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Why This Is Us is the Best Show on TV Right Now

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCSB chapter.

NBC’s new hit show This Is Us has only been on for a few months but is already making an impact. This Is Us, starring Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Chrissy Metz, and Sterling K. Brown, is a modern drama, with interweaving storylines that keep you captured every minute of each episode. Both laughter and tears are expected from each episode, and at the end of each show your heartstrings have surely been tugged. This Is Us is the best show on television right now, and this is why.

The Cast

The casting directors did an unbelievable job casting this show. While we all love Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia, and the adult casting is clearly great, the casting of the characters as children is great. Mackenzie Hancsicsak, Parker Bates, and Lonnie Chavis have amazing performances as the young Pearson’s. Additionally, all supporting actors, both big and small, do an amazing job. Not one person cast on this show could be played better by anyone else.

The Storyline

This Is Us has created a storyline that television has never seen before. Without giving too much away, This Is Us has created a world in both the past and the present and each scene reveals a small thing that will ultimately connect together all in the end. Each moment in the past reflects the present and vice versa, and connections are everywhere. The story keeps you captivated, and without a doubt will make you laugh and cry over and over again. It is not a true episode of This Is Us if a tear does not shed.

The Issues Are Real and Relatable

This Is Us doesn’t create scenarios that are so far fetched or not realistic, instead, they touch on adoption, racial identities, love, heartbreak, death, physical health, and mental health. The issues that characters go through could and do happen to all of us watching, making it that much more relatable. As viewers, we can see ourselves in the characters and the stories and as an audience member nothing is better than that.

All in all, This Is Us does a great job of capturing true emotion. You know you have found a good show when the emotion on screen can be felt off screen within an audience. I predict This Is Us will find itself alongside other television classics in the future, and will become a highly recommended show between family and friends, even more so than it already is. If you have yet to start the series I recommend you do so immediately, but make sure you have plenty of tissues ready to go. 

Lily is a senior at UC Santa Barbara studying Communication and Education. She loves making lists, minimalism, public media, and breakfast foods. Her planner is her best friend.
Kristine is a 3rd year Chemistry major at UC Santa Barbara. She was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. When she's not writing, she works with her sister to create adorable baked delicacies for The Royal Icing, their at-home bakery. She's also a ballerina, lipstick enthusiast, and bunny lover. Post-graduation, she plans on going to graduate school while continuing her writing career. Catch her on instagram @CookiesForKay