According to TLC the new season of Who Do You Think You Are? (WDYTYA) will launch on Sunday, March 10, 2015 instead of in February asoriginally announced.
Wondering about the WDYTYA 2015 season lineup? The announcement of the delaydidn’t indicate whether the celebrity guest list had changed: the four previously announced are Bill Paxton, Julie Chen, Angie Harmon and Sean Hayes.
Digital Spy and TV By the Numbers have announced that Who Do You Think You Are? (US) will return in February 2015 with a new round of stories and celebrities.
According to the reports, eight new episodes are lined up for WDYTYA 2015. Only four have been announced:
Bill Paxton, who visits a Revolutionary War battle site to walk in his ancestors’ steps;
Julie Chen travels to China to learn more about her grandfather;
Angie Harmon turns back the clock to explore an ancestor connected with George Washington;
Sean Hayes jets to Ireland to celebrate his Irish roots (click here to catch his antics on his return flight).
The season premieres on February 24th on TLC; check your local listings.
TLC’s WDYTYA? is about to start its 5th television season here in the U.S. but you can watch a new sneak peek video here. The video was posted yesterday on the Rachel Adams Online website. Rachel will be featured along with her sister in one of the new episodes.
Other celebrities featured this time around are: This year’s line-up of participants includes Valerie Bertinelli, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kelsey Grammer, Rachel McAdams and her sister Kayleen McAdams, and Cynthia Nixon.
In other WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? news, it was announced today that the show has just received its second Emmy nomination for Outstanding Structured Reality Program for the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards.
“We’re all so thrilled to have WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? recognized with another Emmy nomination. It was our first season on TLC, and every department was truly wonderful to work with. We’re thrilled with every episode we get to shoot, taking someone on a historical trip through their ancestral past, so this is a much appreciated nod to all the people who worked so hard to make it happen. We are thrilled that our audience has found the show and continued to appreciate it in our new collaboration with TLC,” said Executive Producers Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky.
The series is produced for TLC by Shed Media US and Is or Isn’t Entertainment. Executive Producers are Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky, Alex Graham, Pam Healey and Al Edgington. For TLC Executive Producers are Howard Lee, Timothy Kuryak and Amy Winter.
Who Do You Think You Are? season five (and second on TLC) will feature six popular celebrities from TV and film. The Wrap just posted an article announcing the following:
Valerie Bertinelli (a personal fave of mine from childhood days on One Day At a Time to Hot in Cleveland)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (ABC’s Modern Family)
Lauren Graham (Wonderful in Gilmore Girls, and currently starring in NBC’s Parenthood)
Kelsey Grammer (best known for Cheers and Frasier )
Rachel McAdams (known for movies such as Mean Girls, The Notebook) and her sister, Kayleen McAdams.
Cynthia Nixon (HBO’s Sex in the City) Here’s an sneak peek at Cynthia’s episode:
Most family historians devoured the previous seasons, but if you missed any there is good news: TLC has been said to have acquired ten episodes from the show’s previous NBC seasons. You can look forward to episodes featuring:
Matthew Broderick
Lisa Kudrow(listen to Lisa talk about her episode and the series in Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 81 and Premium members can hear exclusive audio in Genealogy Gems Premium episode 41
Rob Lowe
Reba McEntire
Tim McGraw
Gwyneth Paltrow
Sarah Jessica Parker
Brooke Shields
Vanessa Williams (also featured in Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 63)
Rita Wilson
Set Your DVR: Who Do You Think You Are? Season 5 begins Wednesday, July 23 at 9/8c.
The last post in this year’s series of genealogy gift ideas is all about FUN. Laugh and cry with these great entertainment options:
Family Tree: The Complete First Season (DVD)
This series is brilliantly funny! I loved it! It pokes a bit of fun at genealogists (so get ready to smile at yourself) while capturing what’s in the family historian’s heart. Anyone who loves family history (or has a quirky family or just likes good comedy) will really enjoy this series.
