On Sept. 20, the dramedy “This Is Us” premiered on NBC.

The show introduces four seemingly unrelated characters that all happen to have the same 36th birthday.

Jack, played by ‘Gilmore Girl’s’ Milo Ventimiglia, is celebrating his birthday with his wife Rebecca, played by a very pregnant Mandy Moore. There is Kate (Chrissy Metz), a woman who is struggling with her weight. There is Kevin (Justin Hartley), an actor who finds himself questioning his line of work in a sitcom. And lastly, there is Randall (Sterling K. Brown), a father, husband, and successful business man who finally finds his biological father after a life long search.

The show has a variety of issues the characters deal with including depression, anxiety, body image, self worth, identity, addiction, infidelity, and loss.

Eventually, all of the characters are linked to create a show that can bring people to tears.

When my sister urged me to watch it, I watched the pilot episode, and by the end of it I was beyond confused. During the episode, I loved the unique platform the show took, until the end. I had to watch the first episode again, and then start the second episode to fully understand what I was watching.

Aside from that, “This is Us” makes you cry, showing how good the show is. Rather than introducing characters that you’d grow to love over seasons and then suddenly killing them off, “This Is Us” brings you to tears in the first season during multiple episodes, showing how good the writing, acting and characters are.

The show appears to be a drama when looking at plot, but seeing how the characters interact with each other brings a comical and relatable aspect to the show. It gives viewers the whole “Oh-I’ve-been-there” feeling.

A unique aspect of the show is that the issues characters deal with aren’t portrayed simply, but  explain the root of the issues. The show alternates between flashbacks and current scenes to develop the characters.

The role Ventimiglia plays is very different from his most known role of Jess in ‘Gilmore Girls.’ After eighteen years, Ventimiglia is no longer the bad-boy, heart-throb we all came to know and love.  He now plays a husband and father.

In comparison to ‘Gilmore Girls,’ the show deals with a wider variety of issues, but fans of Jess and the show overall would probably like “This Is Us” as well.  Similar to ‘Gilmore Girls,’ it incorporates humor into the show, but I would go even further to say it is better than “Gilmore Girls”- bear with me Logan-lovers.

“This Is Us” not only deals with more issues, but the characters’ responses to their situations are more realistic than “Gilmore Girls,” starting with the fact that when they drink coffee on “This Is Us” they actually look like they’re drinking coffee.

You might be wondering: Does it live up to the hype? I believe it surpasses the hype, mostly because after watching the trailer, you really have no idea what the show is about aside from Mandy Moore experiencing difficulties during birth and a shirtless actor having a breakdown on set.

But once you start watching the show, you know “This Is Us” is a show about a family in their most vulnerable moments, and we get to go along for the ride.