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Cover Story this week Family time
New season of ‘This Is Us’ continues on NBC
By Breanna Henry TV Media
Many of us need a good cry every now and then, which may be why “This is Us” has become one of the most popular prime-time soap operas since “Dallas” defined the genre in 1978. Showrunner Dan Fogelman (who also brought us “Galavant” and “Pitch”) has created a beautiful, touching family drama that is as timeless as it is modern. You can watch it Tuesday, Oct. 29, on NBC.
In case you haven’t managed to catch one of the 58 episodes that have aired since the series premiered in 2016, “This is Us” is a family drama rife with tragedy, romance and counteract the tears you will inevitably shed as you spend time with the Pearson “triplets,” their parents and everyone else who comes into their lives. Since Season 4 of the series has just begun, I’ll do my best to avoid any spoilers, and instead attempt to introduce “The Big Three” to anyone who may not know them yet.
The series opens in 1980, with Jack (Milo Ventimiglia, “Heroes”) and Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore, “Tangled,” 2010) celebrating Jack’s 36th birthday. Rebecca’s yearly rendition of “Happy Birthday Mr. President” is a little different this time — she’s heavily pregnant with triplets, so a sexy dance isn’t really in the cards. Though it opens with sweet comedy, I spent the last half of the first episode ugly-crying into my very confused dog’s fur.
Jack and Rebecca lose one of their triplets during childbirth, but after an emotional talk about lemonade with the doctor (that made me cry), a chance encounter with a fireman (that made me cry) and
Jack consoling his wife as she wakes up to the news (that really made me cry), the couple end up filling all three cribs they have waiting at home after all.
They are known as “The Big Three” and we are introduced to them on their 36th birthdays in 2016. Justin Hartley (“The Young and the Restless”) plays Kevin, the eldest triplet, an oft-shirtless sitcom star teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown. Second-born Kate, played by Chrissy Metz (“Breakthrough,” 2019), has issues with weight that have defined her since childhood. The final “triplet,” played by Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown (“Black Panther,” 2018), is Randall, who, after being abandoned on the steps of a fire station moments after his birth, was adopted by the Pearson family.
Their lives are messy and imperfect. Kevin and Randall aren’t on speaking terms, and Kate resents their mother — but they are family, and this is them. “This Is Us” also shows the changes in dynamic as spouses and significant others, like Randall’s wife Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson, “Louie”) and Kate’s husband Toby (Chris Sullivan, “The Knick”), become part of the family. The show punches you right in the feelings and will make you contem-
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The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
plate your own family relationships, no matter how dysfunctional they may be. You, the viewer, have loved and lost and fought and feared, and over in the writer’s room, they know that Jack’s drinking problem or Toby’s depression or Kate’s insecurities or Rebecca’s grief (or all of the above) will speak to you. Something in this series will remind you of your own life, and you will cry. But you will laugh, swoon, rage and cheer, too.
The ensemble cast of “This is Us” is so talented and diverse that I could easily have used all of my allotted words just mentioning them all, especially since the same characters are played by three or more different actors at different stages in their lives. Part of the reason the cast is so real is because Fogelman is committed to creating diversity behind the scenes as well. He ensured that directors, writers and consultants for the series were people who could understand the many issues that are important to the characters: blackness, womanhood, weight and more.
One of the most beautiful things about “This is Us” is the way it tells its story through time, weaving moments in the triplets’ lives from before they were born to further on in the future seamlessly within a single episode. You are never confused as to what time period you’re watching, despite the show flip-flopping from decade to decade within moments. Effort has been taken to subtly date each scene, from a split-second shot of Kevin’s G.I. Joe lunchbox (the cartoon ran until 1986), to the MacBook Air in Randall’s office (which was first issued in 2008). “This is Us” stretches from the mid-1940s to years into our future, and if you look hard enough, there are clues as to what the future holds for the Pearsons in each and every scene.
“This is Us” may be a soap opera, but it does soapy-drama in such a realistic, down-to-earth way that I didn’t even get to say, “Hush! I’m watching my soaps!” because I didn’t catch on until someone pointed it out. Still feeling iffy about getting into a series with a massive cast and even longer timeline? Ask a friend who keeps up with the show and watch the expression on their face as they relive the moment Jack and Rebecca met, the death of Randall’s biological father, Kate’s wedding, Kevin’s first crush and Jack’s time in Vietnam.
In the next few days, top White House aides are going to present Trump with an impeachment response strategy. Just in time! That’s like the captain of the Titanic being like, “Ah we should have taken a left, I’m sorry. Is it too late?”
It’s officially October, and stores are already putting up their Halloween decorations. Unfortunately, those aren’t fake cobwebs at Forever 21.
They’re even putting up Halloween decorations at the White House. Just to frighten President Trump, instead of a scarecrow they’re using a cardboard cutout of Nancy Pelosi. Beto O’Rourke posted an Instagram video of himself getting a flu shot. It’s the first time since the campaign started that we can honestly say Beto’s got a shot.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Bill Barr is traveling the world trying to prove that all of Trump’s conspiracy theories are true. He’s going to find Obama’s birth certificate! He’s going to find all the people that aliens abducted from Trump’s inauguration crowd! And finally, he’ll bring help to hurricane-ravaged Alabama!
The Late Late Show with James Corden
The way to look at it is like this: the Democrats are Oprah, and subpoenas are free cars. “You get a subpoena! You get a subpoena! You get a subpoena!”
