The 2015-2016 TV season is drawing to a close, but already it looks like viewers are getting excited for a new show on NBC this fall.
If you’ve been on social media at all in the last 48 hours, you may have seen a trailer for a show called This Is Us which will premiere this fall on NBC. The trailer was released only a few days ago when NBC released 3 trailers for their new shows this fall, and already the trailer has close to two million views on YouTube and nearly 15 million views on Facebook, Deadline reports.
Currently, the trailer for the Prison Break event on Fox holds the trophy for most views on Facebook, clocking in at 19 million hits. But This Is Us is quickly closing the gap, and we have to keep in mind that unlike the Prison Break, This Is Us does not already have a fan base.
NBC announced the casting for an untitled pilot project (This Is Us) back in November, but it seemed insignificant back then. No real details were known. Or at least, the details provided didn’t seem important without context.
When NBC announced the casting for the pilot, the information released for the show described six characters who all share the same birthday. At the time, that didn’t seem significant, and neither did any of the character descriptions. Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) is an easy-going guy who has just moved to Pittsburg with his wife, Rebecca (Mandy Moore), who is very pregnant with triplets. Kevin (Justin Hartley) is a successful TV actor who has become bored and unsatisfied with his life. And Randall (Sterling Brown) is a family man who lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Lets be honest. The description alone doesn’t really sell the show. But check out the trailer.
If you don’t need tissues after watching that, there might be something wrong with you.
Back in November when NBC released details about the series, it was described a dramedy. But after seeing the trailer it looks like more drama than comedy.
The trailer also comes at a perfect time for the network. NBC was among the networks who axed several shows last week including Telenovela, Hearbeat, Crowded, Game of Silence, and Undateable. Now that the network is down several shows, viewers are looking for something new and fresh. And so far, the response to This Is Us has been very positive.
We can’t help but wonder if, with this kind of response to the trailer, if NBC will order This Is Us straight to series.