Entertainment
NBC’s Greatest Drama of the 2020s Is Finally Available To Stream for Free
Every so often, a television series comes around that captures America’s hearts. These shows typically feature a family that makes us feel like we’d love to be part of the gang. Whether it’s a lovable sitcom family like The Brady Bunch or Modern Family, or a more dysfunctional bunch like All in the Family or The Simpsons, these families help to represent our own shared commonalities up on the screen. When This Is Us premiered on NBC in 2016, we quickly found a new family to be obsessed with. With the series available to stream for free on Tubi, you can either catch this heartwarming drama for the first time or do a re-watch of this fantastic six-season comfort show.
What Is ‘This Is Us’ About?
At the start of This Is Us, we’re introduced to five main characters. There’s Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) and his wife, Rebecca (Mandy Moore), a happily married couple who are expecting triplets. Randall (Sterling K. Brown) is raising two daughters while struggling with bouts of anxiety. Kate (Chrissy Metz) is kickstarting a wellness journey in an effort to lose weight. And Kevin (Justin Hartley) is a famous actor who is working towards being taken more seriously. At first, it’s unclear how these people are all connected to one another. But then, in a major twist in the first episode, we discover that Jack and Rebecca’s storyline is not taking place in the same timeline as the other three adults like we assumed. In fact, Jack and Rebecca are actually the parents of Randall, Kate, and Kevin.
When we see their storyline, it’s actually occurring in the 1980s (a fact that’s cleverly concealed with non-specific clothing and settings). This shocker allows This Is Us to move forward with a unique non-linear storytelling method for the entire series. The plots in each episode are told by shifting back and forth from the past to the present, allowing us to see the Pearson family in every stage of their lives. With flashbacks ranging from when Jack and Rebecca were kids to Rebecca as an elderly woman, the series is able to traverse through a family’s entire existence in a truly captivating way. Whether the show is depicting a disaster of a Thanksgiving with Jack and Rebecca and their children, or offering the simple narrative of how one vehicle can be crucial to a family’s history, This Is Us fills each episode with rich character development and twists and turns that will keep your eyes glued to the screen.
‘This Is Us’ Utilizes Unique Storytelling Angles by Jumping Through Time
What makes This Is Us so special in its storytelling is that the viewer learns certain things about the family, like how Jack is missing from the present day timeline, but it takes its time unfolding each layer of the narrative for you to learn the details behind how these important events play out. You might not know exactly what will occur in these characters’ lives yet, but it’s an exciting, heartfelt journey to watch it eventually be uncovered. Each character’s experiences become fully fleshed out, even secondary characters like Randall’s wife, Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson), or Kate’s partner, Toby (Chris Sullivan), who also serve as instrumental aspects of the Pearsons’ lives. Even when the family experiences conflicts with each other, which they often do, there’s such a clear throughline of love that spreads throughout the series, and that ensures you can never be mad at any character for long.
The series expertly combines heart-wrenching drama and moments of humor with extremely lovable characters that you can’t help but find yourself rooting for. There are many examples of relatable occurrences, including poor decisions and trauma responses that affect their life paths, but that only adds to the realism of the series. With explorations of grief, addiction, and loss, the show is a true representation of the universal themes we all experience. This Is Us also portrays one of the most heartbreaking storylines we’ve witnessed on television in recent years, when Randall meets his biological father, William (Ron Cephas Jones). Jones, in a two-time Emmy-winning performance, cracks the show wide open in a complex depiction of a father-son relationship.
‘This Is Us’ Offers Many Impressive Performances
It’s not just the excellent writing on This Is Us that makes it worthy of a binge-watch. The Pearsons’ story also comes alive because of the incredible performances by the cast. Ventimiglia and Moore are able to successfully pull off one of the sweetest and most loving marriages portrayed on television, manifesting true couple goals for the rest of us. Metz and Hartley also portray Kate and Kevin with an honesty that makes their individual journeys — as well as their sibling relationship — ultimately very believable. However, when it comes to the main cast, Brown is definitely the standout as Randall. He grounds his performance in vulnerability and a sly humor that makes Randall one of the best characters in the series. It’s no surprise that he took home an Emmy in 2017 (and netted four other nominations). The series is definitely an ensemble piece, but Brown proves he can be a leading man thanks to his role in This Is Us.
This Is Us is also able to thrive in large part because of its guest actors, particularly Jones. Gerald McRaney also landed an Emmy for his role as the wise, folksy doctor who delivers Rebecca’s babies. Several other outstanding actors earned Emmy nominations for their work, including Denis O’Hare, Brian Tyree Henry, and Phylicia Rashad. This Is Us also stands apart from the rest by casting child actors who master subtlety and vulnerability. Every actor in the series works together to create an authenticity that makes This Is Us sing.
Throughout its run, This Is Us earned an impressive 39 Emmy nominations and four wins before ending in 2022. Even if the series can get a tiny bit schmaltzy at times, it is this sentimentality that reminds us of the importance of family and love in all of our lives. Critics and audiences alike have made this show an important part of television history, which means it’s now the perfect time to binge all six seasons for free.
This Is Us is available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.
- Release Date
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2016 – 2022
- Showrunner
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Dan Fogelman
- Directors
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Ken Olin, Chris Koch, Kevin Hooks, Anne Fletcher, George Tillman Jr., Jessica Yu, Milo Ventimiglia, Rebecca Asher, Catherine Hardwicke, John Fortenberry, Jon Huertas, Roxann Dawson, Sarah Boyd, Uta Briesewitz, Zetna Fuentes, Justin Hartley, Craig Zisk, Helen Hunt, Joanna Kerns, Kevin Rodney Sullivan, Mandy Moore, Regina King, Sarah Pia Anderson, Silas Howard
- Writers
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Bekah Brunstetter, Laura Kenar, Eboni Freeman, Danielle Bauman, Elan Mastai, Jonny Gomez, Donald Todd, Joe Lawson, Jake Schnesel, Chrissy Metz, Susan Kelechi Watson, Aurin Squire, Tim O’Brien
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