This Is Us is a NBC family drama TV series about a family and how certain past events influenced how the members make decisions today and beyond as they find a healthier way to overcome past trauma and loss. I resisted watching This Is Us because I am still not quite over the loss of Parenthood, the TV series, and felt like This Is Us was a shameless attempt at retaining the same viewers. Also while I like Milo Ventimiglia, I had begun to associate him with vile characters after The Divide, Kiss of the Damned, and his brief stint during the first season of Gotham so I was not ready to buy him as the patriarch of anything but a twisted family, Gilmore Girls and Heroes notwithstanding. Also Arrow version 1.0 from Smallville, Justin Hartley, and Mandy Moore as an actor kind of threw me off. Really?
The universe literally had other plans. It felt like every podcast that I listened to, every friend who watched TV, even my church, loved and could not stop talking about This Is Us. Many friends admitted that it did not quite hit Parenthood levels of excellence, but it was pretty close, but what sealed the deal was that my mom wanted to watch This Is Us, and she never showed interest in Parenthood, but I am still working on that. So in less than a week, my mom and I watched the entire first season of This Is Us. I already want to rewatch the entire season.
Because I heard so much about This Is Us, I was pretty spoiled about certain plot twists, but the narrative is still fairly complex and layered that even with spoilers, you have to pay attention. There is not a simple, single parallel storyline that unfolds in chronological order from week to week like Arrow. There could be multiple parallel time storylines following different characters, and later episodes could revisit those periods, but expand on it. The casting of the teenage version of any of the characters, particularly Kate and the voice work for the young Jack and Randall, is astonishingly perfect. I cannot believe that This Is Us does not have a time machine to hire the adult actors when they were teens.
This Is Us has a strong ensemble cast without any weak links. Even the mailman will try to make you cry. The mailman! My three favorite moments in the TV series are first, when the title is explained because that is how I think of God and how to reconcile free will with God’s omniscience; second, the anxiety attack scene because real love is sacrificing your money and reputation to help someone; and third, when the fathers meet and swap stories about teaching a character to drive.
I had minor quibbles. First, during the Super Bowl storyline, the actual footage sounded like it was from the Rose Bowl, and I know nothing about sports. Second, did Kate get a refund, and she should sue for sexual harassment. Third, when the boss asks a character what he will do, I immediately started worrying about finances-how are you going to afford your life? Did you talk to your closest loved one about this? Fourth, I hope that Randall at least got basic bio information on his mother-name, date of birth, etc. You have two branches to explore.
While I think that This Is Us is fairly tame and suitable for all viewers, my mom thought there was a lot of sexual content, at least referenced though not necessarily depicted in graphic detail, and there are depictions of drug use. This Is Us does not need my approval because it is apparently the most popular drama TV series, and all of you dragged me to it so thank you!
Side note: if you watch The Void after This Is Us, it is kind of a hilarious and horrific inversion of how a doctor coaches a couple after losing a baby.