When the previews for NBC’s latest drama This is Us aired, the premise looked pretty simple – four people who all share the same birthday. Those four people are Jack (Milo Ventimiglia), Randall (Sterling K. Brown), Kate (Chrissy Metz), and Kevin (Justin Hartley). They are all drastically different and are somehow all connected, which is what will be revealed later.
Jack is married to Rebecca (Mandy Moore); they are an adorable young couple who, when we meet them, are expecting triplets, or as they like to call them, “The Big Three.” The two of them are madly in love and have their world turned upside down when it is revealed that there are complications with her pregnancy.
Randall is married to Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) and they have two daughters. Randall’s story centers on his relationship with his birth father, William (Ron Cephas Jones). When Randall was an infant his father left him outside of a fire house and never contacted him again. Randall has extremely negative feelings toward his biological father and only agrees to speak with him after he hears that he is sick.
Kate is overweight which makes her sick – not just physically but emotionally sick as well. She wants to get help but doesn’t know where to start, so she joins a support group. In the support group she meets Toby, (Chris Sullivan) a fellow member of the group who is trying to lose weight but desperately wants to keep his dark sense of humor intact.
Kevin is an over-glamorized actor that is fed up with the weak and useless characters he is stuck playing. After he has a revelation on the set of his television show, he decides to quit his job. He is the oldest sibling of the three and easily acts as the youngest. He may be thirty-six, but he has a lot of growing up to do.
The three of them seem to have an unspoken bond. It is going to be really wonderful watching them not only interact with their spouses, significant others, and children, but also it will be really great to watch them interact with each other. Kate and Kevin seemed extremely close in the pilot, and seeing how Randall will fit in that equation will be interesting.
In the final moments of the premiere, Jack stands in the waiting room of the hospital, looking in on the baby nursery. A man next to him asks which one is his and he points to a boy and a girl; Jack asks the man which one is his. The man explains that he works at a fire station and that someone left a baby outside. He looks over to find that baby placed right next to his twins. He understands that that baby was meant to be his and Rebecca’s. They adopt him and it is revealed that Jack and Rebecca’s storyline is set in the past and that Kate, Kevin, and Randall are their children all grown up.
Dan Fogelman, the creator, also produced another one of this season’s most anticipated new shows, Pitch. With multiple critically acclaimed screenplays under his belt, I personally can’t wait to see how he tackles two shows on primetime television. His two new series seem to show immense promise, making for one great fall television season.
It will be interesting to see how the show works with the twist they threw at the crowd last week. Wowing the audience with the pilot is one thing, but keeping that shock and awe value week after week is another. I think This is Us can do that and can keep people invested for the long haul. It has the same vibe that Parenthood had and that show was beloved by fans and critics. This is Us could do the same thing.
You can tune into This is Us Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on NBC.
IMAGE TAKEN from filmmusicreporter.com
IMAGE TAKEN from deadline.com
