Aired from September 2016 to May 2022, This Is Us is a family drama series on the NBC network. Created by Dan Fogelman, the series had 106 episodes and lasted for six seasons.
‘This Is Us’ filming took place in Los Angeles, California. The first episode premiered on September 20, 2016, while its final episode aired on May 24, 2022.
Cast
The family drama series features an ensemble cast of actors- Milo Ventimiglia plays Jack Pearson, Mandy Moore plays Rebecca Pearson, Sterling K. Brown plays Randall Pearson, and Chrissy Metz plays Kate Pearson.
The main cast includes Justin Hartley as Kevin Pearson, Susan Kelechi Watson as Beth Pearson, Chris Sulivan as Toby Damon, and Ron Cephas Jones as William Hill.
Jon Huertas, Alexandra Breckenridge, Eris Baker, Faithe Herman, Melanie Liburd, Lyric Ross, Asante Black, Griffin Dunne, Caitlin Thompson, and Chris Geere complete the show’s cast.
Premise
The series follows the lives of parents Jack and Rebecca Pearson and their three children- Kate, Kevin, and Randall. The three siblings are also known as the ‘Big Three.’
The story explores their lives in different time frames; the main focus of the series is on the present, but the show also uses flashbacks and flashforwards to depict significant happenings in the Pearson family history.
Kevin, Kate, and Kyle are Jack and Rebecca’s triplets, born prematurely on Jack’s 36th birthday. While Kevin and Kate survive, Kyle is stillborn. The couple adopts Randall, an abandoned child at the hospital.
After Jack’s demise, when the children are seventeen, Rebecca marries Miguel, who happens to be Jack’s best friend.
The three children move on with their respective personal and professional lives in the future. Kevin is a successful actor, while Kate has a music career, marries Toby, and embraces motherhood. Randall is a successful finance professional and has settled down with Beth and their two daughters, Annie and Tess, and an adopted daughter, Deja.
The ‘Big Three’ also reside in different cities- Kevin moves from Los Angeles to New York City to Los Angeles again, and Kate resides in Los Angeles. At the same time, Randall and his family initially live in New Jersey but later move to Philadelphia.
The story flashbacks include scenes from around 1980 showcasing Jack and Rebecca’s relationship before and after having children. Some storylines also focus on the childhood and adolescence of the ‘Big Three.’
These scenes take place in Pittsburgh, where the family initially resided.
Sometimes, the flashbacks were also about the stories of Randall’s family members, namely William, Beth, and Deja. And the flashforwards had storylines about Tess’ adulthood and Rebecca’s death.
Reception
The series received primarily positive responses from critics. The critics called the series a welcome change from the violent television series populating the networks.
The actors of the show, especially Sterling K. Brown, were applauded for their acting chops.
Accolades
The drama series has received several awards and nominations.
Some of the major nominations and wins for the series include the American Film Institute Awards, the Critics’ Choice Television Awards, the Primetime Emmy Awards, the Golden Globe, and the MTV Movie and TV Awards, to name a few.