According to a new study, living close to the water is good for your mental health. Those who live less than a mile away from the ocean are less likely to have depression or anxiety — yeah, because you’re rich!
Researchers are saying that people who live close to water have lower levels of anxiety … unless, of course, that water is a trench filled with snakes or alligators.
By Jessica Gosse TV Media
WHAT’S NEW ON NETFLIX “American Son”
The Broadway play “American Son,” by Christopher Demos-Brown, makes the transition from stage to screen when the film premieres Friday, Nov. 1, on this streamer. The film carries over the original Broadway cast of Kerry Washington (“Scandal”), Steven Pasquale (“Rescue Me”), Jeremy Jordan (“Supergirl”) and Eugene Lee (“The Crumbles,” 2012) and brings to life every parent’s nightmare: the agony of waiting for information as the police try to find your missing child. Washington and Pasquale star as Kendra, a psychology professor, and her estranged husband, Scott, an FBI agent. The pair anxiously await news of their missing 18-year-old son from the South Florida police. Officer Paul Larkin (Jordan) and Lt. John Stokes (Lee) do their best to find the boy and to keep the parents calm and informed. This film is much more than your typical crime-drama. It explores the viewpoints of each individual and takes a look at the complex and changing dynamics between them all. There are a number of interesting pairings to examine, including an estranged interracial couple, a black mother and a white southern cop, and an FBI agent and a local lieutenant. It offers an abundance of social commentary and heart-wrenching emotional drama, so you won’t want to miss it.
“Nowhere Man”
On Monday, Oct. 28, Netflix presents its first Mandarin-language original series, “Nowhere Man.” Filmed entirely in Taiwan, the series follows Quan (Joseph Chang, “The Trading Floor”), a gangster and inmate on death row who, while awaiting execution, learns that his son has been kidnapped. After a strange encounter, Quan is suddenly able to experience alternate timelines while in a halfsleeping state, and he uses this new ability to stage a jailbreak in order to protect his family. “Nowhere Man” is the first of three new Mandarin- language series being released by the streamer and has been described as a “jailbreak thriller with a strong redemptive arc.” Don’t miss the premiere on Monday, Oct. 28.
“Arsenio Hall: Smart & Classy”
Former late-night talk show host Arsenio Hall (“The Arsenio Hall Show”) returns to the small screen on Tuesday, Oct. 29, in his first standup comedy special. The special focuses on a variety of topics that will keep you in stitches. Hall comments on his experience working alongside Eddie Murphy (“Tower Heist,” 2011), Wesley Snipes (“The Expendables 3,” 2014) and James Earl Jones (“The Lion King,” 1994/2019) in the upcoming film “Coming 2 America,” set to premiere in 2020. It’s a sequel to the 1988 comedy “Coming to America,” which starred Murphy. Hall’s style has been described as edgy, and he’s sure to bring that edge to this special, premiering Tuesday.
“A 3 Minute Hug”
Grab a box of tissues (or five) before sitting down to watch this documentary when it premieres Monday, Oct. 28. The documentary looks at the many families that have been separated by the U.S.-Mexico border. Thanks to the temporary truce organized by the Border Network for Human Rights and Border Patrol, the gate between Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, was very trying times, including unrequited love, adultery, first relationships and more. Season 2 saw lots of changes for the family as Sam finally developed a relationship with his classmate Paige (Jenna Boyd, “Complicity,” 2013). Plus, his sister, Casey (Brigette Lundy-Paine, “The Glass Castle,” 2017), experiences a surprising revelation about her sexuality, and the marriage of their protective parents, Doug (Michael Rapaport, “Prison Break”) and Elsa (Jennifer Jason Leigh, “Annihilation,” 2018), is severely tested. Season 3 continues to track the fallout of those dramatic changes, and you can find out how each family member is affected when it premieres this week. briefly opened. Watch as the families that have been ripped apart by deportation get to be together again, if only for a short while. The joy and heartbreak of these family members who haven’t seen each other in more than a decade is overwhelming as they are reunited for just three minutes. But one has to wonder: after so much time apart, would those three minutes feel like forever or like a heartbeat?
“Atypical” Season 3
Keir Gilchrist (“It Follows,” 2014) returns as autistic teenager Sam Gardener in the Season 3 premiere of this funny and poignant series on Friday, Nov. 1. The first two seasons of “Atypical” have followed Sam and his family as they navigated some
WHAT’S NEW ON AMAZON PRIME
“Unforgotten” Season 3
On Monday, Oct. 28, Season 3 of this popular British crime drama launches on Netflix. The series follows Detective Chief Inspector Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker, “Last Tango in Halifax”) and her partner, Detective Sergeant Sunil “Sunny” Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar, “Goodness Gracious Me”), as they investigate cold cases in London. Unlike most crime dramas, “Unforgotten” doesn’t go through a new case each episode, but rather it focuses each season on a single case, examining every angle and revealing all secrets. Season 1 saw the duo look into the murder of a 17-year-old boy who disappeared in 1976, while Season 2 featured the murder of a Conservative Party consultant who went missing in 1990. This time around, Cassie and Sunny investigate a missing teenage girl whose body is found at a building site off the motorway. Friendships are tested as a group of old school friends — played by Alex Jennings (“Victoria”), Kevin McNally (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” 2017), Neil Morrissey (“Crucible of the Vampire,” 2019) and James Fleet (“Outlander”) — have their past uprooted and brought into the spotlight. Catch up on the first two seasons of “Unforgotten” just in time for the Season 3 premiere.
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