‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ preview: Cynthia Nixon’s journey takes her to a prison

If you read our site regularly, odds are you’re already a Cynthia Nixon fan. “Sex in the City” was one of the best comedies out there, and we’re also clearly obsessed enough about “Hannibal” to the point that we podcast it and campaign for it to win all sorts of Emmy Awards.

Speaking of Emmys, Nixon’s next gig will be on Wednesday night’s season-premiere episode of TLC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?,” which features celebrities from various walks of life getting in touch with their past family history and lineage.

In the sneak-peek video below, you can see Nixon’s journey in particular take her to an interesting place: A prison. She learns that her ancestor Martha was imprisoned at this specific site prior to the beginning of the Civil War in the 1800s, and was the only woman there surrounded by men. The facility was not originally planned for women to be held there, and thanks to a book published by a fellow prisoner around that time, she gets a fuller picture of what that life was really like.

Among the new familiar faces who will be featured on the show this season include Valerie Bertinelli, “Modern Family” star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kelsey Grammer, and Rachel McAdams along with her sister Kayleen. Nixon’s episode will air at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time, but fans of “Sex and the City” should note that TLC is repeating the encore episode featuring Sarah Jessica Parker an hour earlier at 8:00. Meanwhile, Parker’s husband Matthew Broderick will see his own encore episode air at 10:00.

If you haven’t seen the show before, it’s a personal and fascinating look through history. There’s nothing quite like it on TV, and it also gives you a unique look at people you are used to seeing in different capacities.

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Photo: TLC