''This Is Us'' is an American family drama television series that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents, and their three children, in several different time frames. It stars an ensemble cast featuring

Milo Ventimiglia Milo Anthony Ventimiglia (, ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...

Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...

, Sterling K. Brown,

Chrissy Metz Christine Michelle Metz (born September 29, 1980) is an American actress and singer. She played Kate Pearson in the television series ''This Is Us'' (2016–2022), which earned her nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Aw ...

Justin Hartley Justin Scott Hartley (born January 29, 1977) is an American actor. He has played Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Passions'' (2002–2006), Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on The CW television series ''Smallville'' (2006–2011), and Adam New ...

, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan,

Ron Cephas Jones Ron Cephas Jones (born January 8, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the drama series '' This Is Us'' (2016–2022), which earned him four consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning twice for Outstanding Gues ...

Jon Huertas Jonathan William Scott Hofstedt (born October 23, 1969) is an American actor. Known professionally as Jon Huertas, he is best known for his role as witch hunter Brad Alcerro in ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'', Sergeant Antonio 'Poke' Espera in HB ...

Alexandra Breckenridge Alexandra Hetherington Breckenridge is an American actress. She began her career with supporting roles in the teen comedy films '' Big Fat Liar'' (2002) and '' She's the Man'' (2006). She later played reporter Willa McPherson in the FX series ...

Niles Fitch Niles Fitch (born July 12, 2001) is an American actor who began his career as a child actor. He gained prominence through his role in the NBC series ''This Is Us''. He received praise for his role as Quinton in the drama film ''The Fallout'' (20 ...

, Logan Shroyer, Hannah Zeile, Mackenzie Hancsicsak, Parker Bates, Eris Baker,

Faithe Herman Faithe Herman (born December 27, 2007) is an American actress, best known for her work in ''This Is Us'' (2016) and '' Shazam!'' (2019). Career After appearing as Annie Pearson in the 2016 television show ''This Is Us'', Herman landed her firs ...

Lonnie Chavis Lonnie Chavis, Jr. (born November 23, 2007) is an American actor and activist. He is known for playing young Randall Pearson on NBC's drama, ''This Is Us''. Chavis has been nominated for several awards and shared the win for the Screen Actors Gui ...

Melanie Liburd Melanie Liburd is a British actress known for her roles in ''This Is Us'' and '' Power Book II: Ghost.'' In 2016, Liburd appeared as the red priestess in " No One", an episode of the sixth season of the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. She was ...

Lyric Ross Lyric Ross (born November 30, 2003) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Deja Pearson in the NBC drama series ''This Is Us''. Early life and career Ross, raised in Homewood, Illinois, is the daughter of Brandi Smith and Steph ...

Asante Blackk Asante Duah Ma'at (born October 20, 2001) known professionally as Asante Blackk, is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the miniseries ''When They See Us'' (2019), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He has be ...

Griffin Dunne Thomas Griffin Dunne (; born June 8, 1955) is an American actor, film producer, and film director. Dunne studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. He is known for portraying Jack Goodman in '' An Amer ...

, Caitlin Thompson and Chris Geere. ''This Is Us'' was filmed in Los Angeles. In September 2016, NBC picked up the series for a full season of 18 episodes. In January 2017, NBC renewed the series for two additional seasons of 18 episodes each, and then in May 2019, renewed if for a further three seasons. In May 2021, it was announced that the sixth would be its final season, which premiered on January 4, 2022.

Series overview

The series follows the lives of siblings Kevin, Kate, and Randall (known as the "big three"), and their parents Jack and Rebecca Pearson. It takes place mainly in the present, but uses flashbacks and flashforwards to show other significant moments in the family's history. Kevin and Kate are the two surviving members of triplets, born six weeks

premature Premature may refer to: * ''Premature'' (2014 film), an American comedy film * ''Premature'' (2019 film), an American romantic drama film * '' PREMature'', a 2015 British television drama miniseries See also * Premature aging, of an organism * ...

on Jack's 36th birthday in 1980; their brother Kyle was

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term i ...

