PASADENA, Calif. _ Television series can often become a comfy habit with shows like "Friends," "The Big Bang Theory" or "Roseanne." But TV shows can be more than that, as proved by NBC's popular "This is Us."
In its fourth season, the show ranks as TV's top rated drama, which is interesting because it's not a comfy habit but a hardy commitment. Creator Dan Fogelman and his writers weave timelines in and out of the narrative. The tale is about the Pearson family at various ages and stages, so characters transform from dewy teens to confused seniors.
Justin Hartley says playing the son, Kevin, simulates real life.
"It's remarkable how they can keep it so consistent with who the characters are, but at the same time, introducing all of these new things that happened to all these guys. It's like life. It's crazy. You just never know what's going to happen," he says.
Chrissy Metz portrays Kevin's sibling whose weight has plagued her most of her life. The role marked a pivotal point for her, says Metz. "It's provided incredible opportunities and an ability to connect with people I never would have before," she says.
"And to portray a character that is so important to not only a television network, but just life, that we've never seen a plus-size woman in her highs and lows and all the in-betweens and fertility issues and trying to conceive. It's all of those things ... I never thought I would ever have the ability to do," she says.
"And I get to do this in a really raw, scary, sometimes 'What am I doing?' 'Can I do this?' way ... . It's changed me as a person and as a sister, as a daughter, as a friend. And then, of course, it's provided opportunities that I never ever thought I would have. So I can't even begin to talk about how much it's changed my life."
Chris Sullivan, who costars as Metz's love, agrees.
"This has taught me what it means to love another person and what it means to be vulnerable, what it means to be honest, just by getting to live in this character. And so that's the biggest thing I've learned from this show," he says.
Mandy Moore plays the matriarch, Rebecca. At 35, Moore must transmogrify from an earnest 16-year-old to a senior citizen who's beginning to exhibit signs of senility.
Fogelman says he's amazed at her ability to transform herself.
"Rebecca is in a Chinese restaurant and getting kind of confused as to where she is," he says. "And Ken Olin, our director who's been doing this for about 200 years _ I was watching it in my office, and I called him in because he had directed the episode. And I pulled up the scene. I was, like, 'What? How is she doing this?' And he said, 'Dan, I honestly, I don't know ... I don't know how she's doing it.' And we sat and tried to analyze, looking at the little things she was doing. It's really, really extraordinary," he says.
"I'm looking at the performance when I'm in the edit bay and going, 'Oh, did I like that take of older Rebecca or that take?' And I'm no longer even contemplating the fact that it's a 35-year-old woman playing the part. I'm looking at it as an actor. I think it's really extraordinary work."
Moore says she's grateful for the opportunity.
"I continue to feel like the luckiest person on the planet to be a part of this show, with this cast, with this family," says Moore, who's planning a musical tour.
"And the fact that I'm able to sort of revisit music and have all this other stuff happening in life, I mean, it's pretty fantastic. The show keeps us all so emotionally and creatively fulfilled that there's really no need to have anything on the outside happening beyond what we get to do for eight months of the year. But I feel incredibly lucky."
The complex format can be difficult for new viewers, admits Fogelman.
"A lot of them are watching it on Hulu or streaming devices or in other ways," he says. "I think that's a complicated thing. It adjusts how we're making the series sometimes, where you can't just count that everybody is going to be watching it live and then they're going to be watching the next episode a week later, biting their nails, wondering what's going to happen.
"A lot of people are going to wait four weeks and then watch them all together. Or a lot of people are going to be watching it in a year and a half. So it's a challenge for all people who are doing our job."
HGTV WILL MAKE OVER AN ENTIRE TOWN
Do you think you live in a rundown, lost-in-the-shadows hometown? Well HGTV is not content with renovating houses _ it's bound and determined to make over an entire town. So here's your chance. Just wander over to HGTVHomeTownTakeover.com to convince them why your town (it must be populated by no more than 40,000 people) deserves a makeover. Erin and Ben Napier will transform not only houses, but public spaces like parks, vintage diners, gazebos and rec centers. All this will eventually show up on a new TV series so far titled "Hometown Rescue" to air next year. You have until Feb. 4 to put your decaying hometown in the running.
TELEVISION STRIKES GOLD AGAIN
They talk about the Golden Age of Television when TV was thriving in the '50s with shows like the "Philco Television Playhouse," "Playhouse 90," "Westinghouse Studio One" and genius writers like Rod Serling, Paddy Chayefsky and Horton Foote.
But if that was the Golden Age, surely today marks a rich, new strike with a boomtown of TV acquisitions and the streaming sites proliferating like alien invaders.
With Disney absorbing Fox, FX, National Geographic and incorporating Hulu, it's a whole new ballgame. But FX's chief, John Landgraf, says he's up for the challenge.
"We have been incredibly fortunate to have been acquired by The Walt Disney Co. because it is the best possible home for FX," he says.
"Disney is, and always has been, in the business of storytelling, now going strong for almost 100 years. They have made Disney one of the greatest brands in the world while also acquiring and supporting many of the other great entertainment brands. Our Chairman and CEO, Bob Iger (who, by the way, used to be chief at ABC), has proven over and over that brands matter," says Landgraf.
"Nothing demonstrates that more clearly than Disney+, an instantly beloved consumer offering in which outstanding design and streaming technology rests on the foundation of five great brands. Those brands individually, Disney, Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel, and National Geographic, are many of the most successful and well known entertainment brands in the world," he says.
"And bringing their past, present and future together all in one place on the Disney+ platform has instantly made it one of the most impressive streaming services available to consumers."
FX will have its own "hub" on Hulu, says Landgraf, where viewers can catch most of the FX shows without commercials starting March 2. That would include some of its really precedent setting series like "The Shield," "Rescue Me," "Damages" and "Justified."
JAMIE FOXX JOINS 'THE MASKED SINGER'
Jamie Foxx will join host Nick Cannon on "The Masked Singer" when it returns to the airwaves Feb. 2 following the Super Bowl. Of course, the regular judges will be there: Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke for Season Three. And a whole array of new "characters" for the secret singer to hide behind will include Miss Monster, the Llama, the Robot and the Mouse.
The Fox show will land in its regular timeslot on Feb. 5 and the "competition" will be divided into three groups of six, each week whittling the count down to three. And who are these mystery performers?
That's the big secret. But we do know the contestants have amassed a combined 69 Grammy Award nominations, 88 Gold records, 11 Super Bowl appearances, three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, more than 160 tattoos and one title in the Guinness Book of World Records.
