Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Genetic Detective’ On ABC, A Docuseries About Cases Solved Via Genetic Genealogy

In the last decade, the interest in genealogy has exploded, especially since companies like 23 and Me and Ancestry have not only provided home DNA tests to help people find out about where they might be from via their genetics, but they’ve used their databases to point out possible relatives. In The Genetic Detective, we meet CeCe Moore, one of the preeminent genetic genealogists in America; she uses these possible matches and extensive research to help people find family members. But, since 2018, she’s been using these skills to help law enforcement organizations solve cold cases.

THE GENETIC DETECTIVE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: We see a woman on a ferry near Port Angeles, Washington. “This land is part of me. It’s in my DNA.”

The Gist: The woman is CeCe Moore, who is a genetic genealogist; what she does is help people connect the dots of their family trees via DNA. She didn’t start out doing this; CeCe was at first a model and actress. But she always had an interest in genetics, especially using DNA to find people’s genealogy.

Her business as a genetic genealogist started to thrive when companies like 23 and Me started offering home DNA collection kits designed to give people general genealogical info and the ability to find possible relatives. Adoptees started to approach her to find members of their birth families. And in 2018, with the help of a DNA tech company called Parabon NanoLabs, she was asked to employ her methods to solve cold cases.

What Moore does is take the possible matches provided by services like 23 and Me or Ancestry, along with matches provided by a public DNA database called GED Match and splits the groups who have DNA in common with the subject but not each other into “Networks”. When she gets to the generation where the groups have DNA in common, she then researches down the tree in order to put together the missing pieces of the family tree.

Her first case was the 1987 murders of Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg, a couple who disappeared on a ferry from Vancouver to Seattle. Their bodies were found 60 miles apart from each other, and there were very few physical clues tying anyone to the murders, and no circumstantial leads, as this appeared to be a random attack. Snohomish County detective Rick Sharf had heard about Parabon’s work, and they connected him with CeCe. Using the DNA from a rape kit taken from Tanya’s body and remarkably well-preserved over 31 years, she used her genetic genealogy research to find the murderer, and she did it in less time it would take a person to drive from New York to Philadelphia. All the police needed was DNA evidence from the suspect to see if it was indeed a match.

Our Take: If The Genetic Detective was on Netflix or some other streaming service, it would have been fantastic, for a number of reasons. One of which is CeCe Moore herself, a woman who does some remarkable work from her Orange County, CA home, with her husband and son doing family stuff in the background. Because of her acting experience, she has a presence on camera that other people in her profession may not. She can clearly explain what it means to be a genetic genealogist, why she was one of the first people to call her that, and how something that used to be a hobby for her and others has now become a valid method of evidence gathering that is fully admissible in court.

That’s the other fascinating aspect of the series, a joint production of ABC News and XCON Productions. Moore’s research is about science and facts. Here’s the DNA, here’s what her research found that completed the family tree whose branches led to the murderer. And, if Moore is to be believed, she is ethical and meticulous. Despite all the research she points out it took to reach the conclusion that the murderer of Jay and Tanya was William Talbot II, she shockingly tells Det. Sharf that it only took her two hours to come to that conclusion; “I spent the rest of the weekend to disprove my theory, because I did not want to give you a name unless I was really sure.”

Even though Moore’s involvement in solving cold cases only goes back 2-plus years, she’s been involved in dozens of cases since then, so there’s fertile ground here to show how each case presented different challenges.

The show’s Achilles’ heel, though, was the fact that it was squeezed into a broadcast network, commercial-laden format. There’s lots of repetition coming out of commercial breaks, and sometimes the production is too slick and the details of the cases given in a bit too glossy of a fashion. In a segment where Moore is gesticulating wildly to explain her genetic networks, the show superimposes diagrams over her gestures, making what she does sound more like alchemy than real science and research. While emphasizing that aspect may seem to be a less entertaining way to convey what Moore does, it would give her profession more gravitas than what ABC’s presentation does for her.

Parting Shot: Moore: “It turns out that a lot of people thought they could get away with a lot. But no one had a way of uncovering those secrets, and finding them out. But with genetic genealogy, the days of secrets are over.”

Sleeper Star: The show’s common denominator for each case is Moore, so there’s really no room for a sleeper.

Most Pilot-y Line: Besides the repetition, it’s the staged set pieces of Moore walking into places to talk to people. Yes, it’s boring to show her working from her dining room table, but even Moore acknowledges the show’s showbiz aspects: “I swear I should have a FitBit when I’m with you guys,” she says to the film crew as she walks in to the building where she meets Det. Sharf. “I get a lot of steps.”

Our Call: STREAM IT. The Genetic Detective succeeds because Moore is charming as hell and the process she uses to solve these cases are fascinating. We just wish the format were a bit less slick.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company.com, RollingStone.com, Billboard and elsewhere.

Stream The Genetic Detective On ABC.com