‘This Is Us’ has us completely riveted
So far this fall, a lot of you seem to be watching “This Is Us,” a big-hearted family drama on NBC. That’s a trend that’s kind of messing with my head.
It’s not that the show starring starring Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia and Sterling K. Brown isn’t seeworthy. It is. I just can’t recall when we last saw a bighearted family drama become one of the major breakout hits of the season.
So what’s going on? “This Is Us” has been widely compared to “Parenthood,” another NBC family drama. “Parenthood” aired for six seasons (2010-2015). Though critics generally admired it and the series attracted a staunchly loyal, tissueabusing fan base, it was never a big hit. In fact, “Parenthood” spent a good chunk of its run dodging the cancellation ax.
“This Is Us,” in contrast, came blazing out of the gates, its September pilot episode drawing 10 million same-day viewers. With DVR playback factored in, that number jumped to 14.6 million. The typical audience for “Parenthood,” by the way, usually hovered around the 6 million mark.
As with most new shows, “This Is Us” saw its same-day audience drop in Week 2 (8.7 million), but in Week 3, it rebounded to 9.9 million — making it the rare new series to climb back up in the ratings after experiencing a drop. NBC has already expanded its debut season to 18 episodes.
For those who haven’t experienced “This Is Us,” it’s an emotional, soapy, time-tripping tale about three grown-up siblings and the parents who raised them. It jumps around through the years and decades to reveal the crossroad moments of its characters, including heartbreaking tragedies and uplifting triumphs.
Signs that “This Is Us” could be huge came months before it even premiered, when a deftly crafted promotional trailer for the show drew more than 100 million views via social media. So it wasn’t a complete surprise when a substantial and very curious audience showed up for the series premiere.
There was a big surprise, however, in that opener — a game-changing plot twist that came near the end of the hour (our lips are sealed on that, in case you’re still hoping to jump aboard). Millions of viewers became instantly hooked.
“This Is Us” shares some traits with “Parenthood” and other family soaps: It has a diverse, multigenerational cast. It’s earnest and sentimental (sometimes to a fault) and tugs heavily on the heartstrings. And like “Parenthood,” it tends to turn your eyes soggy. Smart investors should load up on Kleenex stock ASAP.
“This Is Us,” however, has distinguished itself with its nonlinear storytelling. By bouncing between past and present and allowing us to peer in on the characters at different stages of their lives — from infancy to adulthood for some — we see how an action or reaction, here or there, has had a ripple effect.
It’s an intriguing device. We all, at times, have gazed back through the years and wondered “what if?” How would have things been different if we had not met this person or taken a certain path? “This Is Us” smartly plays into that dynamic, while tossing in dashes of nostalgia for good measure.
Moreover, the show, like most pop-cultural successes, has benefited from some perfect timing. Not only is it a welcome alternative to all the crime procedurals and dark story lines that populate prime time these days, it arrived just as the presidential campaign was growing more ugly, hostile and divisive.
Just when we desperately needed some life-affirming, feel-good vibes in our lives, “This Is Us” was there for us.
CHANNEL SURFING: And the shows just keep coming. This Sunday brings us new seasons of “The Librarians” (8 p.m., TNT), “Vikings” (9 p.m., History Channel) and “The Affair” (10 p.m., Showtime). Please remember to have pity on your poor DVR.
Also on Sunday: “The 2016 American Music Awards” (8 p.m., ABC), because our nation’s pop singers simply don’t have enough hardware in their trophy cases. Performers include Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, John Legend, Ariana Grande and Bay Area rock band Green Day. Leading the nomination list is Drake, with 13. Speaking of music,
“Beat Bugs,” the animated kids show that brings Beatles tunes to a whole new generation, launches its second season on Netflix Friday.
With songs made famous by the Fab Four, a group of friendly bugs learn big lessons about the world around them, all while never leaving their backyard. The smartly crafted show is geared toward 2- to 5-year-olds.