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By Suzanne

Interview with Lisa Kudrow of "Who Do You Think You Are" on NBC 1/27/12

I don't watch this show (I only watch fiction), but it does seem like a very interesting show, especially if you are interested in genealogy, or celebrities. I enjoyed the call. Unfortunately, there was not enough time for me to ask a question, but listening to Lisa on the phone, answering questions, was fun.  She's a little more reserved than most of the celebrities I've spoken with, but when she talks about the show, you can hear her enthusiasm. I would have asked her about how they initially chose which celebrities to approach for the show, and I'm surprised no one else asked her that.

NBC UNIVERSAL
Moderator: Akiva Griffith
January 27, 2012 1:00 pm CT

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to the Who Do You Think You Are? press and media conference call. During the presentation all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards we’ll conduct a question and answer session. At that time if you have a question, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on your telephone. If at any time during the conference you need to reach the operator, please press star 0.

As a reminder, this conference is being recorded on Friday, January 27, 2012. I would now like to turn the conference over to Akiva Griffith. Please go ahead.

Akiva Griffith: Thank you. Thanks, everyone, for joining us today. We’re joined by Lisa Kudrow, Executive Producer on Who Do You Think You Are? returning on Friday, February 3 at 8:00 with Martin Sheen. And I’ll turn it back over to (Tara) to start questions.

Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you’d like to register for a question, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on your telephone. You’ll hear a three-toned prompt to acknowledge your request. If your question has been answered and you’d like to withdraw your registration, please press the 1 followed by the 3. If you’re using a speakerphone, please lift your handset before entering your request.

And our first question comes from the line of (Sharon Tripe) from (ogilvies.com). Please proceed with your question.

Sharon Tripe: Thanks. Hi, Lisa, how are you?

Lisa Kudrow: Good, how are you?

Sharon Tripe: Good. I wanted to ask, because I know I did some digging with my mom, I went to Ellis Island and everything, it kind of, you know, the whole process is a little - it can kind of consume your life if you don't find answers right away. I guess, I was - what I want to know is do you think there's an - ever an end? What kind of advice do you have for people that kind of get frustrated or stuck?

Lisa Kudrow: I, you know, because - no, there doesn’t have to ever be an end. That's what makes it such a great hobby. You know. I - there doesn't really ever have to be an end. I think there's always research you can do on different branches, different cousins and you go back and, you know. And then also it's not just names and dates. Then when you start looking at where they were living, what was happening there at that time, you start looking at historical documents. And you can...

Sharon Tripe: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: ...you know, maybe draw some conclusions or guesses about what was motivating some of their choices in life.

Sharon Tripe: Definitely. And really quickly, if you come across bad news, as I know some celebrities have on the show, how do you kind of approach that situation? I know you kind of went through, you know, obviously when you're in - digging into the holocaust, when you come across bad news how do you kind of overcome that?

Lisa Kudrow: You mean how does the subject? Or what, you know, what do we do to try to help with that?

Sharon Tripe: Oh no, just the subject in general.

Lisa Kudrow: You know, most people go into it understanding, I mean, there's, you know, not a formal conversation, but, you know, most of them feel like I just want information whatever it is. Whatever it is. And they already understand that, you know, if they - if somewhere in their ancestry there were some, you know, unsavory people or they did bad things then, you know, that's not who they are. And, you know, you can just focus on how the family turned itself around.

Sharon Tripe: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: So, I don't know, I mean I think people go into it understanding that this about getting information, it's not about, you know, getting what you want.

Sharon Tripe: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes.

Sharon Tripe: Great. Thank you.

Lisa Kudrow: Sure.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Lisa Cooke with the Genealogy Gems Podcast. Please proceed.

Lisa Cooke: Hi, Lisa, great talking with you again.

Lisa Kudrow: Oh, hi.

Lisa Cooke: I wanted to know, you've got 12 celebrities, of course, on the docket for Season 3 and so I was just wondering, are we starting to see an expansion of the number of episodes, how long your seasons are going to be, and do you ever envision it being a 20 episode season?

Lisa Kudrow: Well, I think a lot of people would love it to be a 20 episode season. So yes, expansion is good, you know. We always think more is better.

