This Is Us In The Media

[OtterMommy]

8 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Interesting that the season 2 and 3 renewals are for 18 episodes each.  I would have thought that the subsequent seasons would have had the traditional 22 episodes.  Wonder if this is a trend, or specific to this show?

I may be mis-remembering, but didn't Parenthood also have shorter seasons like this?  Maybe that's just the "thing" to do with family dramas.

As for my viewing, I'm really not sure if I would rather have a shorter season that ends in February or a full season with a long winter hiatus.  There are pluses and minuses to both.

[mtlchick]

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Interesting that the season 2 and 3 renewals are for 18 episodes each.  I would have thought that the subsequent seasons would have had the traditional 22 episodes.  

I can't remember where I saw it, but apparently an episode takes 12 days to film as opposed to the standard 8.  Also more of the newer shows are not getting the standard 22 episodes for a "full season"; I think Lethal Weapon got a full season order set to 18.  And How to Get Away with Murder is limited to 16 so Viola Davis can accept film roles.

[wonderwoman]

This is a really smart move by NBC (she said, hopefully:). One of the real challenges serialized shows face in uncertainity. So, renewing this early gives, along with the # of episodes per, gives the writers a leg up in laying out how the story will unfold. Unlike Parenthood, which was often renewed late in the game, and the # of episodes bounced around, as well. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 1/19/2017 at 7:32 AM, OtterMommy said:

I may be mis-remembering, but didn't Parenthood also have shorter seasons like this?  Maybe that's just the "thing" to do with family dramas.

Parenthood:

S1 - 13 episodes

S2 - 22 episodes

S3 - 18 episodes

S4 - 15 episodes

S5 - 22 episodes

S6 - 13 episodes

[Guest]

Hopefully the trend is for more quality over quantity.   Like how we used to never see 10-13 episode self-contained (not multi-season) shows, like the old mini-series format, but they're back in style, thankfully.  

[Portia]

If their concern were truly for quality over quantity, I don't think they would have renewed for TWO more seasons.  I am always mystified by decisions like that.  How can NBC know right now that the show can maintain its level of quality beyond a second season? I really wish more American TV series would follow the British model of ending a show strong.  Better to leave 'em wanting more, I say.

[Guest]

I'm guessing they know the reaction to season 1 was so positive that even if season 2 sucks, people will tune in to a 3rd, just based on residual love.  I've stuck with beloved shows long past their spoilage date.  

[Portia]

Oh, I have, too--I tend to be a completist--but I don't think that the practice of riding the wave of residual goodwill is a formula for quality.  I think it really tarnishes the memory of a past series when everyone acknowledges that the last season or two sucked. 

Edited January 21, 2017 by Portia

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Parenthood:

S1 - 13 episodes

S2 - 22 episodes

S3 - 18 episodes

S4 - 15 episodes

S5 - 22 episodes

S6 - 13 episodes

Thanks for that.  So, Parenthood's seasons were *generally* shorter...although it is strange that they did jump around in quantity like that.

 

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Hopefully the trend is for more quality over quantity.   Like how we used to never see 10-13 episode self-contained (not multi-season) shows, like the old mini-series format, but they're back in style, thankfully.  

I'm sure I'm not alone in watching more streamed series these days, and those definitely run 10-13 episodes...and it shows.  The story telling seems to be more streamlined, but viewers still have the time (and enough material) to really sink their teeth into the plots and characters.

Personally, I would be fine if that became a more mainstream thing.  I think the 22-26 episode season is fine for shows such as sit-coms, but long seasons can be an unnecessary drain on dramatic/log arc shows like This is Us.

[Tiger]

I was setting my dvr for the week and my cableguide has the show airing at 10 this coming week.

[wonderwoman]

Nice piece in today's New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/business/media/this-is-us-nbc-tv-mandy-moore-milo-ventimiglia.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

[taragel]

On 1/20/2017 at 0:07 PM, Portia said:

How can NBC know right now that the show can maintain its level of quality beyond a second season? I really wish more American TV series would follow the British model of ending a show strong.  Better to leave 'em wanting more, I say.

