The following was received from Heather Erickson at Ancestry.com:
December 16, 2010: NBC ANNOUNCES THE CELEBRITIES TRACING THEIR FAMILY TREES ON SEASON TWO OF ‘WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?’ PREMIERING FEBRUARY 4
Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Rosie O’Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Vanessa Williams and Ashley Judd Take a Look Inside Their Family Histories on NBC’s Genealogy Alternative Series Produced by Lisa Kudrow.
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – December 16, 2010 – Viewers can take an up-close and personal look inside the
family history of some of today’s most beloved and iconic celebrities when NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” returns for its second season on Friday, February 4 (8-9 p.m. ET). The celebrities who star in the series are Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Rosie O’Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Vanessa Williams and Ashley Judd.
From executive producers Lisa Kudrow (“Friends,” “The Comeback”) and Dan Bucatinsky (“Lipstick Jungle,” “The Comeback”) – through their production company Is or Isn’t Entertainment and Shed Media U.S. (“Supernanny,” “The Real Housewives of New York City”) — “Who Do You Think You Are?” is an adaptation of the award-winning hit British television documentary series that leads celebrities on a journey of self-discovery as they unearth their family trees that reveal surprising, inspiring and even tragic stories that often are linked to crucial events in American history.
“I’ve been a fan of the U.K. version of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ for a long time, so it’s very rewarding that the U.S. version is back with more compelling stories this season that are illuminating, touching and aspirational,” said Kudrow. “This is such a unique show for network television and we’re all thrilled that the American audience has embraced it.”
From the trenches of the Civil War to the shores of the Caribbean, and from the valleys of Virginia to the island nations of Australia and Ireland, “Who Do You Think You Are?” will reveal the fabric of humanity through everyone’s place in history. Each week a different celebrity takes a journey into their family’s past, traveling all over the world. While giving viewers an in-depth look into their favorite stars’ family tree, each episode will expose surprising facts and life changing encounters that will unlock people’s emotions, show just how connected everyone is not only to the past, but to one another.
Ancestry.com is NBC and Shed’s official partner on the series and will help provide the research used to tell each story. “We’re thrilled with this year’s strong lineup and look forward to helping Americans go on their own journey of discovery alongside the stars,” said Josh Hanna, Head of Global Marketing for Ancestry.com.
“Who Do You Think You Are?” is produced by Shed Media U.S. in association with Is or Isn’t Entertainment. Alex Graham, Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky, Jennifer O’Connell and Al Edgington are the executive producers. The unique, award-winning series is based on the popular BBC television documentary series from Wall to Wall Productions, created and executive-produced by Graham.
Shed Media U.S. is noted for its strong characters and memorable casting, and produces several popular television shows including: ABC’s “Supernanny,” Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York City” and “Bethenny Getting Married?,” Animal Planet’s “It’s Me or the Dog,” VH1’s “Basketball Wives” and CMT’s “World’s Strictest Parents.” Is or Isn’t Entertainment has been developing and producing television and online content since 2003, producing the critically acclaimed and Emmy nominated series “The Comeback” currently making its own comeback on The Sundance Channel. The company’s critically acclaimed web-series “Web Therapy,” won the 2010 Webby Award for Best Online Comedy — and recently had the unprecedented addition of Meryl Streep to its illustrious cast list. Showtime is in talks to license 10 half-hour episodes comprised of actual webisodes, to air in early 2011.
Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world’s largest online family history resource, with nearly 1.4 million paying subscribers. More than 6 billion records have been added to the site in the past 14 years. Ancestry users have created more than 20 million family trees containing over 2 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries that help people discover, preserve and share their family history, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.
For “Who Do You Think You Are?” embeddable clips and full episodes, visit NBC.com’s official show site: http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/
The Vanessa Williams program will be interesting. It’s said in my family that we share kinship with her, my great-great grandfather allegedly being the brother of one of her paternal ancestors. Perhaps this episode will either confirm or refute this theory.
When you look at Gwyneth Paltrow’s roots in Barbados do you look into family involvement in slavery? Most white people in Barbados over 150 years ago had to have a connection to slave trading, ownership or overseeing.