The first season of the American television series This Is Us follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children born on the same day as their father's birthday. The season is produced by Rhode Island Ave. Productions, Zaftig Films, and 20th Century Fox Television, with Fogelman and Don Todd serving as showrunners.
The season stars an ensemble cast featuring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, and Ron Cephas Jones.
The season, which premiered on NBC on September 20, 2016, and ran until March 14, 2017, over 18 episodes, received generally positive reviews from critics. It was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the top ten television programs of 2016, and received ten nominations for the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series with Brown winning for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, as well as receiving nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Drama Series. The series was renewed for a second and third season on January 18, 2017.
Cast and characters
Main
Milo Ventimiglia as Jack Pearson
Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson
Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson
Chrissy Metz as Kate Pearson
Justin Hartley as Kevin Pearson
Susan Kelechi Watson as Beth Pearson
Chris Sullivan as Toby Damon
Ron Cephas Jones as William H. "Shakespeare" Hill
Recurring
Niles Fitch as teenage Randall Pearson
Lonnie Chavis as young Randall Pearson
Hannah Zeile as teenage Kate Pearson
Mackenzie Hancsicsak as young Kate Pearson
Logan Shroyer as teenage Kevin Pearson
Parker Bates as young Kevin Pearson
Eris Baker as Tess Pearson
Faithe Herman as Annie Pearson
Jon Huertas as Miguel Rivas
Gerald McRaney as Dr. Nathan Katowski (aka Dr. K)
Jermel Nakia as young adult William H. "Shakespeare" Hill
Janet Montgomery as Olivia Maine
Milana Vayntrub as Sloane Sandburg
Ryan Michelle Bathe as Yvette
Denis O'Hare as Jessie
Adam Bartley as Duke
Alexandra Breckenridge as Sophie
Amanda Leighton as teenage Sophie
Sophia Coto as young Sophie
Jill Johnson as Laurie
Caitlin Thompson as Madison
Guest
Alan Thicke as himself
Brad Garrett as Wes Manning
Katey Sagal as Lanie Schulz
Jami Gertz as Marin Rosenthal
Seth Meyers as himself
Jimmi Simpson as Andy Fannan
Elizabeth Perkins as Janet Malone
Peter Onorati as Stanley Pearson
Mario Lopez as himself
Wynn Everett as Shelly
Ron Howard as himself
Susan Blakely as Anne
Katie Couric as herself
Episodes
Production
Development
Dan Fogelman and Don Todd served as the season's showrunners.
Casting
In 2015, Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Justin Hartley, Sterling K. Brown, and Ron Cephas Jones were the first to be cast in Dan Fogelman’s pilot. Chrissy Metz was later cast in the pilot, followed by Susan Kelechi Watson. Jon Huertas joined the cast in 2016.
Reception
Critical response
The first season of This Is Us received positive reviews, with critics praising cast performances and series plot. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 91% based on 65 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.67/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Featuring full-tilt heartstring-tugging family drama, This Is Us will provide a suitable surrogate for those who have felt a void in their lives since Parenthood went off the air."
On Metacritic, the season has a normalized score of 76 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. TVLine gave the series "A−" saying, "With emotionally resonant dialogue and top-notch performances, This Is Us should fill that Braverman-sized hole in your heart." TV Guide placed This Is Us at ninth among the top ten picks for the most anticipated new shows of the 2016–2017 season and called it, "a well-acted drama about love, life and family." The overall IMDb users rating between 2016-2022 is 149k and weighted average vote of 8.7/10.
Writing for The Star-Ledger, Vicki Hyman lauded the series and said, "This Is Us (from Crazy, Stupid, Love screenwriter Dan Fogelman) methodically weaves four seemingly disparate stories into a believable and emotional whole through tiny telling details, relateable moments, and conversations and confrontations that are funny, tender or painful, or all three at once." Entertainment Weekly's Jeff Jensen wrote, "A 21st century thirtysomething for a TV generation that likes a splash of high concept in their shows and isn't afraid of melodrama." Gwen Ihnat of The A.V. Club also reviewed the series positively saying, "The hour accomplishes what it set out to do. It creates characters so compelling that we compulsively want to tune back in to see them again."