'A Million Little Things' Review: Everything 'This is Us'... Just Isn't

Hi, my name is Lena and I am the one person in the United States who doesn’t like This is Us.

If this offends you, you should probably stop reading right now. It’s only going to get worse.

I’ve been holding on to this secret for a long time now. I knew the hate and anger that would come my way from die-hard This is Us fans (and there are many). But after watching the new show A Million Little Things I knew it was time to speak up.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot so I’ll just say this: A Million Little Things focuses on a group of adult friends. Each is dealing with their own issue when one of them dies by suicide, seemingly out of nowhere.

I won’t go into more detail because it would spoil the show. But I promise the show reveals itself in the perfect way and doesn’t make you wait a million episodes before telling you how and why he died (yes, that’s a dig at This is Us).

The show is emotional but stays true to reality — none of this soap opera bullshit (and here’s the second dig at This is Us).

A Million Little Things probably has one of the best pilot episodes I’ve seen in a long time. It’s only been two episodes so far but they’ve already done a great job of setting up the show. I’m already feeling connected to the characters and care what happens to them next. It even cracked my cold dead heart and made me tear up a bit (but just a little).

And this is where A Million Little Things differs from This is Us. Little Things feels well thought-out and poignant. Everything is done with purpose and the writing is deliberate.

This is Us, on the other hand, feels too contrived, desperate to make us cry. It’s like the writers sit around and think, How can we make the audience cry this week? How many horrible things can we stuff inside this one episode? Rather than focus on a well-rounded plot, they choose to focus on big moments that will shock and awe the audience. It’s essentially a soap opera with better lighting.

To be fair, This is Us has an amazing cast. Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, and Chrissy Metz are extremely talented actors. But the script and show’s production just never grabbed me (and yes, I have seen every episode so I could give an accurate assessment. It was super un-fun forcing myself to do so.)

Little Pieces also has a great cast who clearly have a very natural chemistry together. I’m so excited to see where this show goes because I think it’s brimming with potential. Plot, great acting, and great writing — this show has all the components to go all the way. Dare I say, it could be as good as Parenthood?

I hope so because I need a good, heart-warming show in my life.

A Million Little Pieces airs Wednesdays at 10 pm.