“This is Us” more like “This Just Killed Me”

I just watched the pilot for the new NBC show This is Us, and let me to you, guys– it is the best pilot for a television show I have ever seen. And I’m not just saying this because Milo Ventimiglia is in it (though, it helps). Let’s get this straight, he’s great. Mandy Moore is great. Sterling K. Brown is hypnotizing. The cast is amazing; but the real star, the one character I know is going to give this show life (for me) is: Chrissy Metz’s character, Kate.

Kate is the first character on TV that I’ve immediately gravitated towards. She’s a bigger girl, who puts sticky notes on food to dissuade herself from eating it, takes off her earrings before getting onto the scale because maybe, just maybe those couple of ounces will make a difference, and knows the exact calories in a glass of wine.

I’ve counted calories since I was little. I’ve sat in rooms and listened to skinny, skinny girls talk about how much they’d love to lose that extra five pounds while I poke the flab on my belly. I understand this character, and I love her. I want to protect her, and watch her grow to be more than the number on her scale. And the best part about Kate is that she is obsessed with losing weight, but it isn’t the only thing that defines her. I’m just so excited to see where her character goes in this series.

I know the big things to talk about in this show is the diversity and writing. But, what really gets me is how real everything felt. Meetings don’t go as planned, a woman dumps dog poop onto the junk-food she threw into the trashcan because she knows if she gets a chance she might dig the food back out, and a man has a mental breakdown in the middle of recording a television show and throws a plastic baby-doll at a bassinet. I love this show.

Let’s talk about plot real quick. The show’s premise is:

Sometimes life will surprise you. Starring Mandy Moore (“A Walk to Remember”), Milo Ventimiglia (“Heroes,” “Gilmore Girls”) and Sterling K. Brown (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”), this refreshingly honest and provocative series follows a unique ensemble. As their paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways, we find that several of them share the same birthday and so much more than anyone would expect. From the writer and directors of “Crazy, Stupid, Love” comes a smart, modern dramedy that will challenge your everyday presumptions about the people you think you know.

Everyone is talking about the twist at the end of the first episode, and to be honest, it destroyed me. This show had me laughing and crying interchangeably in each story line. There’s a scene near the beginning where a wife and husband are at their two daughters soccer games that I believe is one of the best scenes I’ve seen on television in years.

There are not enough good things to say about this show. I felt so strongly about it, that I immediately began writing up this review the moment I exited out of the window. That’s probably why this post is so scatter-brained. I’m in a fog– a good TV fog. I was supposed to be doing schoolwork and applying for more jobs, but I can’t focus on that right now. I just want more of This is Us!

You can watch the first episode for free on the NBC website.

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Have you seen This is Us? Let me know what you thought in the comments!

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