‘the writers give crumbs of information without ever giving you the whole slice’NBC Studios

“This is love. This is hope. This is life. This Is Us.” Cue tears.

Throughout the summer, This Is Us trailers filled with sentiment stormed social media in the US, creating huge expectations for the pilot. Fortunately, the show met these expectations, in the US at least, recently receiving Golden Globe nominations for Best Television Series Drama and Best Supporting Actress in a Series for both Mandy Moore and Chrissy Metz.

The trailer’s premise was that people with the same birthday cross paths in life as well as crossing the same date off the calendar. Having watched various trailers and reading the reviews, I started the first episode thinking I knew what it would be: a somewhat cheesy drama rife with tears. Yet, by the end of the sensitive pilot, I found myself laughing at the one-liners and surprised by the final plot twist.

“However, in a world full of political drama both on screen and off, it is refreshing to watch people to whom we can relate”

In a word the show is about people, as corny as that sounds. It revolves around four different storylines, in which the characters struggle with everyday problems. Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Moore) go through a complicated delivery of triplets, Kate (Metz) suffers with her weight loss, Randall (Sterling K. Brown) copes with finding his father and Kevin (Justin Hartley) is having a career crisis. Despite the mundanity of these issues on the surface, the plot develops in such a way as to gradually reveal the characters’ flaws and insecurities which the actors portray with great believability.

What is most striking about their performances is the consistency: when characters are shown at early stages in life and in the present, it is evident that the entire ensemble are committed to understanding the relationships between characters, rather than merely the individual.

The writers have carefully balanced the emotional plots with subtle glimmers of humour. We can sympathise with Kate sitting on the bathroom floor, sobbing over her weight and then smile at her boyfriend’s jokes about his hatred of kale. Clearly, this programme does not bring with it the tension or edge-of-your-seat experience of shows such as Game of Thrones or Scandal. However, in a world full of political drama both on screen and off, it is refreshing to watch people to whom we can relate and to experience an emotional catharsis in reaction to their stories.

When I watch a new episode of This Is Us, even after only five episodes, I know that it will be comforting. This comfort is not concomitant with boredom or predictability though, and just as the show changed between the trailer and the first episode, the show alters our interpretations of characters’ relationships and issues; the writers give crumbs of information without ever giving you the whole slice.

The show is not without fault. As with many shows following multiple storylines, by the fifth episode I already find myself more interested in some storylines than others and often moments are omitted to prioritise others, most likely due to timing restrictions. To prevent this feeling of favouritism, my hope for the rest of the series is that the characters’ stories and problems intertwine further.

Without overdoing the long, drawn-out stares and monologues, This Is Us is a show rich with emotive drama and my only thought when watching it with a tea in one hand and the remote in the other is, ‘this is comfort’