Viewers who miss NBC’s “Parenthood,” who appreciate emotional, optimistic, character-driven storytelling, there’s one fall TV series for you: NBC’s humane, life-affirming “This is Us” (10 tonight, WPXI).
It’s difficult to talk specifics about “This is Us” because it’s got a twist that puts the show into a context that clears up initial doubts about how a series about three seemingly disparate groups of characters will work on a weekly basis.
Tonight’s pilot — the only episode NBC made available in advance — efficiently introduces the show’s three primary sets of characters who all celebrate their 36th birthdays as the show begins:
— Pittsburghers Jack (Milo Ventimiglia, “Heroes”) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore, “A Walk to Remember”) are expecting triplets. In one scene he’s naked, wearing nothing but a Terrible Towel over his crotch, awaiting his wife’s birthday gift before she goes into labor.
— Hollywood actor Kevin (Justin Hartley, “Emily Owens, M.D.”) is unsatisfied with his role in the dumb sitcom “The Man-ny” and his twin sister, Kate (Chrissy Metz, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”), wants to lose weight.
— Successful New York businessman Randall (Sterling K. Brown, “The People v. O.J. Simpson”) seeks out the absentee father (Ron Cephas Jones, “Low Winter Sun”) who abandoned him at a fire station as an infant.
Created and written by Dan Fogelman (“The Neighbors,” “Galavant”), “This is Us” manages the tricky task of telling emotional stories without getting too saccharine. And in each story, the characters are quite relatable.
Whether it’s Randall’s simultaneous desire to push away from, and pull closer to, his bio-dad or Kate’s weight struggle or Kevin’s desire to change the world through his performance — or at least not to be embarrassed by his lame sitcom — the characters all strive and grasp to be better humans. In an era of antiheroes and reality show stars who each try to outwit, outlast and outplay one another, that makes “This is Us” especially notable for what a different, positive tone it embraces.
A repeated line of dialogue in the pilot also operates as the show’s thesis statement on how it sees life: “There’s no lemon so sour you can’t make something resembling lemonade.” That may not always be true, but it sure evokes a warm, embraceable sentiment when watching “This is Us.”
After tonight’s premiere, “This is Us” will air weekly at 9 p.m. Tuesdays beginning Oct. 11.
TV writer Rob Owen: rowen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2582. Read the Tuned In Journal blog at post-gazette.com/tv. Follow RobOwenTV on Twitter or Facebook.
First Published: September 20, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
