Why Canadians Missed Out on JK Rowling Episode of Who Do You Think You Are

Last week Canadians saw many promos for the upcoming episode on Who Do You Think You Are? featuring J.K. Rowling. TV guides showed that it would be airing Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern. 

But Canadians found themselves watching a repeat of an earlier episode with Cynthia Nixon. Twitter started buzzing with annoyed Canadians posting on TLC's Twitter Feed, wanting to know what was going on. Facebook also saw its share of questions on TLC Facebook page. But no answers were forthcoming.

However I reached out in private communications with my TLC contacts and am pleased to provide my readers with the explanation of why Canadians could not watch the J.K. Rowling episode.

“Apologies for any inconvenience you may have experienced. TLC Canada sometimes has different programming than TLC in the United States. At this time, the J.K. Rowling episode is only airing in the U.S. and unfortunately, there is no way for us to prevent the U.S. promos from airing in Canada."

It's straightforward and makes perfect sense. The rights to air a program in Canada can be prohibitively expensive.  And so the airing is denied which is why Canadians often get the blank screen on You-Tube or TV station sites that announce they are unable to display the video to anyone in Canada. 

Bottom line: If you live in Canada, unless you have a proxy server set up on your computer you may not be able to view the J.K. Rowling episode. I believe the original UK version is available on YouTube.  As a TLC screener I had private access to it and really enjoyed it. So if you get the chance, be sure to watch it.

J. K. Rowling on Who Do You Think You Are? This Sunday

Who Do You Think You Are? “J.K. Rowling” (US premiere, originally aired in the UK)

Tune In: J.K. Rowling’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? airs Sunday, August 2 at 9/8c on TLC

 Ancestry.com , the leading family history company, is teaming up again with TLC as a sponsor. As part of the show sponsorship, Ancestry provides exhaustive family history research on each of the featured celebrities to help make discoveries possible and build out the story of each episode.

Famed Harry Potter author and philanthropist JK Rowling is eager to trace the  French roots of her maternal side, having always been very close with her mother who’s passed away. She knows that her great-grandfather, Louis Volant, received the Legion d’honneur for his WWI efforts, but she doesn’t know why. 

She embarks on a journey in France to trace her mother’s roots. She discovers that a family war story might not be what she thought when military records reveal a surprising truth. Tracing the trail even further back, Jo learns of her 2x great-grandmother, who had plenty of struggles both as a poor, single mother and a witness to German invasion during wartime, which forced her family to choose sides in a time of turmoil.   

I'll be watching! Will you?


Photo credit: Andrew Montgomery

Who Do You Think You Are is Back With New Celebrity Guests

 The two-time Emmy nominated series WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? returns this summer to share more fascinating stories, and shed light on surprising revelations, of the real life family history of celebrities. 

Executive Produced by Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky, the new season premieres Sunday, July 26 at 9/8c.

 The contributors featured in the upcoming season include:

·         Tom Bergeron, who is aware of his French Canadian roots on his paternal side, but wants to know what brought his ancestors to North America. He goes as far back as his 10x great grandmother to find the answer.

·         Bryan Cranston, who comes to discover an unfortunate pattern amongst the men in his family.

·         Ginnifer Goodwin, who sets out to learn about her mysterious paternal great grandparents, whom her father, regretfully, does not know much about either.

·         Alfre Woodard, who strives to find out more about the paternal side of her family, and explores how her surname came to be.

Additionally, TLC will air the U.S. premiere of J.K. Rowling’s episode of the series, where the best-selling author sets off to uncover her maternal French roots. She finds that a family war story might not be what she thought when military records reveal a surprising twist.

 Ancestry.com , the leading family history company, is teaming up again with TLC as a sponsor of the upcoming season. As part of the show sponsorship, Ancestry provides exhaustive family history research on each of the featured celebrities to help make discoveries possible and build out the story of each episode.