. Believing they were meant to have three children, Jack and Rebecca decide to

adopt Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

Randall, an African-American child born earlier that day and brought to the same hospital after his biological father William Hill abandoned him at a

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

. Jack dies when his children are 17. Rebecca later marries Jack's best friend Miguel. Randall becomes a successful finance professional and marries college classmate Beth; they raise two daughters (Tess and Annie) and adopt a third, Deja. Kevin becomes a successful actor while struggling to be taken seriously. After lacking direction much of her life, Kate meets and marries Toby, pursues a career in music, gets a degree and becomes a mom. Most episodes feature a storyline taking place in the present (2016–2022, contemporaneous with airing) and a storyline taking place at a set time in the past. Some episodes are set in one time period, or use multiple flashback time periods. Flashbacks often focus on Jack and Rebecca circa 1980, both before and after their children's birth, or on the family when the big three are children or adolescents, and are played by two sets of younger actors; these scenes usually take place in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, where the big three and their parents are born and raised. As adults, their homes vary more widely: Kate lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

; Randall and his family are in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and later

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

; and Kevin relocates from Los Angeles to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and back again, with a brief return to

western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...

along the way. Various other time periods and locations have also served as settings. Some episodes have focused on the earlier experiences of other characters, including Randall's family members William, Deja, and Beth. Beginning in the second season, the show also uses flashforwards to show a later time period, when Randall's daughter Tess is an adult and an elderly Rebecca is on her deathbed.

Cast and characters

as Jack Pearson: Rebecca's first husband, Kate and Kevin's biological, and Randall's adoptive father. **Also portrayed by Joaquin Obradors as a child (recurring season 2–4, 6). *

as Rebecca Pearson née Malone: Jack's wife; Kate and Kevin's biological mother, and Randall's adoptive mother, Miguel's wife, grandmother to Deja, Tess, and Annie Pearson, Hailey and Jack Damon, and Nicholas and Franny Pearson. **Also portrayed by Ava Castro and Kya Kruse as a child (recurring season 2–4). * Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson: Jack and Rebecca's adopted son, Kate and Kevin's adopted brother; Beth's husband, William Hill's biological son, Tess, Annie and Deja's father, and Jack and Hailey Damon's and Franny and Nick Pearson's uncle. **Also portrayed by

(ages 16–18) (recurring season 1; main season 2–6),

(ages 9–12) (recurring season 1; main season 2–5), and Caron Coleman (ages 3–6) (recurring season 4–6). *

as Kate Pearson: Jack and Rebecca's biological daughter, Kevin's biological sister, and Randall's adoptive sister; Deja, Tess, Annie, Franny, and Nick's aunt; Toby's ex-wife; Phillip's wife and Jack and Hailey Damon's mother. **Also portrayed by Hannah Zeile (ages 16–18) (recurring season 1; main season 2–6), Mackenzie Hancsicsak (ages 9–12) (recurring season 1; main season 2–5), and Isabella Rose Landau (ages 3–6) (recurring season 4–6). *

as Kevin Pearson: Jack and Rebecca's biological son; Kate's biological brother, and Randall's adoptive brother, husband to Sophie, father to Nick and Franny, and uncle to Deja, Tess and Annie Pearson, and Jack and Hailey Damon. **Also portrayed by Logan Shroyer (ages 16–18) (recurring season 1; main season 2–6), Parker Bates (ages 9–12) (recurring season 1; main season 2–5), and Kaz Womack (ages 3–6) (recurring season 4–6). * Susan Kelechi Watson as Beth (Clarke) Pearson: Randall's wife, and mother of Deja, Tess and Annie. **Also portrayed by Rachel Hilson (ages 16–18) and Akira Akbar (child). * Chris Sullivan as Toby Damon: Kate's ex-husband and father of Hailey and Jack Damon. **Also portrayed by Luke Clark as a teenager, and Dylan Gage as a child. *