Lisa Cooke: That would be great. And I'm also wondering, because in the UK the show continues to be huge and they're just about to have another one of their annual conferences with like 17,000 people showing up, do you ever see maybe the US version of your show tying into a national conference here in the US for family history?

Lisa Kudrow: That the - I mean, we're invited all the time, our researchers and some of us as executive producers and we are invited frequently to different events, you know, pertaining to genealogy and other sort of historical archive places, so, you know, it happens.

Lisa Cooke: Yes, so maybe participating, but not necessarily having a whole show - a whole conference devoted to Who Do You Think You Are? like they do in the Uni- in the UK.

Lisa Kudrow: Right. Yes.

Lisa Cooke: Okay.

Lisa Kudrow: I don't know, I mean, that hasn't come up yet.

Lisa Cooke: All right. Great, thank you.

Lisa Kudrow: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of April MacIntyre with Monsters and Critics. Please proceed.

April MacIntyre: Hi, Lisa.

Lisa Kudrow: Hi.

April MacIntyre: I'm curious, on Martin Sheen's particular episode in Season 3, is there anything that you can illuminate on what he finds? He has an interesting background. I know he's from - his people are from Galicia, that northern part of Spain, and I was wondering if you could share any tidbits from that particular segment.

Lisa Kudrow: Sure. There are two segments in Spain. The first segment is in Ireland. But the first segment in Spain is he's finding out more than he ever knew about his uncle, his father's brother, who was the only one of the Estevez siblings in Spain who didn't leave the country. And he was actually stuck there, he got caught up in, you know, Franco's coup and actually tried to put it down. Like, you know, he was involved in trying to put it down very early on. So that was interesting and, you know, he was imprisoned many times for that.

And it's also something that Martin really related to because, you know, he's an activist, he's been in jail, he's been jailed a couple times for that, and, you know, he could absolutely relate to and be proud of families who sacrificed for, you know, their beliefs in social justice and that.

April MacIntyre: Excellent. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Thomas MacEntee from GeneaBloggers. Please proceed.

Thomas MacEntee: Hi, Lisa, Thomas MacEntee with geneabloggers.com.

Lisa Kudrow: Hi.

Thomas MacEntee: Hi, listen, I have a question in terms of more and more people are doing DNA research and medical history in terms of their family history. Are we going to see any of that on the episodes, you know, with Paula Deen and her recent diabetes diagnosis? Some people track depression and substance abuse through generations. Is there any focus on that in episodes?

Lisa Kudrow: No. That's not what, I mean, we're - the - we're still working on the research for Paula Deen...

Thomas MacEntee: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: ...and it hasn't...

Thomas MacEntee: Okay.

Lisa Kudrow: ...come up as something that we'll be looking into. But we do - not with the health aspect of genetic testing, but there have been big improvements on, you know, on - for Blair Underwood's episode, there have been a lot of improvements in what you can find out, so he submitted, you know, a DNA sample that would track his, you know, the Y chromosome.

Thomas MacEntee: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: So his father's line.

Thomas MacEntee: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: The Underwood's line. And there are a lot of samples that have been gathered in Africa so that they could hone in on, you know, the closest matches and give them a better indication of where they're from, something more precise. And it's pretty...

Thomas MacEntee: Great. And just...

Lisa Kudrow: ...precise.

Thomas MacEntee: Great. And one more follow up. We've seen more and more immigrant ancestry being focused on, Marisa Tomei, even Rita Wilson, I'm hoping you do Greek genealogy for her, and this season is different, I mean, why is genealogy important to the immigrant experience?

Lisa Kudrow: Why is genealogy important to the - oh, well, I think it's important because so much gets lost, you know, once a family, you know, moves their roots, you know. There's a lot...

Thomas MacEntee: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: ...that gets lost. And in a lot of cultures - or, you know, maybe it's just a human thing that there aren't a lot of stories passed down if there was tragedy and a lot of difficulty and in order to keep moving forward and coping, you'd rather not dwell on those periods of hardship and victimhood, you know. Otherwise it's hard to press on. So I think that's why there's a lot of just no inform- there's no information that gets passed down.

Thomas MacEntee: Great.

