'This is Us' Pilot Review

Image from NBC

By Darian Scalamoni

            I’ve never been one to watch network dramas on networks like ABC, FOX or NBC, this week, I was able to find one that I thoroughly enjoyed and will be watching going forward. NBC released This is Us last week and it’s an interesting story with a hell of a twist. I will be giving that twist away so in case you haven’t watched the pilot yet, SPOILER ALERT.

            This is Us tracks four random individuals on the day of their 36^th birthday. The characters are as follows: Jack (played by Milo Ventimiglia) is a father-to-be who is a big Steelers fan and his wife, Rebecca (played by Mandy Moore) goes into labor before they can partake in Jack’s intimate birthday tradition. We then meet Randall (played by recent Emmy winner, Sterling K. Brown) who is a successful businessman who gets an email confirming that someone has located his long-lost father who left him at a fire station when he was born. Next up is Kate (played by Chrissy Metz) who’s a woman struggling with her obesity and rededicates herself to a diet on her birthday. Finally, our last lead character is Kate’s fraternal twin brother named, Kevin (played by Justin Hartley), an actor who stars in a sitcom and it requires him to have his shirt off about 90 percent of the time. Oh yeah, and in the sitcom, he plays a male nanny.


            The show seems like a nice little drama filled with three separate but interesting stories, but it’s the twist that NBC has been hiding that makes the show a much more intriguing and watchable show. It’s revealed that Randall is Kevin and Kate’s adopted sibling and that the show seems to take place at a different time period for some because it’s also revealed that Jack and Rebecca are their parents. This is revealed within the last few minutes of the episode due to some decent set design and classic clothing. To be fair, it is a bit of a corny takeaway but it was something that was hidden and led to a surprise moment for a lot of viewers. I appreciated it because it was their attempt at doing something different. A show that takes place within the modern times and also be somewhat of a period piece is interesting and it begs the question, where does this series go from here?


            The whole theme of the show seems to bring the message to the audience that “it all works out” but the big key here is what is to follow on the show. It is a good start but I seriously question where the show can go from here. We’ll have to see on episode two.

8.2/10