If you are anything like me, the return of fall this year created anticipation for the return of one of the best television shows, “This Is Us.” As it returns for its third season on NBC, the question arises: what has made this semi-new show about an everyday family so popular among viewers?
For one, the show is simple. If you have never seen it, “This Is Us” is a show that follows the lives of the Pearson family, with a particular focus on the stories of the three siblings. The simplicity of the show with such an everyday plot allows viewers to connect to it.
Television shows today tend to place their focus on things that don’t matter or on things that viewers struggle to relate to. They depict issues that are out of reach or idealistic, leaving viewers hopeful for the future but with nothing to relate to in the present.
The show is extremely realistic. Everyone who watches it can relate to it in one way or another. Between the financial struggles, relationship problems, and the children’s challenges to fit in, all viewers see bits and pieces of themselves and their family in the Pearson’s story. In the end of all of these struggles, however, the Pearson’s stick together.
They constantly choose family over anything else and use one another to get through it all. The show rarely ends on a happy note and tends to have cliff-hangers which, although frustrating, accurately depicts real life. Life rarely ends positively for us, but the show proves that even in these moments we will overcome difficulties.
The show teaches us to value our families. Through the discussion of difficult topics of loss/death, arguments, and addiction, “This Is Us” proves that the bond of a family is unbeatable. After watching the show, viewers can’t help but want to hug their own families and be thankful. The hard-hitting topics depicted in the show only give it more credibility in depicting an average family’s life. Although you’ll want to be a part of the Pearson family in the end because of their unbreakable bond, the show also reminds us that no family is perfect. Every family has struggles, which is exactly the message this show attempts to get across.
The final reason this show is so popular is because it follows what is (arguably) the second-best love story of all time (only falling short to Allie and Noah’s stories from “The Notebook”). The characters Jack and Rebecca (played by Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore) come from two completely different backgrounds. The show depicts both of their lives separately as well as how they change one another for the better once they meet and fall in love. Their lives change even more significantly when they go through financial and marriage struggles, as well as having the responsibility of raising three completely different children. Throughout it all, Jack and Rebecca continue to choose one another, and their love story is one everyone aspires to have.
Collegiettes, if you decide to watch “This Is Us,” I highly recommend having a box of tissues handy. Almost every episode will leave you in tears and wondering about the future, but in the end the show is amazing in teaching the value of family. Tune into NBC every Tuesday night at 9:00 P.M. so you can feel a part of the Pearson family too!