When the BBC television series Who Do You Think You Are? made its debut in the United Kingdom in 2004, queues of family researchers formed at archives and libraries all over England and the show became a huge hit. Now that NBC has scheduled the long-anticipated U.S. version to air on March 5, 2010, the questions is: will the show have the same impact on American audiences? Meet the seven celebrities who will trace their ancestry this season.
2/2/10 Update: Received notice from Ancestry.com that they are a partner with NBC on the new show. A Who Do You Think You Are website has been launched with "bios of the celebrities featured in the show, photos, and several video clips as well as articles on how to get started in family history."
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25 January 2010
Will WDYTYA Impact Genealogy in the U.S.?
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Who Do You Think You Are
7 comments:
Boy, I cannot wait to see this show!
Bill,
I know! Luckily we can watch Faces of America on PBS in February while we wait!
Maybe now I will watch some TV! Thanks Kathryn for the reminder, exciting!
Last year I attended the WDYTY Conference in London and I will return this year. As a genealogist for over 40 yrs and a genetic genealogist for the last 5 yrs, I feel that the American version of WDYTYA could very well be the modern day version of the 1970s Roots show. Roots greatly inspired many to explore their heritage; let's hope WDYTYA becomes the same cataylist.
I do know that at least one of the celebrities has had her DNA tested. It would be nice to see that this program does do the genetic testing as well since it is so accurate in finding cousins.
These are truly exciting times.
Emily
"Who Do You Think You Are?" is one of three genealogy shows hitting the airwaves in the immediate future; "Faces of America," hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., airs on Wednesdays, February 10 to March 3, 2010, on PBS (check your local listings); and "The Generations Project" has debuted on BYU Television (check your local area for availability and telecast schedules).
How exciting! Can't wait to watch it.
Finally!! Yeah! What took them so long to get it on the air? I hope it will be done well...
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