NBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are?' kicks off 3rd season

Word has traveled fast since NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” started airing in 2010.

The show, which takes a variety of celebrities on a journey of family history, begins its third season on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. and has become increasingly popular not just among viewers, but among celebrities.

Executive producer Lisa Kudrow said in a teleconference with TV critics that she gets approached all the time.

“I mean, I saw Blair Underwood (who will be featured in an episode this season) at a party and just walking by each other he said, ‘I want to do your show.’ And I said, ‘All right. Done.’”

“We’ve got a waiting list now,” she said.

The season premiere features Emmy Award-winning actor Martin Sheen. In the episode, Sheen, whose legal name is Ramon Estevez, explores his Spanish and Irish heritage. The actor gushed about the experience in a teleconference.

Sheen’s mother was from Ireland and his father from Spain. He was particularly curious about his ancestors’ involvement in social justice. He was pleased to find an uncle in each country heavily involved in their respective civil wars, fighting for what they believed in.

Sheen, not at all a stranger to protest and reform in his own life, suspects he must’ve gotten the trait from them.

“Not the extent that these gentlemen did because they were absolutely heroic and risked their lives,” he said. “But the message is clear that maybe this is part of my DNA.”

The episode follows Sheen on a journey to old prisons and a cathedral, partnering with historical and genealogical experts to unearth details about his ancestors’ lives, including an ironic revelation about his fourth removed grandfather, Don Diego Francisco Suarez, a Spanish judge. Sheen shared his findings with his family members, including his sister Carmen, who lives in Spain. The revelation about Don Diego “caused quite a bit of eyebrow raising,” he said.

And Sheen loved every minute of the process, right down to his family’s reactions.

“I wasn't always prepared for what I learned but the journey itself was deeply satisfying,” he said.