"Who Do You Think You Are?" - Second Season begins February 4, 2011

Today, NBC announced the names of celebrities who will be searching their family trees on the second season of "Who Do You Think You Are?" Names included in the press release were Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Rosie O'Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Tim McGraw, and Vanessa Williams. Watch for the first show of the season on Friday, February 4, 2011, when it airs at 8-9 p.m. (ET). According to NBC's press release, the television show 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."  To read more about the show, click here, or visit the show's website.

"Who Do You Think You Are?" - A Second Season

Now that genealogy research is hot, cable and network television have decided to air shows that appeal to family researchers everywhere.  Just in case you watched any of the six episodes of "Who Do You Think You are?" that aired on NBC last spring (and enjoyed them, as I did), a second season is in the works. 

Late last week, I received a copy of a press release (reprinted below) that announces how NBC and Ancestry.com have teamed up to produce the new show this fall.

PROVO, Utah, August 25, 2010– Ancestry.com is pleased to announce it has extended its relationship with NBC for the second season of the “Who Do You Think You Are?” television series. Ancestry.com worked with NBC on the first season of “Who Do You Think You Are?” that debuted in March 2010. The company provided important family history research for the show, including tracing the roots of the seven celebrities featured, and collaborated with NBC to promote the series. Each episode took one celebrity on an emotional, and often times soul-searching journey to discover the lives of family members who came before them. “It is remarkable to work on this series with the leader in the online family history category, Ancestry.com,” said Paul Telegdy, Executive Vice President of Alternative Programming & Production at NBC Universal. “A show of this caliber takes a lot of research and ground work to make the celebrities stories come to life. With the valued collaboration of Ancestry.com, we’ve been able to tell seven amazing stories in the first season, and look forward to even greater family history discoveries to be uncovered in season two.”

 “We are excited to continue working with NBC on this series,” said Josh Hanna, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Marketing for Ancestry.com. “The first season of the show has truly elevated awareness around the family history category and we couldn’t be more pleased to be an integral part of a television series that brings excitement to the discoveries people can make when researching their ancestral roots.”

“Who Do You Think You Are?” is produced by Wall to Wall Entertainment in collaboration with Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky for their production company, Is or Isn’t Entertainment. NBC has announced the show will air in the 2010-11 season.

About Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with more than one million paying subscribers. More than 5 billion records have been added to the site in the past 13 years. Ancestry users have created more than 18 million family trees containing over 1.8 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.

Did You Watch "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Yes, I did watch the show when it aired last Friday evening on NBC, and I plan to watch additional episodes that will air during the next few weeks. I thought the search for Sarah Jessica Parker's ancestors was an amazing one.

The show, I am certain, will draw others into the search for their own roots.

While I watched Sara Jessica Parker's coast-to-coast search for details about family members she had never known, the following quote came to mind:

In all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage--

to know who we are and where we came from.

Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning.

No matter what our attainments in life,

there is still a vacuum, an emptiness,

and the most disquieting loneliness.

-Alex Haley