Monday, September 19, 2016

This Is Us............Hmmm

I just went through a roller coaster of emotions so I'm gonna process it all right here.

1) I saw Parenthood post on the FB page that a new show coming to NBC, This Is Us, is being called the next Parenthood. I LOVED PARENTHOOD, so naturally I was intrigued.

Emotion meter: cautiously optimistic


2) The synopsis is boring on Wikipedia ("The series tells the story of people born on the same day") so I check out the show's NBC page and see this picture:


OMG OMG IS THAT A FAT WOMAN CHARACTER PARTNERED WITH A STEREOTYPICALLY ATTRACTIVE DUDE!?! ARE THEY JUST LIVING A NORMAL, LOVING LIFE OF SOME SORT? THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!!

Emotion meter: on cloud 9.




3) I read this snippet about the show and watched this clip:
"Kate (Chrissy Metz), who’s struggling with a weight problem; her brother Kevin (Justin Hartley), a TV star who’s fed up with his brainless sitcom"
It was a drill. It was only a drill.

Emotion meter: devastated.



4) I try to convince myself, "maybe they will make this character so much more than it seems from those snippets above??"

Emotion meter: hopeful but expecting a giant let down.


That's where I am now. I have no idea how this will all come to fruition, but I'm going to check out This Is Us in the fall for the comparisons to Parenthood  alone. That said, I only have so much of a tolerance for "fat people's lives are tragic and if only they would lose weight, then they'll be awesome" story lines. I'll bail if there isn't something more interesting going on for this character.

I mean, maybe the creators of This Is Us are drawing on this trope so they can pull in mainstream audiences but then, ultimately, subvert it?

Look at me being so positive.



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