Genealogy on the Small Screen

For those of you who like to watch genealogy revealed on television, three series of shows will be coming your way over the next few months.


Who Do You Think You Are?

First out of the chute is season 6 of the US version of Who Do You Think You Are?

I know that many of you have difficulty viewing this on The Learning Channel (TLC). However, this series kicks off the 2014-15 viewing season on July 23 at 9 PM Eastern time. I did a small sliver of research for one of the episodes; but I don't know if it was even filmed -- let along avoided the cutting room floor. Deadline.com has reported that 10 episodes were ordered by TLC. 

I am hoping that some segments will use DNA research this year. Last season I was surprised that there were no such episodes even though Ancestry.com, one of the major US DNA testing companies was a principal sponsor. 

Finding Your Roots

Next up will be  Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. It is set to begin on public television on September 23rd. Anderson Cooper, Valerie Jarrett, Ben Affleck, Billie Jean King, Anthony Bourdain, Deepak Chopra, Tina Fey, Alan Dershowitz, and Jessica Alba are among those who have been identified as featured guests.

This series has been in production for many months. DNA results as well as traditional documentary research has been included. CeCe Moore is the DNA consultant for the series.

Genealogy Roadshow

The Genealogy Roadshow will be returning to public television in Spring 2015. 

I'm not sure how many shows will be included. Filming will be underway this fall at different cities around the country. Those of you who are familiar with this series will recall that it deals with the family histories of non-celebrity "common folks". Casting calls have already gone out in New Orleans and Philadelphia.

Happy viewing!

Genealogy Roadshow Ends Tomorrow. Will It Return?

Apparently the Genealogy Roadshow production company is planning for the show to return to PBS next season. The final show for season one filmed in Austin is due to air tomorrow night. A website at www.grcasting.com is soliciting applications for next season. I can only assume that "grcasting" stands for Genealogy Roadshow casting.

Let's hope they are starting production early enough the second time around so that more DNA results can be included if appropriate. In the shows aired thus far this season the time schedule did not seem to allow testing results to get back from the lab in time to be included except for a couple of admixture reports. Although admixture reports can answer some genealogical questions, in most cases they are now the softest science in DNA testing. The DNA results are not wrong. However, the underling population studies are too scanty for most geographic areas to make highly accurate predictions that can be relied on to tie a set of results to specific locations at specific times.

DNA testing is not appropriate to answer all genealogical questions. However, it is strange that Who Do You Think You Are? went a whole season without any on camera testing and Genealogy Roadshow had only a token amount. Could this be because autosomal testing is the focus for Ancestry.com the lead corporate sponsor for WDYTYA? Autosomal testing is great for sorting out close relationships, but it is only one tool in the kit of a well prepared genetic genealogist.
  

Genealogy Roadshow: Nashville

Last night the Genealogy Roadshow premiered with a stop at the Belmont Mansion in Nashville. 

GENEALOGY ROADSHOW is an engaging, innovative program that reveals the bigger picture of our nation’s past, present and future,” said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming for PBS. “With a diverse mix of stories in each episode, GENEALOGY ROADSHOW appeals to Americans interested in learning about their family histories. It also shows that no matter one’s heritage and background, everyone has a place in history.

This is the first of four stops around the country. Next Monday the Genealogy Roadshow will visit Detroit. Following weeks will feature stops in Austin and San Francisco. The program airs at 9:00 PM (8:00 Central) on Monday nights on your local Public Broadcasting channel (PBS). For now only four segments have been filmed.  

The the first segment was fast paced -- almost too fast at times -- so that the stories of many everyday folks could be explored in one hour. Historical background segments were interspersed. No genealogy researcher can know too much history. 

If you missed the first episode or you want to view it again to soak up all the details, you currently can view it online.

Genealogy Shows

I hope you watched the first episode of Who Do Your Think You Are? last night on The Learning Channel. It featured Kelly Clarkson. Seven episodes will follow this summer. If you can’t get The Learning Channel or missed this episode for other reasons, you soon should be able to view it online. However, last night's episode does not seem to be working correctly yet. It was just loaded and only plays for a minute or two. I don't know if the site is overloaded or there is some other problem. In the meantime you can enter the sweepstakes to win a Trip to the Motherland.by answering a question based on that first episode. If you saw it what do you think about that episode?

Next week Christina Applegate will be the featured celebrity. 

Soon after WDYTYA completes its eight week run in September, genealogy junkies will be treated to the latest import from Europe -- this time from Ireland. Genealogy Roadshow will kick off a four week run on Public Television on September 23rd at 9:00 PM (8:00 Central). While WDYTYA traces its pedigree back to England and BBC, Genealogy Roadshow is patterned after the RTE show now beginning its second season which features the genealogical quests of ordinary people. 

Henry Lewis Gates is working on a new series as well; but I have yet to see a release schedule for it. Hopefully we will get to watch it in 2014.