People have been bringing their family heirlooms to PBS’s Antiques Roadshow for years to see where they have been and what they are worth and I never thought about having the show about actually people and not their possession. But after they announced the spinoff Genealogy Roadshow, premiering tonight (check your local listings), I am surprised that did not think of it earlier.
If you have seen Antiques Roadshow then you pretty much know how Genealogy Roadshow will play out. The first stop is Belmont Mansion in Nashville (which gets its own backstory) when people show up to learn about their past, be it to confirm family legend or just learn about the family they never knew. There are two genealogy experts on the show who do their research before hand and are ready to give back their findings on the show.
As it happens in the south, there are more than a few unknown mixed raced backgrounds in Nashville and the show even connects a Caucasian and an African American who both showed up for the show to learn more about their families only to learn they are actually distant relatives when their great-great grand parents came down with a case of jungle fever. While another black family learns they are actually the descendant of the very white Tennessee governor. Other people show up hoping they were related to former presidents or other famous people are not as lucky, one family goes in thinking they are related to the Pointer Sisters but find out they are actually related to Amy Grant. But the thing about geneology, if you look long enough, you will find a famous, or infamous, character or two.
The show definitely saves the best for last on tonight’s episode when a woman shows up never knowing her father or even seeing a picture of him. And what the experts find will tug at your heart strings. Aside from Nashville, season one will feature three other cities: Austin, Detroit, and San Francisco.
Geneology Roadshow airs Mondays on PBS (check your local listing. Check out a preview below:
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