Drama: ‘This Is Us’ is absolutely heartwarming
Coincidence is a useful dramatic tool, but only if used sparingly. When things are too coincidental, it can seriously endanger credibility.
The pilot episode of NBC’s “This Is Us,” premiering Tuesday, Sept. 20, gets close to the edge of coincidental excess without falling into an abyss as it focuses on six people who all share the same birthday and are turning 36. The half dozen subjects
include a set of twins, but otherwise, the birthday celebrators are seemingly unrelated.
Jack (Milo Ventimiglia, “The Gilmore Girls”) is dressed appropriately in his birthday suit as he awaits a gift from his wife, Rebecca (Mandy Moore, “Red Band Society”), very pregnant with triplets.
Twins Kevin ( Justin Hartley, “Smallville”) and Kate (Chrissy Metz, “American Horror Story”) are in no mood to celebrate their shared birthday. Kevin is a serious actor, but also a hunk who has found fame as the frequently shirtless star of a dimwitted TV sitcom called “The Manny.”
Kate is morbidly obese and hates herself for it. She pins Post-its on various items in the fridge to deter her from overeating, but nothing is working. She doesn’t know what happened to her, how she got this way, much less how to regain control of her life and her weight.
Randall (Sterling K. Brown, “Army Wives”) is a successful businessman with a loving wife (Susan Kelechi Watson, “Louie”) and two young daughters. There are many reasons for his success, and one of them is that he still seethes over the fact that he was left in front of a firehouse when he was just an infant. He is obsessed with finding out who his real father was and why he abandoned him.
The performances are nicely detailed and fully credible, contributing to the level of credibility necessary to keep the conceit of the show from seeming gimmicky. In addition to the main cast, superb work is contributed by Gerald McRaney (“House of Cards”) as a wise veteran obstetrician; Chris Sullivan (“The Knick”) as a funny member of an overeaters support group Kate attends; and Ron Cephas Jones (“Mr. Robot”) in a significant role in Randall’s life.
The series was created by Dan Fogelman, who also created this season’s “Pitch” for Fox and wrote the screenplay for “Crazy Stupid Love.” It’s easy to see why NBC went for the concept of this show: If it works, it can be the network’s replacement for the beloved “Parenthood,” which enjoyed six seasons on NBC.
The stories seem to play out on their own, some aimed toward happy endings, others seeming destined for regret. Because each story is written and acted so well, we don’t really worry much about the fact that they seem to have no relationship to each other beyond the shared birthday thing.
But is coincidence really just that, or are we connected in ways we don’t really consider? Unless you’re Charles Dickens, a writer shouldn’t overplay the coincidence card, at least not in the cynical 21st century. Fogelman handles it just right in the pilot, though. The challenge for him is finding a way to continue that strategic restraint in future episodes. One thing is for sure: “This Is Us” is very likely to be the sentimental favorite for many viewers.
The stories seem to play out on their own, some aimed toward happy endings, others seeming destined for regret.