This is us Season 1

 

This is Us Season 1

Wow. I didn't see this one coming. It came to my attention after I saw an interview of Serling K. Brown (who I'd seen briefly in Person of Interest and also shows up in Black Panther). This is deep. The pitch is relatively straightforward: in the 80s, a young upbeat couple goes to the hospital for the birth of triplets, but one of the three babies dies during childbirth. At the same time a black baby is abandoned and they decide to adopt him. Fast forward 36 years later and we see the three brothers and sisters in the now. The narrative structure is fairly disjointed with multiple jumps at various points in the past of the main characters, but it works. Most importantly, this is deep stuff. It reminds me of a less dark Six Feet Under. There is the same care for characters, and the cast is truly mindblowing. I was close to tears multiple times watching because it hits real close. There is something universal in there about the hardships of married life, what it means to have kids and love them (and/or to have parents and love them). Sibling rivalries, artistic ambitions, obesity, This is Us covers a lot of ground. It's truly magnificent. We need a little break from these characters now, but you bet we'll be revisiting Randall, Kevin, Kate, Rebecca, Jack and all the rest in Season 2.