as William "Shakespeare" Hill: Randall's biological father (main seasons 1–2; recurring season 3–6). **Also portrayed by Jermel Nakia as a young adult (recurring seasons 1–2 & 5; guest season 4). *

as Miguel Rivas: Jack's best friend and Rebecca's second husband (recurring season 1; main season 2–6). *

as Sophie Inman: Kate's childhood best friend, as well as Kevin's childhood love and wife (recurring seasons 1 & 6; main season 2; guest season 3–5). **Also portrayed by Amanda Leighton (ages 15–19), Sophia Coto (ages 10–12), and Kai Trueblood Fall (ages 3–6). *Eris Baker as Tess Pearson: Randall and Beth's older daughter (recurring season 1; main season 2–6). **Also portrayed by Iantha Richardson as a young adult (guest season 2–3). *

as Annie Pearson: Randall and Beth's younger daughter (recurring season 1; main season 2–6). **Also portrayed by Iyana Halley as a young adult (season 6) *

as Zoe Baker: Beth's cousin and Kevin's ex-girlfriend (guest seasons 2 and 5; main season 3). **Also portrayed by Brianna Reed as a teenager and Dakota Baccelli as a child (guest season 2–3). *

as Deja Pearson: Randall and Beth's adopted daughter (recurring season 2; main season 3–6) **Also portrayed by Makenzie Lee-Foster as a child (recurring season 2–4). **Also portrayed by La Trice Harper as a young adult (season 6) *

as Malik Hodges: Deja's classmate and later boyfriend; has an infant daughter from a prior romantic relationship. (main season 4–6). *

as Nicholas "Nicky" Pearson: Jack's brother and Kevin, Kate and Randall's uncle (recurring seasons 3 and 5; main season 4 & 6). **Also portrayed by

Michael Angarano Michael Anthony Angarano (born December 3, 1987) is an American actor. He became known for his roles in the film '' Music of the Heart'' (1999) and the television series '' Cover Me'' (2000–2001), as well as for playing a recurring role as Ell ...

as a young adult, and Donnie Masihi as a child (guest season 3–4; recurring season 2–4). * Caitlin Thompson as Madison Simons: Kate's best friend, and Kevin's ex-fiancé and mother of his twins, Franny and Nick. (recurring season 1–4; main season 5–6) * Chris Geere as Philip: Kate's co-worker and second husband. (guest season 5; main season 6)

Episodes

Production

Development

''This is Us'' originally began as an 80-page movie script that Dan Fogelman was developing while working for

ABC Studios ABC Signature is an American television Filmmaking#Production, production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the List of assets owned by The Walt Disney Company#Disne ...

in the spring of 2015. The story line, which Fogelman admitted to not having a definite direction, revolved around the lives of eight adults who, as it would be revealed, were octuplets. After moving to an eight-figure deal with

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Compa ...

, Fogelman made the decision to develop a television series from the characters of his original script, cutting a few characters and shortening the script to 45 pages before bringing it to the studio. Jennifer Salke, president at

, commented on the conception of a title for the series, saying "The title didn't come easy...but ''This Is Us'' tapped into everything, and the show's about us." It has been revealed that other ideas for the title included ''36'', ''Happy Birthday'', and ''The Story of Us''. Despite positive reviews from both 20th Century Fox Television and its sister company,

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, there were concerns regarding risk of attracting an audience, and Fox sold it to

. Fox did so because

promised to use the high volume of viewers from ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'' and the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

to bring additional viewers to the series, and Fox wanted to solidify the reputation of its studio among writers and directors as placing shows where they are most likely to succeed, even if it is not Fox. On September 27, 2016, NBC picked up the series for a full season of 18 episodes. In January 2017, NBC renewed the series for two additional seasons of 18 episodes each. The second season premiered on September 26, 2017. The third season premiered on September 25, 2018. In May 2019, NBC renewed the series for three additional seasons. The fourth season premiered on September 24, 2019. The fifth season premiered on October 27, 2020. On May 12, 2021, it was announced that the series would conclude with the sixth season. Production wrapped on May 3, 2022.

