Strange Inheritance with Jamie Colby returns for a second season tonight at 9 p.m. ET on Fox Business Network. Colby’s show, which goes in search of unusual inheritance stories, launched earlier this year as the highest-rated debut in FBN history. Season two features 26 episodes with new shows airing back-to-back on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET. We caught up with Colby for 5 Questions about the show, what she eats on the road, and which presidential candidate is likely to leave someone a strange inheritance.
TVNewser: Since the last time we talked, Strange Inheritance has become the highest-rated show launch in FBN history, it spawned a spin-off show and was picked up for another season. Did you ever think people could be so fascinated by the topic?
Colby: I actually did think the minute I heard the title Strange Inheritance that it would both peak viewers curiosity and resonate with so many folks who either dream of a life-changing inheritance or plan to leave one. What’s really surprised me has been the variety of inheritance categories we’ve seen in Season 2 and how many submissions from viewers we’ve received about their own several of which developed into their own half-hour episode.
TVNewser: What’s the most bizarre thing you’ve witnessed so far?
Colby: The bug collection worth millions is still a head-scratcher to me. And how much old tractors were worth in Season 1. But this season, in which our show has gone international, would have to be Winston Churchill’s dentures. No joke they were inherited by the son of the famed dental technician who made them. To give you an idea of just how interesting this show is, it turns out Churchill wanted dentures made that maintained a lisp he’d been teased about so much as a kid. Turns out too that when the war was going poorly he’d flick them across the room in front of startled colleagues. That kept this technician home from the war when Churchill ripped up his draft papers to keep his choppers coming and his son says likely saved his dad’s life. Wait till you see how much they sold for.
TVNewser: One big difference this season is the addition of international episodes. What countries did you travel to and which one was the most unique?
Colby: Each of our episodes is a history lesson and I’ve learned just as much visiting small town America as I did in our season 2 international debut with that Churchill episode. Similarly, by visiting all these places in person we are given access folks won’t normally get like sitting in Churchill’s chair in the War Rooms and showing folks the grooves in it he made with both his ring and his nails when giving speeches and orders during the Blitz. This season is definitely a family affair and kids and adults alike will see things and learn of places they’ll want to visit.
TVNewser: What was the best meal you had while on the road filming season 2? Specific restaurant and order, please.
Colby: Most tasty was Turquoise, a local Chicago favorite of my Turkish director of photography Berat O. User and his family. You must try “lahmacun” Turkish pizza with ground beef, “imam bayildi” whole eggplant with tomatoes, caramelized onions and spices and “mucver” zucchini pancakes. By the way “Imam bayildi”, means the priest fainted. As you can see we enjoyed it immensely.
TVNewser: Which GOP candidate do you think would have the best strange inheritance story?
Colby: I think it’s interesting that you asked only about GOP candidates, because the candidate I’m most curious about is, if you recall Hillary Clinton mentioning some years back she had Jewish ancestry. In two very compelling episodes coming this season, we met two adults who learn details about their families from beyond the grave – one from a diary left by a Holocaust survivor leading her on a global hunt for his Nazi seized art. The other from a letter his dad wrote but never told him when he was alive, that his architect father was proud of him and loved him – and I wonder if Mrs. Clinton ever followed up and learned anything that would be interesting to us about her relative.
I guess for me as an attorney and host of this show it would have to be Mr. Trump because he appears to be the most wealthy and must have some very savvy estate tax plan that might be a lesson for all of us. Then again, sometimes I’ve learned those who you expect to plan the most don’t plan at all and as we say on Strange Inheritance “You can’t take it with you!”
Editors’s note: We asked about GOP candidates, specifically, because Fox Business Network hosted a Republican debate on the eve of Strange Inheritance’s season premiere.