Every year during the new “fall season” of TV shows, I’m always trying to watch previews and see what show I want to invest time in to watch. I have a good number of shows that I regularly keep up with and so anytime there are new shows I want to see if they’re worth watching. From the first time a saw a preview earlier in the year I knew that I wanted to check out NBC’s new show This is Us. Even from just the brief few minutes of the trailer for the show, there was a feeling that resonated with me about it. So I made sure to mark that as something I want to watch.
This is Us is a show about the Pearson family. In the pilot we learn about a couple by the name of Jack and Rebecca. They are pregnant with triplets and when the time arrived they got two healthy babies and one that died. However, there was also an African-American baby that was born that same day that was left at hospital with no one to care for it and Jack and Rebecca adopt him. Come to find out that the three siblings (Kevin, Kate & Randall) are all grown up in the present day and the episodes weave through the past with Jack and Rebecca raising the children and the present day with the three siblings living out their different lives.
I think resonate is the best word when it comes to this show. All the struggles and heartaches that these characters face are ones that resonate with me. I understand and feel when these characters deal with pain, hurt, rejection, hope, loss, fear. It resonates with me because I struggle with those same feelings. There are few shows that can entertain as well as resonate. I can watch an episode (as well as the aftershow where the creator & the cast talk about the episode) and have that episode stick with me for several days. It sticks with me because I can relate to what these characters are feeling and experiencing.
Whether it’s Kate and her struggles with her weight and relationship issues with Toby. Whether it’s Kevin and his struggles of feeling ignored or not valued as an actor. Whether it’s Randall and his struggles with feeling accepted or whether to excel or be middle of the road. Whether it’s Rebecca and Jack trying to live out their lives and sacrifice their dreams to make the best for their family. Each story is real because it’s things that are universal. We all deal with these hopes and dreams and struggles and pains.
It is telling how the show weaves the past with the present and shows that the same hopes and dreams and struggles are there throughout the characters’ lives. It is the same in our own lives. There are certain things that we deal with all our lives along with those things that we deal at certain points in our lives.
If you haven’t seen This is Us, you really should. It is one of those few shows that makes you feel and makes you think long after the credits roll.
There and Back Again: My Journey 