An Emmy is an award given by The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to shows that have made outstanding achievements in television. Last year, the popular genealogy show “Who Do You Think You Are?” was nominated, but did not win. Could it win this time?
The show “Who Do You Think You Are?” is a genealogy series that can be found on NBC. Each episode focuses on an individual celebrity and his or her family tree. Viewers can follow along as the celebrity visits locations around the world where one of their ancestor’s lived, worked, or had been at.
The celebrity does not know ahead of time which of their ancestors will be discussed, or what, exactly, they will learn about their family history. The show becomes a mix of genealogy and celebrity watching, while still showing respect to the person featured in each episode, as well as to their ancestors.
The show became extremely popular in it’s first season, and this continued as the show returned for Season Two. Shows in Season One featured Matthew Broderick, Spike Lee, Sarah Jessica Parker, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields, and Emmitt Smith. Each celebrity, and his or her family tree, was the focus for an entire episode of the show. There also was an episode featuring Lisa Kudrow, who is executive producer of the show.
Season Two featured Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Ashley Judd, Tim McGraw, Rosie O’Donnell, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Lionel Richie. If you missed an episode, you might be able to watch it directly from the NBC website. There are many different categories that a television show can be placed into if it is going to compete for an Emmy Award. It is my understanding that there is a process involved that determines which shows are going to be included in each category.
Last year, “Who Do You Think You Are?” was placed in the “Best Reality Program” category. This particular category is usually reserved for reality shows that are entertainment based. I am of the impression that “entertainment”, in this case, refers to a show that is based on real situations, but that is done in a light hearted, or less than serious way.
“Who Do You Think You Are?” did not win the Emmy for that category last time, perhaps because this it wasn’t the best fit for the show to compete in. This time, the show is going to be competing in the category “Best Nonfiction Series”, instead. This is where information based shows are generally placed.
Genealogy has gotten very popular in the past few years. This is due in part to how much easier it is for genealogists to access information through the internet, but it also is thanks to genealogy based television shows. If “Who Do You Think You Are?” ends up winning an Emmy, this would be a clear sign that genealogy has become a “mainstream” hobby. Wouldn’t that be interesting?
Image by vmiramontes on Flickr