Who Do You Think You Are?I tuned in tonight for the first episode of this incredible new show. If you love genealogy, it’s practically required viewing.

If you missed it, the show, which is produced by Lisa Kudrow, takes a about half a dozen celebrities and traces their family roots. It’s put out in connection with Ancestry, which powers all their searches. It also has a seemingly limitless budget, as tonight’s show with Sarah Jessica Parker took her from Cincinnati to California to Boston to Massachusetts. She’s descended from someone who took part in the Salem Witch Trials. (So cool. I was obsessed with them back in 7th grade.)

All the attention around the show is really what sparked me to get back into this. It reminded me that I still have so many nagging questions that I really need answers to. While I might not be able to get private services of a genealogist like the movie stars, I did a pretty decent job digging on my own. And honestly, its kind of more fun for me. I’ll never forget what it felt like to dig that copy of Francesco’s will out of the archives. It’d be hard to hand that kind of excitement over to someone.

Next week’s episode is Emmitt Smith, which should be interesting.