Lisa Kudrow: So I think it's...

Thomas MacEntee: Thank you so much.

Lisa Kudrow: ...important to know where you're coming from. Yes.

Thomas MacEntee: Great. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Alice Chapman Newgen with the Times Courier. Please proceed.

Alice Chapman Newgen: Hi, Lisa, it's great talking to you today.

Lisa Kudrow: Hi.

Alice Chapman Newgen: One thing that I was curious about was when people want their genealogy or their ancestry traced, are they generally interested in the culture that they came from or is it one or two individuals that they're actually wanting to look into and then they find out all the other information?

Lisa Kudrow: It's a mixture. You know, everyone has something different that they want to know about. Sometimes it's a specific story that got handed down and they want to know if that's true. And sometimes it's very general because they don't know anything. So it's just very different. A lot of times it's just I want to do this for my mom, she's interested. And I think it's partly what you were talking about and so as they're doing this for their mother or their father, they realize that they get caught up in it as well and, you know, and feel a strong connection themselves.

Alice Chapman Newgen: Do you - oh, I'm sorry. Do you find that more younger people are getting interested in this?

Lisa Kudrow: Yes. I'm really surprised. But yes, there was just - ancestry.com had a sweepstakes and, you know, and then they would come out and, you know, tour the Who Do You Think You Are? offices. And the winners - the winner was - they were 26 years old.

Alice Chapman Newgen: Great.

Lisa Kudrow: So I thought that was really surprising. That was, like, a very nice surprise.

Alice Chapman Newgen: Great. Well, thank you so much, Lisa.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Angela Walton-Raji with African Roots Podcast. Please proceed.

Angela Walton-Raji: Hello, Lisa.

Lisa Kudrow: Hello.

Angela Walton-Raji: Hi. A quick question. I'm curious about the complexity of the research that goes into the persons of African-American ancestry. As genealogists, we research our families to 1870, we hit sort of a brick wall, and if we get to the point of identifying a slave holder, then we have to research their history. Do you have sort of two teams, let's say in the case of Blair Underwood, did you have two teams of people, some who were researching the slave holder's ancestry and then researching the family found in freedom? I'm curious in terms of what your team really consists of. It must have been kind of fascinating.

Lisa Kudrow: Well, our team of researchers, you know, they are usually history majors and they know how to conduct research period. And there's usually mostly one person assigned to a subject and then we have, you know, one or, you know, usually there's another person who's also helping on that. But they reach out to, you know, the experts in different areas of history, especially around, you know, those time periods or in African-American slave history and that kind of thing.

Angela Walton-Raji: Okay.

Lisa Kudrow: So, you know, it's not...

Angela Walton-Raji: Hah.

Lisa Kudrow: ...we don't have like one person's dedicated to this area. Because, for example, on this season we have 12 people and there's such a variety of, you know, ancestry that we don't have - we can't possibly have, you know, just experts in whatever field would come up on staff, you know.

Angela Walton-Raji: Right. I can imagine. We have - every time your show airs there are several of us in a group online, we have an online chat meeting going on during the show, we're all around the country, and we're all typing and (screening) and we're watching saying, gee, how did they reach that conclusion, and we've often wondered in terms of the research methodology. And someone did ask me to ask, how long from the time a person agrees to be a subject to the time you actually - I don't mean necessarily shooting it because you have things to show them, but how long does that research process take? Because of course it's ongoing for those of us...

Lisa Kudrow: Right.

Angela Walton-Raji: ...that do it all the time.

Lisa Kudrow: Right. It varies. I mean, you know, Marisa Tomei and Rob Lowe, that's been going on since Season 1.

Angela Walton-Raji: Wow. Okay.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes, we couldn't - we didn't - we couldn't find information. And, you know, and then there are other people where it's incredibly lucky. I think Blair went really fast.

Angela Walton-Raji: Oh good. Okay.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes.

Angela Walton-Raji: Well, thank you. This has been great and we're looking forward to Season 3. Thanks a lot.

Lisa Kudrow: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Diane Haddad with Family Tree Magazine. Please proceed.

Diane Haddad: Thank you. Hi.

Lisa Kudrow: Hi.

