What would television drama be Ask Me What You Want (2024)without crime procedurals, hospital dramas and at least one family saga that stings because of how real it is? That final category belongs to This Is Us, an NBC series that premiered Tuesday and follows four individuals who happen to share the same birthday.
Those curiously bonded main characters are played by Milo Ventimiglia, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz and Sterling K. Brown, each embarking on a pivotal personal journey as they turn 36.
SEE ALSO: 500,000 safe Samsung Galaxy Note7 devices arrive in storesWhether or not you're a sucker for this technique, a string of synchronous scenes strung together by music can often amplify the emotional efficacy of a scene. This Is Usgoes shamelessly for that effect, opening with the type of light, strumming music that was basically made to cry to (the song is Sufjan Stevens' "Death With Dignity," which has lyrics like "We all know how this will end." Thanks, NBC!).
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Kate's (Metz) personal struggle isn't as hyperspecific as the others', but it preoccupies her to a heartbreaking extent. Metz looks positively haunted as Kate steps on a scale in the beginning, but it really hits home when she tells her brother: "I ate my dream life away." She demands that Kevin tell her to lose the weight, but he does one better -- he gets her to say it.
We find out early on that Rebecca (Mandy Moore) has a "high-risk pregnancy," which in TV means to pause the show and go into the next room immediately to uncork the wine. But when it comes to facing any difficult outcomes, Jack (Ventimiglia) won't hear of it.
"I'm going to need everyone in this room to believe me when I say that only good things are going to happen today," Jack says. The doctor (Gerald McRaney) doesn't succumb to this melodramatic speech (delivered with brilliant sincerity by Ventimiglia), but he smiles, inspired.
To meet her goals, Kate joins a support group and shares a few choice chuckles from across the room with Toby (who possesses the wit of Santino Fontana as Greg on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend without the constant self-loathing). Toby (Chris Sullivan) and Kate flirt shamelessly, and we are all for it.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable The Emmy-winning Brown asserts his talent with spine-tingling prowess with approximately one minute of dialogue aimed at the man who abandoned him as a baby. He's earnest, bitter, and in one moment allows for a little swagger and a sly smile. Then he cuts the tension with a single comedic line that had a 99 percent chance of ruining the scene, but it doesn't.
This is Us is full of moments like this; moments of laugh-out-loud humor that are heightened because they punctuate palpable tension.
We barely know Randall's father (Ron Cephas Jones) when he comes home and meets his two adorable granddaughters, but their minimal interaction is immense. This is a man whose life was once so dark that he left his baby at a fire station and doesn't even remember it. To see the same man snap into grandpa mode with the girls will make you cry-laugh (it has a similar effect on Randall).
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable The quirky doctor who delivers Jack and Rebecca's babies may have a penchant for for dad jokes ("Which of you is pregnant?"), but when they're handed "the sourest lemon that life has to offer," he offers only moving advice. The camera stays locked on Dr. K (Gerlad McRaney) while Ventimiglia's shock of hair nods numbly, and oops there are tears in your tea.
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on NBC.
Topics NBC
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