"This Is Us" debuted with a heart-tugging pilot that filled the gaping hole "Parenthood" left when it was not renewed.
Produced by Dan Fogelman, the series debuted with a lot of expectations given the views it garnered through its trailer alone. Thankfully, the show lived up to its premise as what could be the surprise family hit series this year.
The series introduced us to major characters who all turn 36 with the same birthday. On its first few minutes we were introduced to Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) who is the father of would be triplets. His wife Rebecca (Mandy Moore) goes to labor in a middle of a 'birthday tradition' 6 weeks earlier.
Then the scene cuts to Kate (Chrissy Metz) in front of her refrigerator facing a chock-full of items labeled with post-it notes like "throw this crap out" to keep her from consuming foods that are bad for her. The way the show portrayed Kate's struggle with her weight is probably one of the most authentic and raw thing that has been shown on television. Reluctantly, she befriends and agrees to go on a date with Toby (Chris Sullivan), a member of the support group attends.
Then we see Sterling K. Brown as Randall, a successful businessman who has found his biological father on the same day as his birthday. We went to tell his wife about it and said that he is not interested in forging a relationship but does the opposite. Upon finding his biological father, he unloads his resentment in being left at a fire station before finally inviting the man to see his grandchildren. As it turns out, his father is dying. What Randall does with this revelation remains to be seen but we do know that he let him sleep in his home for a night.
And then there's Kevin (Justin Hartley), Kate's fraternal twin who is popularly known as the star of a sit-com called "The Man-ny." He is a picture of good health with chiseled abs that requires him to take off his shirt 90 percent of the time for the show. However, like Kate, he too finds dissatisfaction on the life he is leading.
The show went to establish that Kevin and Kate have a good relationship. In fact, in their most vulnerable states and emotional breakdowns, they never miss to confine on each other.
Back to Jack and Rebecca, the couple went into labor with a filling in physician because her doctor suffered a medical set-back. Aware of Rebecca's case, the doctor played by Gerald McRaney will probably the nicest doctor we have seen on tv. Unfortunately, he is also the doctor who had to tell Jack that they lost the third baby who became stillborn when Rebecca went to labor.
As if the twist wasn't becoming apparent, the final minutes of the pilot had Jack looking over his twins in the nursery when he meets a fireman who brought in a child abandoned at his station. It turns out, Jack and Rebecca's scenes are in the past and the three kids, Kate, Kevin and Randall were the kids in that nursery room.
"This is Us" premiered on Sept. 20 on NBC.