 

On 1/20/2017 at 0:18 PM, Winston9-DT3 said:

I'm guessing they know the reaction to season 1 was so positive that even if season 2 sucks, people will tune in to a 3rd, just based on residual love.  I've stuck with beloved shows long past their spoilage date.  

Yeah, ratings are SO high that even if it did have huge attrition each year, they'd be doing alright. It's at 2.6 in the demo right now, tied with The Voice and only behind Sun & Thurs night football for NBC. The next closest scripted show is  only at 1.6 and it's the now relatively old and downward trending Chicago Fire. A current hit is a safer bet than unknown coming pilots that will likely overwhelmingly (given past years' results) not do well and get cancelled. Hits like This is Us, which isn't even procedural in any way, are very rare for network these days. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Justin Hartley discusses This Is Us on Build:

[memememe76]

Even if the show was renewed for one season only and ratings really tanked that second season, they would almost assuredly have gotten that second renewal. 

Parenthood never had the same ratings success and renewal was always up in the air. I think pretty much every season finale they had were written as their series finale just in case. 

[MsChicklet]

Uproxx: Kate deserves a better story

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This Is Us, meanwhile, borrowed the Mike & Molly premise to bring together one of its main characters, Kate (Chrissy Metz), with boyfriend Toby (Chris Sullivan), who also met at a weight loss support group. But where Mike & Molly was able to move beyond fat jokes after a while, This Is Us has made virtually every Kate story be about her weight on some level: Kate feels self-conscious about her weight when going to one of Kevin’s Hollywood parties! Kate gets hired for a job because the skinny boss hopes Kate will connect with her bigger daughter! Kate wants to break up with Toby because he’s an impediment to her diet! I could tell you a few things about her that seemingly have nothing to do with her size — she loved her dad, likes football (mainly because she loved her dad), was very into Madonna as a kid, and likes to sing in private — but inevitably most of those loop back around to her weight, like how she’s reluctant to sing in public because she’s self-conscious of how she looks.

[Tiger]

I think they missed a huge opportunity to give Kate a business story with Jami Gertz's foundation and/or her rich husband's company.

[Artsda]

Writers Guild Awards winner for Episodic Drama.

“The Trip” (This Is Us) (WINNER)
Written by Vera Herbert; NBC

[grooveshinney]

I see Milo is scheduled for The Tonight Show tonight.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Susan, Sterling, and Justin:

 

Mandy and Milo:

[Artsda]

[chocolatine]

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10 hundred

He's lucky he's so good-looking.

[memememe76]

10 hundred is a word, no? I don't usually say it that way because 1 thousand is easy enough. But I do say 12 hundred instead of 1 thousand and 2 hundred.

Edited March 7, 2017 by memememe76

[ProudMary]

Here's a link to the Variety feature story that goes along with the cover photo embedded by @Artsda a few posts upthread:
http://variety.com/2017/tv/features/this-is-us-nbc-emmys-dan-fogelman-1202002871/

[Kohola3]

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10 hundred is a word, no?

No.  The correct word  is one thousand.  Or a thousand.

[HeyThere83]

Ugh....I would be here all night if I commented on that Variety article.

[Sayla Vee]

4 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

No.  The correct word  is one thousand.  Or a thousand.

Come on.  It was in a tweet - a light-hearted tweet at that.  Are the grammar police never off duty?

[chocolatine]

4 hours ago, HeyThere83 said:

Ugh....I would be here all night if I commented on that Variety article.

This show really has a hard-on for itself, doesn't it?

[HeyThere83]

36 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

This show really has a hard-on for itself, doesn't it?

Absolutely.

[methodwriter85]

1 hour ago, HeyThere83 said:

Absolutely.

The interesting thing is that when you think about it, the cast is full of people who are getting their "second" chance, or big break. The only one of the main cast who had a clear upward trajectory before this is Sterling K. Brown. Chrissy's biggest part before this was a fat lady in a circus. Milo and Mandy haven't had the best of luck with their acting careers- both were once "promising" young performers, even getting stabs at movie stardom, but it didn't work out. (Although Mandy has had a pretty great success with her voice-over work.) And Justin Hartley is a 40-year old pretty boy who's most high-profile part was on Revenge, and that show had half the audience this show does.

