If you’ve given up completely on broadcast TV to produce quality dramas, I don’t really blame you. Cable, with its freedom from content restriction, has carved out a golden age of TV drama to the point where there’s a greater quantity of well-written, well-acted drama on TV than there is in the movie theater. The networks have retreated into formulaic shows and franchises like CSI, Law & Order, NCIS, etc. There are some good shows for the super hero crowd like The Flash, Arrow, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but aside from The Blacklist, nothing to match cable. That was until This is Us came along last season.
This is Us isn’t just good; it’s great. It’s a show I should hate since it constantly deals with family, death, relationships, y’know….real life. It’s unapologetically earnest, consistently funny, always well-written, brilliantly acted, and in one year (we’re three episodes into season two) has already become the best network drama of the decade. The show’s pilot contains a brilliant twist, which I don’t want to ruin if you want to give the show a try, but my favorite scene in it comes from the pilot in a moment of joy and heartbreak. Two of the show’s characters (Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimilgia) have triplets in the pilot and they lose one of the babies. TV veteran Gerald McRaney plays their doctor in three episodes of the first season, and Dr. K is my favorite non-recurring character (Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown is my favorite of the regular cast). He gives Ventimiligia’s character wonderful and horrible news and then delivers a speech that should be hokey; it really should come off as treacly nonsense, but it’s not. It’s a beautiful and wise scene, and if you haven’t given This is Us a try, do. It’s an absolute triumph.
that show is so good. the thing about lemons is that by themselves they suck. in order to make the proverbial lemonade you also have to combine the good stuff you take your water so to speak (wisdom,faith) you add the sugar(a sense of humor,friendship)and combine that with the lemon(loss of a loved one,job loss) its the combination that makes something special.
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Noted, but read that next to “take the sourest lemon life has to offer and turn it into something resembling lemonade” and you’ll see why they went with the simple dialogue. Lol, point noted though.
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Wow….thanks for the great review and trailer. I’d heard this show was great, and you’ve given me such a great glimpse 🙂 Thanks for broadening my viewing horizons 🙂
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Truly, if you are not watching this show, you are missing it. Buy the first season and then catch up to the second. I swear to you that you’ll thank me. It’s right up your alley.
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You read my mind–it’s definitely right up my alley…I’ll definitely follow your advice…thank you in advance 🙂
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You’re welcome in advance. I’m that confident.
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Fantastic show. Gives new meaning to must see TV.
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I must live in a bubble. I haven’t heard of this series. The stuff of real life lures everyone and keeps them wanting to see more. I may sound strange using this analogy but ,way back in time when all the series were westerns, Gunsmoke took a run for over 20 years because it dealt with mature content presented by believable characters. After 60 years two cable networks continue to play it daily. The doctor here in this clip almost reminds me of Doc Adams as he tries to console this grieving father. This looks like one worth setting the DVR for and playing it back while fast-forwarding through the commercials.
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Oh I watched my share of Gunsmoke. I lived with my Grandpa for awhile and westerns were a staple. This show is just….fantastic. The first season is out on video, not streaming anywhere, but if you buy it and aren’t hooked, I have no words. I don’t flat out vouch for a show often because different people like different things, but there’s something for everyone in this show and it never fails to be funny, human, and heartfelt, even when dealing with horrible moments like this, because that’s life. I don’t even like shows about families because I lost my immediate one, but this show has been a gift. Pssht, now you kinda have to watch it lol.
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It REVIVES the old must-see-TV moniker. NBC has this and The Blacklist, which are the only two dramas on network TV aside from the comic book shows. If it could find one more, and put them all on one night, it’d be like when Thursday nights you HAD to see NBC again.
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