Who Do You Think You Are? Explores Hollywood Stars

Lisa Kudrow previews season 11 of her celebrity genealogy series, which profiles the Emmy-winning likes of Billy Porter, Bradley Whitford and Allison Janney 

With interest in genealogy and family heritage at unprecedented levels these days, the revival of a show like Who Do You Think You Are? seems well-timed. 

Back on original network NBC after a seven-season run on cable channel TLC (ending in 2018), the series from exec producers Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky returns to tell more stories of Hollywood stars exploring their roots with the help of genealogists and historians, as well as cutting-edge research tools. CTV

In this new round, family mysteries will be unlocked and eye-opening stories will be revealed for actors Zachary Levi (Shazam!), Allison Janney (Mom), Billy Porter (Pose), Zachary Quinto (the Star Trek movies), Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation). 

In fact, Offerman’s story was in the process of being filmed when production shut down due to the pandemic in early 2020. It resumed more than a year later, which made for a final product that Kudrow says wasn’t exactly seamless. 

“For Nick, it was, like, right in the middle, right after the beginning [of COVID], so we just have to address it in the show, which is no big deal,” she explains. “He looks completely different, and he says, ‘OK, so last time you saw me, I was about to do this, find out this and everything shut down.’ It was a year-and-a-half ago.” 

CTVAs for noteworthy stories this season, Kudrow points to those of Whitford, whose Civil War soldier ancestor fought for voting rights much as the actor himself does today; Janney, who found personal strength through a relative’s journey; and Porter, whose Black great-grandfather was murdered by a white policeman in 1920s Pittsburgh, which is the subject of this Sunday’s season-opener. 

For Kudrow, learning more about history has been a side benefit of doing this show, though she admits she sees some of it repeating itself in sad and disheartening ways. But then, there are also the quirky tales, like Quinto’s episode, wherein the subject saw a phrase used by Spock, the character he plays in the Trek films, surface in his own ancestor’s story. 

“[He] was a union representative,” Kudrow explains, “and wrote newsletters and signed off with ‘Live long and prosper.’ What are the odds? My ancestor never said, ‘Live long and prosper.’ I guess it was something that was said.” 

Who Do You Think You Are? airs Sundays at 7 p.m. on CTV & NBC