By MARK LINDSLEY
Staff Writer
One of last year’s biggest new shows, “This Is Us,” just kicked o their second season on Tuesday, Sept. 26. The 12.9 million people who watched the episode broke the show’s viewership record, which was previously 12.8 million viewers, according to CNN.
Less than a month ago, the show was nominated for ten Emmys and won two of them, according to Entertainment Weekly. The timing of the recognition couldn’t have been better, as the show’s ratings prove. However, the Emmys and ratings that “This Is Us” produced may just be a result of the unique story that the show tells.
In the show there are five main characters, made up of the “Big Three,” who are basically triplets, and their parents, Jack and Rebecca Pearson. Rebecca was supposed to give birth to triplets, but lost one of them during the birthing process. While she was recovering, Jack noticed a black baby boy with no name lying in the NICU right next to their two white babies.
Jack then found out that the baby had been born that same day and had been
abandoned at a fire station. He believed that this was fate and convinced Rebecca to go along with him and adopt this baby. She reluctantly agreed, so they adopted the baby and completed their “Big Three.”
The show revolves around the lives of the “Big Three,” who are all in their mid-30s, and a majority of the scenes involve one, two, or all of them as they deal with the issues that they encounter in their lives. There are also plenty of flashbacks to their childhood that show the audience some of the issues that their parents had to deal with, which also help to provide some context and explanations for some of their current issues.
Kevin is the Pearson’s birth son and is a famous actor who is struggling to be taken seriously by his peers and his fans, while also trying to find the right woman to be in a relationship with.
Randall is the Pearson’s adopted son, who is a very successful businessman, husband, and father to two young daughters, but has to deal with the daily struggle of trying to make every aspect of his life perfect.
Kate is the Pearson’s daughter, who is still struggling with the weight problems that she has had since she was a child while also trying to pick a career and figure out what she wants to do with her life.
When the kids were in high school their father died tragically, which is one of the biggest issues that the show focuses on. Their mother can be seen in the flashbacks, working on her relationship with Jack and her children, and in the present, being married to Jack’s former co-worker and best friend, Miguel, and trying to continue to help her children deal with some of their new problems.
A few of the show’s other characters include Randall’s wife Beth and daughters Tess and Annie, the women that Kevin sleeps with, and a few others that can only be discovered by watching the show.
The show is filled with storylines that almost any viewer can relate to and some highly emotional moments that can make even the toughest men cry. Even though it is only a couple of episodes in, the second season looks like it will be as good as the first, or perhaps even better. “This Is Us” airs Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. on NBC and is a show that the whole family can enjoy for years to come.
