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Who Do You Think You Are? (US)

No SBS execs were wounded as Nine picks up the US version of its wonderful genealogy series. But do the Americans get it right?

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With the kind of numbers Top Gear has been getting on Nine, it would be safe to assume there are a lot of people who had never bothered to sample the show when it was on SBS.

The same will probably prove true when Who Do You Think You Are? premieres on Nine next week.

This is the American version produced by Lisa Kudrow. No SBS executives were wounded in the crossfire when they purchased this one through their US distributors.

The American genealogy adaptation has taken some time to come to air in the US. It was originally promised by Nine for 2009. But it will have been worth the wait. America, so frequently blamed for mucking up foreign formats, gets this one right. Thanks Phoebe.

Who Do You Think You Are? has always been a wonderful format, first when Britain produced the series, and later when an Australian version appeared on SBS. Canadian and Irish versions also exist. Watching famous people trace their family trees like a detective story is fascinating, and at times emotional, viewing.

In the US, where celebrity equals royality, the subjects are Matthew Broderick, Brooke Shields, Susan Sarandon, Spike Lee, Lisa Kudrow, Emmitt Smith and the first candidate: Sarah Jessica Parker.

It’s hard not to hear the Americanisms in this one, from the accent of the narrator, to Parker’s constant “Wow” & “Un-be-liev-able” reactions plus a rather shameless plug for one online genealogy search site. But it is nevertheless engaging to watch her uncover buried truths in her family tree.

Historians bring Parker morsels of information that lead her on a fact-finding treasure hunt across the country, accompanied by scenic locations, pioneer history, stirring music and the constant showcasing of a celebrity as a down-to-earth individual. They will lead her all the way to both the gold rush era and Salem. You just know that producers have tread this path before Parker, but it doesn’t diminish from the storytelling. How these revelations impact, and sometimes mirror, the subject’s own life is always a compelling moment.

As with other formats, all the informationis brought back to a family member, usually a parent, for yet another reaction shot.

Who Do You Think You Are’s forensic work continually upstages Find My Family which eliminates its most interesting chapter (the research) to showcase tearful reunions.

The few criticisms of the US version are its constant recaps following each commercial break (dumb Americans?) and at the shorter 44 minutes, it appears to focus on just one side of a family tree. The Australian version, which is arguably superior, managed to include both.

But this will prove splendid stuff for those who have never seen it before and it is not surprising it has already won a renewal by NBC. Nine has potentially wasted this in its timeslot following Hey Hey its Saturday. It would have been perfect for a Sunday 6:30 slot.

Who Do You Think You Are? premieres 9:30pm Wednesday on Nine.

17 Responses

  2. Oh dear. Honestly, I don’t need the ‘coming up next’ and the ‘recap’ on either side of the commercial break. What’s wrong with the original music? What is it with the subject’s narration? (I know both the UK and Au versions have their subject talking to camera, but this was different). And the 3 minute introduction – please David, tell me were not going to suffer that every week.

  3. Fascinating family tree! However most disconcerting to discover SJP’s lack of vocabulary and bad grammar with an endless stream of OMG’s – Wows and “Un-be-liev-ables throughout the show. Take note, SJP, when a person is executed by hanging the person is “hanged” Not hung

  5. Obviously the recaps are due to channel surfing– they want people switching from other shows on the hundreds of other channels to stay put. And after all, this is just another self indulgent reality show format. How wonderful that low brow dreck crosses so many borders. From the UK to Canada to Australia to the US.
    There are no recaps in the best television of the past decade–Mad Men, the Sopranos, the Wire.

  6. Considering an Australian hour of television is actually 42min of content, this is well inside acceptable limits for FTA. And considering Freehand have local content deals with BBC, don’t be surprised if the next Australian series goes to Ch9 if the US series does well (which Ch9 are obviously hoping by throwing it after Hey Hey and fudging the numbers when Hey Hey goes overtime)…..particularly so since Freehand are producing the local Top Gear for them and will probably expect Ch9 to throw them another series of something to keep relations kosher.

  7. it doesn’t matter if it is american, australian or british. It all depends on the celebrity – i choose to watch an episode depending on whether i find them interesting enough to spend an hour listening to their family history

  8. I read in February’s edition of the Who Do You Think You Are? magazine that BBC1 are currently airing the US version after 10:30pm. But the British hear it with their own narrator (isn’t that usually the reverse?) & only at 40 minutes in length because the BBC edit out all those re-caps. Of course, the US version should do well everywhere because we all know who *they* are! 🙂

    I hope SBS get around to making a third Australian season of Who Do You Think You Are?

  9. Don’t get me wrong, the US version is good but in trying to make it more American, they have well made it more American LOL Still interesting stories and a good watch, maybe Nine should re-run it on Sunday nights?

  10. I’m guessing it’ll be like most U.S. remakes of British shows, a poor immitation. Thankfully the Australian version pretty much matched the original for quality and interest.

  11. The English version is very well done – understated with little fuss on what is found.

    I think the Susan Sarandon and LIsa Kudrow ones would be potentially the best ones of the US version – although it’ll be interesting to see if Hey Hey’s dwindling audience effects its chances of a long run……

  12. The US versions are very short on time due to ad breaks & repetetive recaps after ad breaks. The characters except for the football icon are shallow.Some interesting revalations but no way near the UK original concept.

  15. I have watched most of the Australian version (both seasons) and just a handful of the English (British) one, and enjoyed every episode i have watched. I hope the new American versions are just as good

  16. Ah, David I’m glad you published this. My printed guide from the national weekend broadsheet listed it for Wednesday 21, with SJP as the subject – and I missed it entirely. No encore screening required then!

  17. ITA will what is said here, I’ve only seen the SJP one but as she would say OMG! The continual recaps, what do Americans have short attention spans? And yes because of the fact it’s on NBC it’s continually interrupted with ad breaks and only 44 minutes long, if you’re lucky. Where as the local version was over 50 minutes and the UK was closer to 60, the extra time is telling. I’m sure if you took out the recaps and “coming up next’ it wouldn’t be much over half the length of the original UK version, no wonder they can only tell half the story.

    But one other thing I found is it seemed over dramatized, when even SJP found out anything about her family it was always “Un-be-liev-able”.

    Maybe SPJ should have watch her co-star Kim Cattrall on the UK version to see how it’s really done LOL

    ITA this is a show better suited to Sundays, and not going to have the same audiance that follows Hey Hey.

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