Diane Haddad: I was wondering what do you think are some of the biggest improvements in the series over the three years that it's been on. Over the last (two) years.

Lisa Kudrow: Oh, I think - well, the first improvement came after the first season when we didn't have that, like, music video montage.

Diane Haddad: Okay.

Lisa Kudrow: That, to me, was a great improvement...

Diane Haddad: Okay.

Lisa Kudrow: ...because then we could have more time...

Diane Haddad: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: ...to actually...

Diane Haddad: And...

Lisa Kudrow: ...tell a story or...

Diane Haddad: ...we did hear that from some of our readers.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes. Tell a story and maybe get, I mean, the drag for us is that it's, you know, like 40 minutes total. And, you know, we would love to even get into more history for - to get some context for what was going on. And like, you know, I know in Helen Hunt's episode, I think that helped tremendously and really just helps you get invested in the people that we're looking at because we can see what was going on at the time and, you know, just how it motivated what they did. You feel like you kind of understand them.

Diane Haddad: Right, right.

Lisa Kudrow: More than just...

Diane Haddad: Are you...

Lisa Kudrow: ...a name and a date and oh, she was president of, you know, this league and that, you know.

Diane Haddad: Are you always there when filming is happening?

Lisa Kudrow: No, I am not there when filming is happening.

Diane Haddad: Okay. I was going to ask what something is that goes on behind the scenes that our readers, viewers might be surprised to hear about. Do you have any stories like that?

Lisa Kudrow: Well, let's see. You mean what's happening during filming?

Diane Haddad: Right. That people might not realize happens. For example, I've - some of the subjects have said, you know, we repeated this scene, you know, so you have to do the surprised thing again. So something like that. That's something that I wouldn't realize.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes, we try not to have that happen.

Diane Haddad: Yes.

Lisa Kudrow: But sometimes a cameraman will like catch the other guy or, you know, we didn't hear it or that's, you know, we can't not have that moment...

Diane Haddad: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: ...just because of some technical problem. So...

Diane Haddad: Right, right, right.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes.

Diane Haddad: Thank you.

Lisa Kudrow: Sure.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of (Julie Osmaski) with US Magazine. Please proceed.

Julie Osmaski: Hi, thank you. For US Weekly, we were wondering if you could give us some highlights on some of the stars you have featured this season. Three in particular we were interested in our Jason Sudeikis, Rob Lowe, and Rashida Jones.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes. Well, we're still - we haven't shot any of them yet.

Julie Osmaski: Oh, okay.

Lisa Kudrow: And yes, so that is still ongoing. I know - I think I know the most about Rob Lowe. That's going to start shooting very soon, if it hasn't already. Let me see. I don't know. I don't have that schedule.

Julie Osmaski: Oh.

Lisa Kudrow: But that's an unbelievable story. And I can't talk about them at all because none of them have shot. They don't know what's coming.

Julie Osmaski: Oh, okay. So it's going to be all a surprise.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes, yes. It's always a surprise until they, you know, actually shoot it.

Julie Osmaski: All right, well, thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Reg Seeton with (deadbolt.com). Please Proceed.

Reg Seeton: All right, Lisa, thanks for taking the call.

Lisa Kudrow: Sure.

Reg Seeton: Now that you've done this for a few seasons, have you noticed any common elements as to why each person has become so successful in their own life?

Lisa Kudrow: Oh, as to why these people have become successful. No. That I haven't. I haven't thought about that because I've, you know, we've been mostly focusing on the people who are not famous that came before them. And then it's generations later that someone, you know, happened to become famous for whatever it is that they're doing.

Reg Seeton: Well, now that (unintelligible)...

Lisa Kudrow: Why, have you noticed something?

Reg Seeton: Not really, that's why I'm asking you.

Lisa Kudrow: Because, I mean, you know, for every famous person, they've got like a hundred other relatives that aren't famous.

Reg Seeton: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: Who came from the same ancestors. So...

Reg Seeton: Right. I get you. Well, now that people are familiar with the show, are celebrities more or less apprehensive than Season 1?

Lisa Kudrow: Much less. Much less. We've got, you know, we've got a waiting list now.

