Nostalgia-triggering ‘This is Us’ tugs at viewers’ heartstrings

Mandy Moore (left) and Milo Ventimiglia

The drama series “This is Us” is unabashedly sappy and heartwarming. However, the new show starring Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia as loving parents and often-struggling spouses offers unmistakable truths about families and relationships that trigger memories of your own growing-up years.

If that is something you aren’t comfortable with, you’re better off skipping the show altogether—but, this is also the element that makes the show accessible and entertaining.

Initially, seemingly random stories about several individuals are introduced: Rebecca (Moore) and Jack (Ventimiglia) are expecting triplets; African-American Randall (Sterling K. Brown) finds his long-lost
biological dad, William (Ron Cephas Jones); the obese Kate (Chrissy Metz) decides to lose weight; and sitcom actor Kevin (Justin Hartley) opts to quit his unfulfilling job.

By the end of the first episode, it’s revealed that these people belong to the same family, and their rich, ennobling tale is told in nonlinear fashion.

The scenes with new parents Rebecca and Jack are set in the early ’80s and ’90s—chronicling their growth as a family.

And those children? They’re Kevin, Kate and Randall, in the present day. One of the babies was stillborn, prompting the distraught parents to immediately adopt the infant, Randall, who was abandoned by his junkie biological father.

The trio goes through challenges now that they’re adults. They often recall how they were raised, each approaching conflicts with hard-learned lessons and strength of character that were shaped by their parents.

The viewer is guaranteed a good cry with every episode, often near the end of each hour. Again, the scenes’ truthfulness tugs at viewers’ heartstrings and triggers nostalgia.

In the hit ensemble drama created by Dan Fogelman—which airs Wednesdays at 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. on 2nd Avenue—the past-present interlock gives us a greater view of a familiar family, made especially appealing by former pop princess Moore and ex-heartthrob Ventimiglia—whose chemistry is evident from the get-go. You’d believe they were actually married!

It seems not too long ago when Moore was just a teenybopper who couldn’t wait to grow up. Now she’s playing a mother and a grandmother—the latter, a wiser version of her character for the present-day scenes. The actress is noticeably trying to figure out the older role, but she’ll get there, eventually.

Ventimiglia, meanwhile, finally finds the perfect show in “This is Us”—he often looked dead inside when he was in “Heroes” and as a guest star in “Gotham.”

Here, he’s genuinely endearing as an embattled but painfully optimistic father, who cheers on his kids with unwavering devotion.

Sure, it’s treacly, but not unwelcome—there’s always an emotional payoff. There’s also valuable introspection, something we don’t always see in family dramas these days. So, if you’re watching this, get those tissues ready—you never know what you’ll be crying happily about next!