If you’re reading this post, it’s probable you haven’t heard a lot of Internet buzz about the new hot totally earnest special series on PBS, Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. It’s a show that will find Gates, a Harvard professor and incredibly respected writer and critic in all things African American, sitting down with 11 famous Americans to chat about their families from generations ago and to establish the official genealogy of their bloodline.

We’re only telling you all this because in the show’s second episode — airing Feb. 17 at 8 pm EST, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert will sit face to face with Gates. There, you will see a Colbert you’ve never seen before. In the 11 minutes and 20 seconds of previews we’ve seen of his interview, the host of the The Colbert Report barely cracks a joke and instead, is amazingly serious throughout. Want the disturbing proof? Check out the clip below, where Stephen describes his father’s side of the family as holly rollers, ferry operators and horse thieves.

Other celebrity guests throughout the series will include Eva Longoria Parker, Mario Batali and Meryl Streep. The show premieres on Feb. 10 at 8 pm on PBS. There’s three more preview videos of Stephen’s interview after the jump. Click, sit back and enjoy.

In this second clip, Stephen earnestly tells us about an incredibly complicated-sounding Christmas tradition. We’re pretty sure he’s serious, which is why it’s so scary. Check it out.

“The English are bastards.” That’s what Stephen, as an Irish American, was raised believing. Things have changed a little bit, though. So much so that he was able to marry a woman who’s family apparently stole land from his family. Watch the clip.

In the final clip the question is asked: Why do people seek out their ancestors? Stephen submits that, in part, it’s to try to seek greatness in your family. Also, we learn how the Erie Canal is part of his family’s legacy.