This genealogy-themed TV show isn’t a research-the-celebrity format. In fact, the fiction of it makes it even more fun. Here’s a plot summary:”Written and created by Christopher Guest, Family Tree is a documentary-style comedy series conceived and produced in the manner of Guest’s feature films. The story revolves around the journey of the 30-year-old Tom Chadwick (Chris O’Dowd), an Englishman in his 30s who has few roots, little family, and a somewhat unsure sense of his purpose in life. Having recently lost his job and girlfriend, Tom inherits a mysterious box of belongings from a great-aunt he never met, triggering a passion to investigate his family lineage. As Tom’s interest in genealogy grows, his life expands and evolves in unexpected directions, as he uncovers a world of unusual stories and characters in the U.K. and the U.S., as well a growing sense of who he is and who his real family are.”
Sweet Land: A Love Story (DVD)
This film has a great story of love and immigration in the early 20th century. I had the director on the podcast previously (Episode 30).
Here’s the plot summary: “Inge (Elizabeth Reaser) is a feisty German mail-order bride who has come to Minnesota to marry Olaf (Tim Guinee), a young Norwegian immigrant farmer of few words. But in a post-WWI, anti-German climate, the local minister (John Heard) openly forbids the marriage. Inge and Olaf fall in love despite the town’s disapproval. But when the town banker (Ned Beatty) attempts to foreclose on the farm of his friend Frandsen (Alan Cumming), Olaf takes a stand…and the community unites around the young couple, finally accepting Inge as one of their own.”
Family Name (DVD)
A listener tells me this is a must-watch, and I have ordered my copy. This Sundance Film Festival award-winning documentary captures the worlds of genealogy, race relations in the Southern U.S. and a man’s search for his family identity.
Here’s the summary: “What does a name signify, exactly? Growing up in Durham, North Carolina, white filmmaker Macky Alston never questioned why all of the other Alstons at his elementary school were black. Twenty-five years later, Alston decides to unravel this perplexity in the award-winning documentary FAMILY NAME.
Alston’s quest to solve his genealogical mystery takes him from New York to Alabama and then back to North Carolina. He seeks clues at family reunions, graveyards, church services, and, eventually, the original Alston plantations. The people he meets vary markedly in race, age, class and perspective, but they all have two things in common: the family name and a compelling story to tell. The biggest question of this investigation, perhaps, is whether it will provide the Alstons with catharsis or create an even greater sense of division. As the revelations mount, FAMILY NAME unfolds an unforgettable emotional journey that transforms our conceptions of the past.”
Family Tree by Venice (mp3 Song)
(from Spin Art by Venice (CD)) is a gorgeous musical tribute to family. Some people sing or play it at family reunions, funerals and other family gatherings that are about remembering and celebrating. The musicians are part of the extended Lennon family – not John Lennon but the celebrated Lennon Sisters. There’s alovely acoustic version of the song The Family Tree you can download, too. The group were guests on the podcast (Episode 39).
Celebs discover dramas in their family histories in front of the camera, adding their own discovery process to the story. Their family stories trace larger themes in American history and culture and lead them to reflect on the events and people that made them who they are.
The Season One lineup features Lisa Kudrow (one of the show’s producers), Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Brooke Shields, Susan Sarandon, Spike Lee and Emmitt Smith.
In Season 2, you’ll meet Vanessa Williams, Tim McGraw, Rosie O’Donnell, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Steve Buscemi, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd.
Who Do You Think You Are? Be a Family Tree Detective by Dan Waddell offers some genealogy sleuthing fun for kids. Inspired by the show, the book helps kids tools, tips, ideas and activities “to investigate, discover, and preserve family secrets and treasures.”
It’s got kid-friendly language and plenty of colorful illustrations make this a great companion for junior genealogists.
According to TLC the new season of Who Do You Think You Are? (WDYTYA) will launch on Sunday, March 10, 2015 instead of in February as originally announced.
Who Do You Think You Are?: Season One