Reg Seeton: Oh wow.

Lisa Kudrow: That's fantastic.

Reg Seeton: Okay, great.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes. Well, I think they know that, you know, this is not - we're not trying to catch them at something or make them look bad, you know. That's not what we're interested in. We're really interested in just telling these stories as experienced by their ancestors. And hope that they're engaged because that always makes for, you know, a more interesting episode.

Reg Seeton: Great. I'm looking forward to the season. Thank you.

Lisa Kudrow: Thanks. Yes, it's a great season.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of (Paul Arco) with (shakefara.com). Please proceed.

Paul Arco: Hi, Lisa.

Lisa Kudrow: Hi.

Paul Arco: How are you today?

Lisa Kudrow: I'm well. How are you?

Paul Arco: I'm doing great.

Lisa Kudrow: Okay.

Paul Arco: My first question is, for you personally, which celebrity would you want to have featured on the show that hasn't already - not already been on it?

Lisa Kudrow: Oh. No, I don't do that.

Paul Arco: Okay. And what influenced your decision to actually be a part of Who Do You Think You Are?

Lisa Kudrow: What did you say?

Paul Arco: What influenced your decision to be a part of the show as Executive Producer?

Lisa Kudrow: Oh, because I had seen it and - when I was in Ireland and I thought it was - it was on BBC and I thought it was, you know, the most riveting show I'd ever seen.

Paul Arco: Okay.

Lisa Kudrow: And what a great way to talk about history and sort of the human condition.

Paul Arco: And one other question my friend wanted me to ask you because he loves the show also and he's a big fan of yours.

Lisa Kudrow: Oh.

Paul Arco: Which world leader, dead or alive, would you want to have lunch with the most, if given the chance?

Lisa Kudrow: Oh really?

Paul Arco: Yes, it's off topic, but he really wanted to know.

Lisa Kudrow: Well, I don't, I mean, I have a lot of questions for George Washington. I'd like to, you know, like you have lunch with someone and you can see if they're as wonderful as you've heard.

Paul Arco: Yes. Exactly. Okay. Well, thanks a lot and I can't wait for this season and, you know, good luck with everything.

Lisa Kudrow: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Kathryn Lake Hogan with LOOKING4ANCESTORS. Please proceed.

Kathryn Lake Hogan: Hi, Lisa. I just wanted to know, how much of the research do the celebrities do themselves? Because we see on the show they're doing a little bit of the research, but just how involved do they get involved with that?

Lisa Kudrow: Well, I mean, they can certainly do the, you know, like get out their computer and look up stuff on ancestry.com...

Kathryn Lake Hogan: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: ...like any of us can. You know, because - but then when we depend on experts who have gone through archives and have, you know, original very rare documents, no, they can't.

Kathryn Lake Hogan: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes.

Kathryn Lake Hogan: Okay, that's great...

Lisa Kudrow: They wouldn't have access. Sorry.

Kathryn Lake Hogan: Okay, great, thank you.

Lisa Kudrow: Sure.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of (Felicia Vettel) with Verizon Spotlight Magazine. Please proceed.

Felicia Vettel: Hi, Lisa. Thanks for talking to us.

Lisa Kudrow: Oh sure.

Felicia Vettel: My - I think my question is probably going to sound a little random, but it's such a great show and you've done so much other great stuff on TV. When you have time, is there anything in particular that you enjoy watching on television?

Lisa Kudrow: Yes. Yes, I like, you know, Parenthood a lot and I think 30 Rock is still the funniest show.

Felicia Vettel: Okay, thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Jamie Ruby with SciFi Vision. Please proceed.

Jamie Ruby: Hi, thanks for taking our call.

Lisa Kudrow: Sure.

Jamie Ruby: So when you guys do the research, have you ever come across, you know, in anybody's past like people that maybe don't want to help you or don't want to discuss it. I mean, how do you deal with that? Because I think there has to be, you know, some kind of roadblocks as you work on that.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes. I mean, it comes up sometimes and so we just have to do the best we can without those sources of information.

Jamie Ruby: All right. What do you think is most challenging in your search?

