The TV Chick

Have you ever wondered who you are really related to? Or if your relatives played an important part in history? In a new NBC series (which is an adaptation of the hit BBC television documentary series) Executive Produced by Lisa Kudrow, they are out to answer just that. It follows the story of 7 celebrities (Kudrow included) as they embark upon a journey into their past. For some, it’s emotional, for others, eye opening and life changing.

The celebrities featured on the series are: Sarah Jessica Parker, Emmitt Smith, Brooke Shields, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Broderick, Spike Lee and the aforementioned Kudrow. Each episode tells one celebrity’s story. Sarah Jessica Parker’s journey starts with a visit to her hometown in Ohio. She then travels to all over and ends up in Massachusetts to find out that one of her relatives was accused of being a witch and was almost killed. Another one of her relatives was part of the gold rush.

The most moving episode out of all 7 for me was Lisa Kudrow. She starts off by asking her dad about their genealogy. He mentions the story of a cousin who told him when he was a kid (as well as his parents) that his grandma had died in a massacre by the Nazis. The cousin then vanished and they had heard he died. He got choked up telling her this story, and it was incredibly moving to see how the Holocaust impacts him, even so many years later. Kudrow takes off to a tiny village in what is now Belarus and speaks to a lady who was around at the time of the Holocaust and knew her grandma. She pays tribute to the Holocaust memorial in the village, and is able to see the view her grandma grew up with every day. Her travels then take her to another small town where she is able to track her long lost cousin. He is still alive with a son and grandson of his own and they reconnect. She also sets it up so her father and her cousin can video chat. After all those years of thinking he died, he was alive and well in Eastern Europe. This was an incredibly emotional journey for Kudrow, and anyone watching as well. It was interesting to see how one relative lead to another then to another then to the person she was looking for.

The show uses the help of geneology experts, ancestry.com, historians, libraries and of course, family members. It made me want to travel back to Europe to see what I could find about my ancestors. One thing I do wish for the future of this show is that maybe they branch out into celebrities and people like me. I don’t know that someone would want to watch my history unfold, so I understand the celebrity appeal. However, in the world of new media, perhaps the broadcast show could focus on celebrities while there might be some other way through a website (or something of the like) to connect with relatives. But I digress. The show is great, and definitely worth checking out. There are so many reality shows out there that don’t make you think (in fact they do just the opposite) but Who Do You Think You Are is insightful. One of the things I like the most about it is that there is no host. The celebrity who is tracing their past guides you through the episode with voice overs and various different interactions.

Check out this video preview from the Sarah Jessica Parker episode (which airs tonight):

And be sure to tune into NBC tonight at 8 pm for the series premiere of Who Do You Think You Are. It is definitely worth watching!