How Amazon Prime show ‘This is Us’ keeps its plot twists and reveals a secret, even as it road-tests scenes with an inner circle
- American television series This is Us has managed to keep viewers asking questions with suspenseful, mystery-fuelled storytelling atypical of a family drama
- The scripts of big episodes often have red pages that can’t be photocopied and redacted scenes that are revealed only once on set
Every so often on This Is Us, before a significant twist or reveal is set for prime-time unveiling, about a dozen friends and family members of the show’s inner circle gather inside a small screening room at Paramount Studios for feedback about the big episode. To gain admission, attendees must be caught up with the NBC family drama – and they must be willing to sign non-disclosure agreements.
“We don’t give them any preface,” says series creator Dan Fogelman. “We play the episode. And once it’s over, we say: ‘What did you guys think?’ And it’s surprising the things you find out. You learn some stuff that really messes up your weekend.”
Take the reaction to the series’ much-anticipated post-Super Bowl episode in 2018. The episode revealed that a house fire led to, but did not immediately cause, the death of the Pearson family’s beloved patriarch, Jack (Milo Ventimiglia). But production oversights distracted from the intensity of the pivotal sequence.
“I screened it ad nauseam,” Fogelman says. “And what I learned from the early screenings was people were very distracted by the lack of background fire engines while the family was standing out in the front yard. I’m there asking, ‘But are you captivated? Are you relieved when Jack gets out?’ But over and over again, people would say, ‘Why is nobody calling 911? Why are there no fire trucks coming?’ And so it’s like, we can’t allow that to be a distraction because suddenly you’re airing the biggest episode of your career and all of Twitter is going, ‘Why is no one calling 911?’ No thanks.”
This is what goes into making the twists and turns of This Is Us.