It's going to be really interesting to see what happens when season 2 starts, and if they manage to maintain the happy harmony they seem to have now. But per every True Hollywood Story ever on T.V. shows, if a t.v. show gets too big, things start to happen. The network starts interfering more because they can't seem to leave the golden goose alone. There's pressure to stay on top and maintain the ratings with increasing crazy stuff. (See: The Moldavian massacre.) And cast jealousy seems inevitable, particularly when it's extremely obvious that certain people are getting favored with stories over the other actors.

On the other hand, these are people in their 30's and 40's, so maybe they'll keep things mature and pleasant. But shit like this really suggests either the cast is playing a game, or they're really starting to buy into the praise they're getting. When that happens, I feel like ego-fueled trips are inevitable.

[HeyThere83]

The only one I think has an ego is Justin Hartley. For some reason he thinks he was always entitled to a hit show and to never have to remove his shirt. I think someone smartly pulled him aside and told him to cool it with that whinefest. He definitely wants the same stardom as the rest of the cast, so we shall see.

This article was so damn long. I'm used to Dan Fogelman contradicting himself in interviews about this show, but he broke a record here. And I see he is deciding to ignore a segment of the audience that maybe wants to see actual stories. He says everything can't be happy happy all the time but that's what he has pretty much done all season, resolving all conflicts in record speed and tying everything up with a nice little bow. The latest being Kevin and his play. He claims to not be manipulating the audience, but plays Jack one way the entire season and decides to change things up in the LAST episode to explain his death, and is also going to drag that out until it can't be dragged out anymore. Why drag this but go from A to Z with every other storyline? He says it will be difficult getting the audience to like Miguel and Rebecca, but he chose to write them the way he did this season. He claims to not be writing for tears and is just writing stories, but this whole season seems to prove otherwise. And usually stories have a beginning, middle, and end. His stories only have beginnings and endings.

[OtterMommy]

32 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

From the Variety article-

I'm curious what eight actors.  Jack, Rebecca, Kate, Randall, Kevin... Beth?  Miguel?  William?  Toby?  I'm not sure how I feel about dead people being at the core of the show for multiple seasons.  It seems like the flashback format is going to get a little old, if we're always flashing back to Jack and William and trying to make it relevant to the present stories.  

I'm confused by the claim they won't be doing anything different, like make people cry.  

I'm guessing it is Jack, Rebecca, Kate, Randall, Kevin, Beth, and Toby....and that's 7.  I guess it could also be William....   I don't think it would include Miguel--we have yet to see him have any real purpose in the show.

[ShadowFacts]

51 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

 It seems like the flashback format is going to get a little old, if we're always flashing back to Jack and William and trying to make it relevant to the present stories.  

Yes, as soon as we knew Jack was dead, I thought it would be hard for me to sustain interest in his character through flashback.  To have one of the main characters only appear in the past is kind of hamstringing the writing.  Same with William, though I might not mind a few flashbacks of the younger William with Randall's mother.  Which I'm pretty sure we'll get.  I read that long article and was kind of pissed I took the time -- the guy Fogelman is a little full of himself, but I should know better with a show business publication. 

[HeyThere83]

On 3/8/2017 at 3:24 PM, Winston9-DT3 said:

I'm confused by the claim they won't be doing anything different, like make people cry.  

Yeah, especially since he can be found on twitter talking about which episode will make people cry the most.

On 3/8/2017 at 4:22 PM, ShadowFacts said:

I read that long article and was kind of pissed I took the time -- the guy Fogelman is a little full of himself, but I should know better with a show business publication. 

He sure is.

I want to remind him that this is the first season, and that it was only 18 episodes.

