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Have you been enjoying this year’s A to Z Challenge? I hope you’ve been bitten with the interest in exploring your own family’s ancestry. Perhaps you’ve already discovered an exciting tidbit about your family?
And while you’re couped up at home, how about checking out these five t.v. shows about genealogy? And better yet – grab yourself a free trial of Great Courses or PBS Living while Amazon is offering (limited time) 30 day free trials.
Table of Contents
Discovering Your Roots: An Introduction to Genealogy (FREE with a Great Courses Signature Collection Trial on Amazon Prime Video)
Premise: Learn the same skills and methodologies the experts use to solve genealogical mysteries and create compelling nonfiction narratives about the past
Review: In Discovering Your Roots, Genealogist John Philip Colletta shows you how to uncover information from the long-forgotten past in the most effective ways possible in a series of 15 lectures. The topics range from the library to military records to ship passenger lists and more!
Rated: PG for mild language and thematic elements.
Originally Produced by Great Courses ($169.95 for Instant Video access)
DNA Detectives (FREE with Amazon Prime Video)
Premise: What are the family roots of celebrities? New Zealand style.
Review: Similar to American show, Finding Your Roots, DNA Detectives connects with New Zealand celebrities such as Amanda Billings and Jack Tame. Unique to this show, each celebrity is given a DNA test and from the results, they are able to travel to the land of their forefathers and meet living relatives.
Rated: PG for mild language and thematic elements.
Originally Produced by TVNZ
Family Tree (FREE with Amazon Prime Video)
Premise: A young Englishman embarks on a discovery of his family tree.
Review: Family Tree is a scripted “mockumentary” one season series for fans of comedian Christopher Guest. It is funny, quirky, British, and a fun way to pass the time while stuck at home.
Rated: MA for adult humor and language.
Originally Produced by HBO
Finding Your Roots (FREE with a PBS Living Trial on Amazon Prime Video)
Premise: The connections that bind us all.
Review: Finding Your Roots is perhaps the most famous television show about researching one’s genealogy. Hosted by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., the show connects American celebrities with their past. Season one celebrities include Harry Connick, Jr., Barbara Walters, Pastor Rick Warren, Robert Downey, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and John Legend to name a few.
Rated: PG for mild language and thematic elements.
Originally Produced by PBS
Genealogy Roadshow (FREE with a PBS Living Trial on Amazon Prime Video)
Premise: An historical look into a community by exploring the ancestry and genealogy of its citizens.
Review: Genealogy Roadshow is another PBS production about genealogy. This series, however, is focused on the communities themselves such as Nashville, Detroit, San Francisco, and Austin in Season One.
Rated: PG for mild language and thematic elements.
Originally Produced by PBS
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Have you seen any of these series before? Have any suggestions for further reading or viewing about genealogy?
Sounds interesting. I’m putting them all on my to watch list. Thanks for sharing this.
I think I want to checkout the Discovering Your Roots series! The reviews on Amazon appear to be great and this should be interesting!
These sound interesting! Thanks for the recommendations.
I honestly haven’t had time to watch much tv. I’ve never heard of these either so I will make a note. Thanks for sharing.
All I have is netflix, no amazon prime. They sound great so I will try to check them out.
I watched DNA Detectives and by far it was one of the most interesting shows. Genealogy is something that we can all get to know more.
I am not aware of these shows till I read your post. Genealogy is really an interesting topic! I’ve been thinking about exploring it lately…
I’ve been thinking a lot about genealogy during this quarantine. I was adopted so I don’t know anything about my family.
I didn’t know these shows till now. I hope to see all of these on Sunday!
I haven’t seen any of these shows. I used to watch “Who Do You Think You Are” which I thought was pretty good. I will have to check these out.
I never watched them but they seems quite interesting.
I never watched them but they seems quite interesting.
Dna detectives is on my to-watch list! ? I’ll check out the other shows as well 🙂 Thank you for sharing them
Now I have extra time on hands, definitely check these out. Thank you!
I love genealogy. I study about royal genealogies. I know that Anne Frank was also a great fan of this topic.
I’ve actually never seen any of these, but I’m putting them on my list. I love to learn about genealogy.
ok now with some extra time on my hands i am deff gonna have to check these out. thank you!
I don’t really have Amazon TV because I don’t understand their concept. I used to pay them but I couldn’t see anything that was streaming I had to pay xtra. So, I don’t know how that works. But, I would like to know if there’s shows like that are on Netflix.
These are great. And now, due to the COVID-19 quarantine, there are many webinars available as well. Hopefully learning from home will help us productively pass the time — especially once the A to Z Challenge is over! https://mollyscanopy.com/