Issue 4.12
This year NBC and PBS will continue bringing their genealogy shows to American prime time television. They are exciting shows showing each person’s journey through their individual family histories. You can learn a lot of research techniques just by watching television.
Premiering on Friday, February 3 (7-8:00 p.m. Mountain) is the third season of NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?, based on the award-winning hit British television documentary series of the same name. This year’s show is promising to take us from “Ireland’s freedom fighters to the American Revolutionary War, and from the African nation of Cameroon to Bulgaria,” this season includes the biggest celebrity lineup to date: Martin Sheen (The West Wing), Marisa Tomei (Anger Management), Blair Underwood (L.A. Law), Reba McEntire (Country Music Star), Rob Lowe (The West Wing & Parks and Recreation), Helen Hunt (Academy Award for Best Actress As Good as It Gets), Rita Wilson (Sleepless in Seattle, Runaway Bride, etc.), Edie Falco (The Sopranos), Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation), Jerome Bettis Retired NFL halfback), Jason Sudeikis Saturday Night Live and Horrible Bosses) and Paula Deen (Emmy Award-winning television personality.
PBS and Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. are back with another genealogy show as well. Finding Your Rooms with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. will premiere on Sunday, March 25 with a 10-part series promising to delve into the genealogy and genetics of famous Americans. The named celebrities include Kevin Bacon (Footloose, X-Men), Robert Downey, Jr. (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), Branford Marsalis (saxophonist, composer and bandleader), John Legend (Singer-songwriter and actor), Martha Stewart (business magnate, author, magazine publisher and television personality), Barbara Walters (broadcast journalist) and Rick Warren (evangelical Christian minister and author).
You can also watch the PBS family history and genealogy television series, Ancestors. The Ancestors Instructional Media Project was developed by BYU Broadcasting in cooperation with Wisteria Pictures. Information on the series is available at http://www.byub.org/ancestors/.
For further information, contact Shanna S. Jones at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com