Lisa Kudrow: You know, there are different, you know, different countries have different privacy laws, so that's about getting documents, getting permission to look at documents or shoot documents, so that's one roadblock. Obviously slavery is a big roadblock. Eastern European Jewish history is a huge roadblock that you - a lot of the times you can't even get past World War II. I mean, you can get like a name of a parent of someone who came over, but there are no records over there. Period. At all. They've been obliterated. So that one's pretty tricky. That's why there haven't been too many Eastern European Jewish stories. But yes, I mean, there are - and I think, you know, we've tried to do like Korean subject or Japanese subjects and it's very tricky.

Jamie Ruby: All right. Well, thank you.

Lisa Kudrow: To get records. Yes, to have access to records.

Jamie Ruby: (Okay).

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Dave Quinn with popbytes.com. Please proceed.

Dave Quinn: Hi, Lisa. How are you today?

Lisa Kudrow: I'm very well. How are you?

Dave Quinn: I'm doing well. Thank you.

Lisa Kudrow: Okay.

Dave Quinn: So many great questions have come before, I was going to ask about the - who you wanted to have dinner with, too, so there you go. No. I'm just curious. I would love to know, as somebody's who's gone through this experience yourself because you were on the show, have you spoken to the other celebrities who have done this about their experience? I know you talked a little bit with Rosie about it on The Rosie Show, but have - do you talk to the celebrities before or after?

Lisa Kudrow: Usually after, if I do at all. You know.

Dave Quinn: And what have those conversations been like? Like what have the reactions...

Lisa Kudrow: There's a...

Dave Quinn: ...been?

Lisa Kudrow: There's a recurring theme which is that was a lot to process and I'm still processing it.

Dave Quinn: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: You know.

Dave Quinn: Yes.

Lisa Kudrow: It's something that really lingers. And that's usually what someone says afterward.

Dave Quinn: Well, how do you feel like it's changed you, yourself, since you went through it?

Lisa Kudrow: I think it made me, you know, maybe on psycholo- in certain psychological ways, it's made a difference because I usually like to unvoid - avoid unpleasant things that - especially emotionally unpleasant and that's not a great way to go through life, but - so I think having to just stay with it, you know, when I did my show because that's kind of difficult information to hear and be - and just be there. You know, you...

Dave Quinn: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: ...you put yourself in the situation and you're walking the same road they walked before they were all murdered, you know. And at one point I remember when they said and it's right up here, I actually stopped. My instinct was to stop and not take one more step. And so I think what was good is to push on and to understand that the good news is that this is not happening to me and now there's a witness for it and it's bigger than me. It's beyond just me having this experience. It's something that, you know, it's a story that you're sharing with other people.

Dave Quinn: Well, I think that really resonates with the show. You know, it's unlike a lot of reality shows with celebrities where you feel like they're just kind of props putting it on. This is one where you really see some raw emotion and some really great revelations. So congratulations.

Lisa Kudrow: Thank you. Thanks a lot. Yes.

Dave Quinn: Best of luck with Season 3.

Lisa Kudrow: Thanks.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Jamie Steinberg with a Starry Constellation Magazine. Please proceed.

Jamie Steinberg: Hi, it's such a pleasure to speak with you again.

Lisa Kudrow: Oh thanks.

Jamie Steinberg: I kind of geek out every time because I'm a huge Romy and Michele fan.

Lisa Kudrow: Oh.

Jamie Steinberg: So to see you in EW was sort of a dream come true.

Lisa Kudrow: Oh that was fun. Wasn't that good? Yes.

Jamie Steinberg: Perfect. The Post-It dress was a fantasy. My question is you mentioned that there's a waiting list to get to talk, you know, for the celebrities to be on the show and come forward, but do they approach you now about wanting to be on it?

Lisa Kudrow: Yes. Absolutely. They do. I mean, I saw Blair Underwood at a party and just walking by each other he said, "I want to do your show." And I said, "All right." Done. I mean, sure.

Jamie Steinberg: Why not, right? And...

Lisa Kudrow: Yes, absolutely. It's easy enough to, you know, to get going because it all has to start with a conversation with a researcher and then they get going. And like I said, it can take two years. Like I, you know, Martin Sheen was saying, "I don't know, I spoke to them and then six months later, they said all right, so when are you - when can you shoot this?" He didn't hear anything. Brook Shields said the same thing. They're like, "I didn't hear from anybody." Maybe we should get a little better at communication. But, you know, the - it can take a while sometimes.

