WASHINGTON — Thanksgiving is over, but boy are we thankful for this show.
If you’re looking for a touching show to binge-watch with the family over the holidays — one that’ll make you feel somehow wiser and more alive — check out “This Is Us” at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC.
Episode 9 airs on Tuesday night, but if you’re not caught up on the series, it’s absolutely worth going back on Hulu or the NBC app and binge-watching it from the start: (A) so you’re not lost by the intertwining storylines and (B) so you can enjoy each reveal of how these characters are connected.
To say anything more would be a TV sin. So in that spirit, there are no major spoilers below, but rather general descriptions of each character, location and premise in this lovely, humanistic puzzle.
Set in Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Los Angeles, the plot revolves around several ensemble characters.
Leading the way is Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson, a first-time mother about to have triplets. It’s wonderful seeing Moore in a motherly role after such coming-of-age flicks as “The Princess Diaries” (2001) and “A Walk to Remember” (2002). It’s a welcome comeback, as she is the show’s fulcrum, trying not to show favoritism to her kids (Parker Bates, Mackenzie Hancsicsak, Lonnie Chavis), while staring at the basement washing machine with a bittersweet nostalgia for the “spin cycle” of life.
Her partner for this ride is Jack, brought to life in the show’s best performance by Milo Ventimiglia, who played Sylvester Stallone’s son in “Rocky Balboa” (2006) before rising the TV ranks on The WB’s “Gilmore Girls” (2001), NBC’s “American Dreams” (2004) and NBC’s “Heroes” (2006). In “This Is Us,” he starts out yearning for kids at a Super Bowl party, admits anxiety at the hospital delivery room, and boozes at the bar after work — all while self-diagnosing his fatherhood skills on a scale of 1-10.
While Moore and Ventimiglia’s first-time parents learn the ropes in Pittsburgh, we simultaneously head to Los Angeles to follow Justin Hartley (“Smallville”) as Kevin, a hotshot actor torn between keeping a hefty paycheck from his cheesy sitcom “The Manny” (“Manny say whaaaat?”) or moving to Broadway to pursue a career of “serious” acting with the acclaim of more highbrow theater critics.
Also in L.A., we meet Chrissy Metz (“American Horror Story”) as Kate, a kind soul battling weight issues. She gradually gains confidence and willpower thanks to her overweight boyfriend Toby (Chris Sullivan), who’s quick with hilarious quips from the moment they meet in weight-loss therapy: “So, you wanna be fat friends?” “I can’t fall for a fat person right now.” “I guess I’ll lose the weight then.” It’s a real-life struggle: Metz is contractually obligated to lose the weight as the TV series progresses.
Of all the storylines, however, the most fascinating belongs to Sterling K. Brown as Randall, a financial wiz raising his family in New Jersey. His picturesque suburban life is upended when he reconnects with his biological father (Ron Cephas Jones), taking a toll on Randall’s wife Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) in a reunion recalling Mike Leigh’s “Secrets & Lies” (1996). Like his recent Emmy for FX’s “The People vs. O.J. Simpson,” Brown channels the show’s commentary on race and class in America.
In these moments, the show recalls Paul Haggis’ Best Picture winner “Crash” (2004), binding our racial wounds by showing our interconnected lives. Rather than a mere gimmick, “This Is Us” uses its parallel storylines to create clever connections between cuts (i.e. “The Godfather: Part II”), using various familiar images, pieces of dialogue and thematic motifs for juicy transitions and callbacks.
Hats off to creator Dan Fogelman, who proves that clever, heartfelt writing never goes out of style. The quality should be no surprise: He wrote one of the better rom-coms of the 21st century in “Crazy, Stupid, Love” (2011), raising the profiles of Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Julianne Moore. Having also penned such Disney-Pixar efforts as “Cars” (2006), “Bolt” (2008) and “Tangled” (2010), Fogelman stays true to Walt Disney’s wise adage: “For every laugh, there should be a tear.”
There are plenty of both in “This Is Us,” infusing just the right amount of witty humor and adorable romance into an otherwise drama-filled mosaic. At times, it becomes a bit wholesome — it’s more “Crash” than “Magnolia” — but such skeptics could stand to be less jaded. There’s enough cynicism, divisiveness and bitterness to go around in the headlines these days that a little TV togetherness is welcome. Binge it between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s the perfect show for the holiday season.
