This Is Us

The Ride

One of the things I love about This Is Us is how effectively it plays with time. The best stories happen when the series blends past, present, and future to depict how the Pearson family changes over time and how they are ultimately the same. This Is Us Season 5 Episode 9 was an especially poignant example. I wasn't sure that the Jack/Rebecca story would be great because we've lived through a lot of the Big Three's early years already. But the ride h... more

In The Room

It finally happened. Kevin managed to make it to Madison's side in time for the twins' birth, while Kate got to hold her newborn daughter for the first time. This Is Us Season 5 Episode 8 featured the birth of the next generation's Big Three... and a few strangers who impacted their journey. Unsurprisingly, this was one of the most emotional hours of This Is Us yet. The three new babies' birth could have served as the pilot for a spinoff series just ... more

There

This Is Us got me again. By now, I should know that nothing is what it seems, and since the promos for This Is Us Season 5 Episode 7 suggested Kevin was going to get into a horrific accident, it should have been obvious that wasn't what was going to happen. Kevin's decision to stop and help a driver who had gone off the road while in a rush to get home seemed bizarre, but by the end of the hour, it all made sense. The writers set this one up nicely. The first h... more

Coronavirus Pandemic Puts a Bright Spotlight on Value of Local TV

The TV station group Tegna has been the subject of acquisition rumors for nearly a year. Finally, bids started to surface earlier this month that pegged the company’s market value at about $8.5 billion.  But in the space of a week, the assets up for grabs at Tegna have taken on a very different kind of worth. The spread of the coronavirus pandemic has put a klieg light on the invaluable role that local TV stations play in disseminating news and information in times of crisis and emergency.  Even in a hyperconn... more

TV Ratings: 'This Is Us' Finale Matches Season High 7.9 Million Viewers

The dramatic season 4 finale of “This Is Us” delivered plenty of surprises as well as strong ratings numbers for NBC. Tuesday night’s episode scored a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49, its highest mark since Oct. 2019, and 7.9 million total viewers, matching the premiere for a season high. That represents a 21% ratings bump from the penultimate episode, and only a 4% drop from the season 3 finale. Earlier in the night, “Ellen’s Game of Games” shot up to a season high 1.4 r... more

This Is Us Season Finale Recap: Brothers Gotta Slug (It Out)

Ladies and gentlemen, the great Pearson Estrangement of 2020 — and beyond? — has officially begun. This Is Us‘ Season 4 finale Thursday included a huge, no-holds-barred, no-insult-unsaid argument between Kevin and Randall that made it really clear why the two won’t be talking by the time their shared 40th birthday rolls around in September. After all, how do you come back from a fight in which your brother says he wishes you’d never been part of the f... more