Something else I don't understand is why there are constant comparisons to Empire in terms of ratings. Empire's ratings were massive, and the show has been on, what....3 years now? It is still performing well ratings-wise even though they have dropped off. Actually, what is considered not very good for Empire is considered fantastic, amazing, like nothing ever seen before for TIU. So I am not sure I understand attempting to get a dig in at Empire. And Grey's Anatomy, which has been on for over a decade was pulling in numbers pretty much in the same ballpark as TIU just a few weeks ago. 

I know Dan doesn't think he has to write complete stories, or show the follow-up to major moments, but it seems that there are people looking for that. More viewers tuned in to watch the winter finale and premiere and then seemed to go away probably after realizing nothing really happened after Toby's drama. Now more people are tuning in probably looking to find out what happens with Jack's death. And of course next week will probably be even more. But he has said he just wants to keep people hanging on and in suspense. He thinks that is the answer to keeping audiences engaged. 

[Artsda]

TV Ratings Tuesday: ‘This Is Us’ rises and hits season high in viewers

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/tv-ratings-tuesday-march-7-2017/

[MsChicklet]

Washington Post: You need a hug and a good cry, America. That's what "This is Us" is made for.

 

Quote

The show is also a good reminder that TV is too often missing out on dramas about families where you wind up feeling like part of the family, instead of a lurid observer. It’s still too soon to tell if “This Is Us” works at that high a level, but right now it’s offering a nice hug and an imaginary shoulder to lean on. Who in America doesn’t need that?

[MsChicklet]

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ten reasons why "This is Us" is a hit

Quote

Unlike to so many failed network dramas of the last 10 years, "This Is Us" isn't trying to be a watered-down version of what cable is allowed to do with edgy series. It proves that you still can do smart, innovative storytelling within the limits of broadcast rules and without suffering from a bad case of cable envy.

[OtterMommy]

Washington Post: You need a hug and a good cry, America, and that’s what ‘This Is Us’ was made for

Honestly, not even sure if I agree with this or not.  I think it sums up a lot of the different views around here, but I'm not sure if I buy the ultimate argument...

[Guest]

There's a couple gems in an article linked in that article, though maybe it's also linked above in this thread, I don't know.  http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/television/2016/09/nbc_s_this_is_us_reviewed.html

I laughed out loud at this-

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What starts as a well-made and sticky network drama becomes a stealth stink bomb, steadily emitting toxic fumes, until its stench—rotten cheesy, fetid corny—is overpowering. Is that a tear in your eye or a biological response to such an acrid reek? The smell is so bad that it contaminates across space and time, sullying even its closest relative, Parenthood, another show about yuppies that forswore anything but uplifting resolution and ultimately turned all tribulations into celebrations.

And this-

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For all its structural sophistication, it is as trite and clichéd as any sitcom, just more self-satisfied—junk for people who think they are above junk, a Slanket sneering at Crocs.

She really didn't like it.  Heh.

[DearEvette]

Man, I get not liking a show but I was less struck by her dislike for this show than what feels like an smug disdain for tv and tv viewers as a whole.  And good lord, her prose is so purple it practically undermines her opinions in the review.  She sounds like a pretentious twit and not because she dislikes the show, but because she is so unnecessarily florid about it.  She could take lessons from Roger Ebert.  That man could write a scathing review with style, wit, and without piling up the metaphors and adjectives like they owe him rent.  But he actually enjoyed movies and that shown through regardless of how much he disliked the one he was reviewing. And even when he hated a movie I liked, I could still love reading that bad review because he was a damned good reviewer.

Edited March 14, 2017 by DearEvette

[ShadowFacts]

12 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

Washington Post: You need a hug and a good cry, America, and that’s what ‘This Is Us’ was made for

Honestly, not even sure if I agree with this or not.  I think it sums up a lot of the different views around here, but I'm not sure if I buy the ultimate argument...

That it is good at what it tries to do -- offers us a hug or a shoulder to cry on?  I don't think I agree with that in my own case.  In any show I like, it is the characters I am interested in, find believable, or not.  So far, I can say a qualified yes.  We'll see if it lasts. 

[MsChicklet]

Video: How "This is Us" gets us to cry

[OtterMommy]

5 hours ago, ShadowFacts said:

That it is good at what it tries to do -- offers us a hug or a shoulder to cry on?  I don't think I agree with that in my own case.  In any show I like, it is the characters I am interested in, find believable, or not.  So far, I can say a qualified yes.  We'll see if it lasts. 