Jamie Steinberg: Well, there's a big Glee movement to have you on as one of the characters mother, Heather Morris. She plays Brittany. I'm not sure if you watch the show or not or would be interested in possibly playing Brittany's mom.

Lisa Kudrow: No, I've seen the show. Yes. I get why people say - suggest that.

Jamie Steinberg: And would it interest you?

Lisa Kudrow: Well, I'm not - I don't sing.

Jamie Steinberg: Well, they're not all singing parts.

Lisa Kudrow: Okay.

Jamie Steinberg: So that changes your mind? You might per- well, the show (unintelligible)...

Lisa Kudrow: No, no one's asked, so...

Jamie Steinberg: Okay. Well, Alan Cumming was saying last night on Watch What Happens Live, there was never a discussion about a Romy and Michele 2. Is there a possible reunion in the future in your eyes?

Lisa Kudrow: Well, it hasn't happened. I mean, Robin Schiff who wrote and produced the first one, she, you know, has had really good ideas for sequels, but, you know, it hasn't happened.

Jamie Steinberg: Great, thank you so much. A pleasure to speak with you.

Lisa Kudrow: You too. Thanks.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Chris Roof with The Voice of TV. Please proceed.

Chris Roof: Hi, Lisa. Thank you for taking our calls.

Lisa Kudrow: Oh sure.

Chris Roof: Like a couple people have mentioned that you said you have a long list of celebs that are kind of waiting, have you reached out to any of your former friends, cast mates, and have any of them expressed interest on finding about their pasts?

Lisa Kudrow: Yes, some have and some haven't and then it's a scheduling issue.

Chris Roof: Yes, is there any that are currently being worked on or is it kind of just waiting for another season to be ordered before that would start?

Lisa Kudrow: No, everything's on hold right now. In terms of any of them.

Chris Roof: Oh okay.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes.

Chris Roof: And then another question, somebody asked about a, you know, maybe a spoiler for Martin's episode. Is there any big reveal that you can kind of tease us on for the rest of the season or at least the ones that have shot?

Lisa Kudrow: Let's see. I'm looking at my list and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, I've seen cuts on the first six, so only half of them. Any big reveals. I mean, they all have big reveals. Blair Underwood...

Chris Roof: Yes.

Lisa Kudrow: ...has a huge reveal, I think. Reba McEntire does too. I mean, they all do. And Marisa Tomei, you know, she's looking at a - her grand- her great grandfather, the story was that he was killed by a jealous lover and that he was, like, a philanderer, so that's just how they always saw him. And she goes and investigates and finds out that it's a different story and, you know, people didn't have to be even a little ashamed.

Chris Roof: Oh, yes.

Lisa Kudrow: You know.

Chris Roof: That's good. Yes.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes.

Chris Roof: All right. Thank you very much.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of (Tim Holguin) from TVOvermind. Please proceed.

Tim Holguin: Hi, Lisa, it's lovely to get to speak with you today.

Lisa Kudrow: Hi.

Tim Holguin: I have three questions for you. The first, of all the subjects so far, knowing that not all of them have kept in touch or maybe some of them have, but what's been the biggest after effect? Has anyone relocated relatives or bought property that they learned once belonged in their family?

Lisa Kudrow: That's a good question. I'm not sure about that update. I only know about a couple of people where it, you know, it impacted, you know, one, you know, you know, in the raising of their kids or, you know, s- one person used these new family names that they discovered to, you know, use as middle names for children that have been born afterward and, you know, they've just sort of integrated it into their own family history, which it is. They just never knew it was.

Tim Holguin: Okay. And one of...

Lisa Kudrow: But it's a great question about buying property or, you know, that used to belong to the family. That's great.

Tim Holguin: Well, I ask because one of my favorite parts of the show is when they tell their immediate family all that they've learned. And it seem so impactful that I've always wondered what are the after effects, like if there was another show to just follow up on what did they do with this knowledge.