Filming locations

In addition to filming in Los Angeles, the series shot a few scenes on location in New York City, Philadelphia, and one in Memphis.

Commitment to diversity

Fogelman intentionally recruited behind-the-scenes talent that would reflect the diversity of his cast, with the goal of bringing greater authenticity to the dialog and storylines. These include black directors

Regina King Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, ''Time'' magazine named her one ...

and George Tillman Jr., and black female writers Kay Oyegun and

Jas Waters Jas Waters (October 21, 1980 – June 9, 2020), also known as Jas Fly, was an American screenwriter and journalist. She was a staff writer for the television series ''This Is Us'' and also wrote for '' The Breaks'', '' Hood Adjacent with James Da ...

(they were part of a 30% black core writing staff; far outpacing the industry standard of 5%). In addition, Fogelman's sister Deborah, whose struggles with weight inspired one element of the show, serves as a consultant.

Release

In May 2017,

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

acquired the SVOD rights to new and past episodes of the series to air exclusively on Hulu, in addition to NBC.com and the NBC app.

DVD releases

International versions

Reception

Critical response

Throughout every season, the series received widespread critical acclaim from critics with an average rating of 94% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 92% approval rating for the first season with an average rating of 7.6/10 based on 216 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Featuring full-tilt heartstring-tugging family drama, ''This Is Us'' will provide a suitable surrogate for those who have felt a void in their lives since '' Parenthood'' went off the air."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 76 out of 100 based on 34 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Season 2 received a 92% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes based on 214 reviews, with an average score of 7.85/10. The site's consensus reads: "''This is Us'' continues to tug at heartstrings with an emotional exploration of family that ensures viewers will want to keep the tissues close – and their loved ones closer". Season 3 received a 94% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes based on 165 reviews, with an average of 7.15/10. The site's consensus reads: "With a lot of love, hugs, and tears, season three of ''This is Us'' continues to please fans with new intense storylines". Season 4 received a 91% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes based on 11 reviews, with an average of 7.3/10 The site's consensus reads: "''This Is Us'' reaffirms that it is more than just a mystery box in its fourth season, pressing on with some of its most central questions answered – but its emotional power intact." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' gave the show a grade B, calling it "a refreshing respite from the relational violence and pessimism that marks the other buzz soaps that have bubbled forth from a culture of divisiveness". Moreover, they praised all the actors, specifically Sterling K. Brown, for being able to navigate "his scenes with such intelligence, authenticity, and charisma".

Ratings

*Note: Outside of the regular Tuesday 9:00pm timeslot, the first season's first, second and eleventh episodes aired on Tuesday at 10:00pm, along with the fifth-season finale. Additionally, the second season's fourteenth episode, "

Super Bowl Sunday Super Bowl Sunday, officially Super Sunday in the NFL, is the day on which the Super Bowl, the National Football League (NFL)'s annual championship game, is played. Sometimes described as an unofficial national holiday, it recently occurred on t ...

", aired on a Sunday at 10:15pm.

Accolades

Explanatory notes

References

External links

* * {{Dan Fogelman 2016 American television series debuts 2022 American television series endings 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2020s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series 2020s American LGBT-related drama television series Television series about dysfunctional families English-language television shows NBC original programming Nonlinear narrative television series Fiction about interracial romance Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series Serial drama television series Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television series created by Dan Fogelman Television series set in the 1980s Television series set in the 1990s Television series set in the 2000s Television shows set in Los Angeles Television shows set in New Jersey Television shows set in New York City Television shows set in Pennsylvania Television shows set in Pittsburgh Television shows set in Philadelphia Television series about siblings Television Academy Honors winners