What I felt the article was trying to say is that TIU is the show that America needs RIGHT NOW and, well, that's bullshit.  Yeah, it hits a chord with a lot of people, but I do not believe for a second that its effect would have been any different if it had aired 3 years ago or 3 years from now.  Personally, I roll my eyes so hard I nearly give myself an embolism whenever something like that is said about any show....

[Empress1]

A chronology of the show's events.

[aw86]

http://people.com/tv/this-is-us-chrissy-metz-wants-kate-toby-sex-on-screen-season-2/?xid=socialflow_twitter_peoplemag

 

Does anyone really want a Kate/Toby sex scene?

[HeyThere83]

Is there such a thing as.....TOO MUCH DAMN PROMOTION?!?

[Wings]

On 3/14/2017 at 8:44 AM, OtterMommy said:

What I felt the article was trying to say is that TIU is the show that America needs RIGHT NOW and, well, that's bullshit.  Yeah, it hits a chord with a lot of people, but I do not believe for a second that its effect would have been any different if it had aired 3 years ago or 3 years from now.  Personally, I roll my eyes so hard I nearly give myself an embolism whenever something like that is said about any show....

I agree.  They seem to think this show is much bigger than it is.  It is not going to impact lives.  Some love it but many others find it indulgent and melodramatic (me).   And it would work at any time in the 21st century if not before.  They are full of themselves.  

[wonderwoman]

Some interesting thoughts from Todd VadDerWerff @ Vox

http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/3/14/14913062/this-is-us-finale-recap-review-nbc

http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/3/15/14932304/this-is-us-finale-recap-moonshadow-jack-dies

[Guest]

I'm totally with him on the troubles with the writing as a whole.  

Not the 9/11 thing, though.  They've repeatedly used the word "teens" about the funeral scene.  Though I guess that could be intentional misdirection.  But why would they have ashes?  Why use teen actors for 21-year-old stand-ins?  Why would a national hero have a tiny, intimate memorial?  Why would Kevin not know why he got rid of his model planes?  Plus the cheese factor.  And it may have been 16 years ago but its still too soon to mine that for this, imo.

[ProudMary]

The Hollywood Reporter really didn't like the season finale.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/fien-print/critics-notebook-is-us-closes-season-1-a-sour-note-986437?facebook_20170315
 

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For 45 minutes, Fogelman and co-writers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger decided that, despite having never been such a thing before, This Is Us was going to be a bad Arthur Miller play about blue collar dreams, thwarted ambitions and the least convincing criminal element ever put on tape. Jack deciding to pin his future on an underground card game spoke to nothing hinted at before in the show and also nothing the writers or director Ken Olin had ever seen before, apparently. No second of that misadventure read as authentic, from Jack winning all the money he needed on the first hand he played — four queens over a full house! — beating the game's shady organizer, then trying to walk away immediately, then getting jumped in the alley and robbed. It was shoddy card play, flimsy character work and weak drama.  And then as awful as that was, Jack and Daryl, whoever Daryl was, deciding to rob an old bartender because Jack was tired of being a nice guy and decided that the only way to escape his father was to become his father was, again, worse. It's possible that the writers put Jack in those two clichéd situations to illustrate how out-of-character those schemes were for Jack, but I'm not buying they made half of this episode bad on purpose.

[pennben]

I follow Fienberg on twitter and came here to post that review.  Primarily I was going to post it because he cracks me up in that I think he hates Toby more than I do.  To wit, from the same review you quoted:

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Legitimately, the only more misguided finale I can personally imagine would have been if This Is Us had gone and dedicated an entire episode to Toby, who is and always has been the worst, at least since he made Kate's football-watching ritual all about himself, just like he made everything all about himself all season long. Toby didn't have more than two lines of dialogue in the finale, mind you, and if you'd told me that in advance, I'd probably have taken it as a great sign. The finale even ruined the absence of Toby.

Hee!