But, okay, my second question is, an aspect of your show that I find emotionally moving is how often the subjects have lived their entire lives, like you mentioned with the previous questioner, believing the wrong things about themselves or about their family.

Lisa Kudrow: Right.

Tim Holguin: And so touching on the youth question again, I was wondering if you'd perhaps focus future episodes, if you expand, or even have a youth oriented spinoff so that you could catch someone - famous, you know, celeb teens or early 20s and help them avoid decades of false assumptions and also teach them that family tree knowledge is a good hobby, like a great hobby.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes. That's a great point. The, you know, Rashida Jones is the youngest person we've had do the show. And I think it's trickier to get even younger people because they're not necessarily interested yet. Usually it's once a person has children that they become interested. Usually. And then with boys, it seems even harder because, you know, they're young men and they're looking forward and they don't want to look back. Yet. So...

Tim Holguin: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: ...that's sort of one of the - it's a big generalization, but it comes up. It seem to come up, you know. So it's great that we have Jason Sudeikis too. Because he's also younger...

Tim Holguin: Right.

Lisa Kudrow: ...and, you know, yes.

Tim Holguin: That would be a challenge to overcome is to help teach that they need to know this instead of believing false things. And so lastly...

Lisa Kudrow: Right, but that's why a lot of people do it, they can't wait to tell their kids. And they want their children to know where they came from and what the real story is.

Tim Holguin: The truth. Right.

Lisa Kudrow: So...

Tim Holguin: Whatever it is.

Lisa Kudrow: Yes.

Tim Holguin: Good or bad.

Lisa Kudrow: Right.

Tim Holguin: Okay. And then lastly, just as a producer you've produced sitcoms, film, drama, and reality TV, and I was just wondering on a lighter note if you have any designs on, like, producing a musical either for the stage or TV or a super here sci-fi movie. Like what's next for you production wise?

Lisa Kudrow: Not a musical and not a super hero sci-fi movie. Unfortunately.

Tim Holguin: Okay.

Lisa Kudrow: Because those things are popular.

Tim Holguin: Maybe another sitcom or two?

Lisa Kudrow: Yes, possibly. Yes.

Tim Holguin: Great. I look forward to it. I'm a big fan.

Lisa Kudrow: Oh, thank you.

Tim Holguin: Thanks.

Operator: Thank you. And we have time for one more question and it comes from the line of Amy and Nancy Harrington with Pop Culture Passionistas. Please proceed.

Amy and Nancy Harrington: Hi, thanks so much for talking to us today.

Lisa Kudrow: Oh, thank you.

Amy and Nancy Harrington: We were wondering what you hope viewers take away from watching the show.

Lisa Kudrow: I hope what they take away from the show is that, you know, that we're pretty strong as human beings. Those of us that are here, it's like almost a miracle that we are here. And the only reason we're here is because we come from strong stock. You know, so I think that should give us all a feeling of inspiration and strength that we can draw from that. Because it's not easy...

Amy and Nancy Harrington: And have you...

Lisa Kudrow: ...to survive this planet. Huh?

Amy and Nancy Harrington: Have you always been interested in history and ancestry or was there a point in your life where this became something that you were interested in?

Lisa Kudrow: Well, I was always interested in, you know, parts of history. But like I said, when I saw Who Do You Think You Are? on B- on the BBC when I was in Ireland, I thought that this was such a fascinating show and what a great way to deliver history on such a personal level. You know, you personal- you personalize it and it takes on a whole new meaning. And then what a great thing to offer an audience who wants to see it. And luckily we have a lot of show up to watch it, so...

Amy and Nancy Harrington: Excellent. Well, thank you. We're such big fans. Good luck with the new season.

Lisa Kudrow: Thank you. It's a great season, my god.

Operator: Thank you. And there are no further questions at this time. I'll turn the call back over to you, Mr. Griffith.

Akiva Griffith: All right. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. If you'd like a transcript of the call, please email me at akiva.griffith@nbcuni.com and I will send the transcript to you. And thank you to Lisa for joining us today.

Lisa Kudrow: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude the conference call for today. We thank you for your participation and ask that you please disconnect your lines.

Lisa Kudrow: (Bye).

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