to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984 in 1983. However, a scandal arose the following year when, a few weeks prior to the end of her reign, Williams learned that Penthouse magazine would be publishing unauthorized nude photographs of her in an upcoming issue. Amid growing media controversy and scrutiny, Williams resigned as Miss America in July 1984, and was replaced by first runner-up Miss New Jersey Suzette Charles. Thirty-two years later, Miss America CEO Sam Haskell offered her a public apology for the events of 1984.
Samuel Timothy McGraw is an American country singer and actor. McGraw has released fifteen studio albums. 10 of those albums have reached number 1 on the Top Country Albums charts, with his 1994 breakthrough album Not a Moment Too Soon being the top country album of 1994. All of these albums have produced 65 singles, 25 of which have reached number 1 on the Hot Country Songs or Country Airplay charts. Three of these singles — "It's Your Love", "Just to See You Smile", and "Live Like You Were Dying" — were the top country songs of 1997, 1998, and 2004 according to Billboard Year-End. He has also won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards, and three People's Choice Awards. His Soul2Soul II Tour is one of the highest-grossing tours in country music history, and one of the top 5 among all genres of music. Tim McGraw just recently released his latest singles “Neon Church” and “Thought About You” on October 4, 2018 He has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Roseann O'Donnell is an American comedian, actress, author, and television personality. She has been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, a lesbian rights activist, a television producer, and a collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company, R Family Vacations.
On May 6, 2019, it was reported that Who Do You Think You Are? would return to NBC for the show's 12th season. However, no guest names nor air dates were given.[21]
Specials
No.
Title
Original air date
1
"Into the Archives"
August16,2015(2015-08-16)
Some of the biggest emotional and shocking highlights from past seasons.
In Australia, season 1 began airing on the Nine Network on April 28, 2010.[48] Season 2 and reruns of season 1 will now air on sister channel, GEM. For a reason unexplained by Nine, the episodes featuring Spike Lee and Emmitt Smith were not aired in the initial Australian screenings.
In the Republic of Ireland, the first season of the US version began airing on RTÉ One on Thursday, May 27, 2010, at 22:25.[49] The second series premiered on RTÉ One on Monday, July 4, 2011, at 22:40.[50]
In the United Kingdom, the first season of the US version began airing on BBC One on Sunday, June 13, 2010, at 21:15, the show received the same voice-over as the UK original series.[51] The second series, premiered on Wednesday, November 16, 2011, at 22:45. The first episode shown was that following Steve Buscemi. The fourth series premiered on BBC1 at midnight on Tuesday, January 14, 2014. The order of celebrity is changed in the opening credits to Applegate, Clarkson, O'Donnell, Deschanel, Crawford and Parsons. Handler and Yearwood are not featured as they have little profile in the UK.
In Sweden, the first season of the US version began airing with Swedish subtitles on SVT on Tuesday, September 14, 2010, at 13:20.
In Greece, the first season of the US version began airing with Greek subtitles on Fox Life on Thursday, October 14, 2010, at 21:55.
In Finland, the first season of the US version began airing with Finnish subtitles on MTV3 on Thursday December 30, 2010, at 20:00, called Sukujuuria etsimässä, "Looking for family roots".
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