This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I don't want to raise your expectations too high, but I really love the premiere of "This Is Us" (9 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5). It is my favorite pilot of this fall season, and I have very high hopes for the series.
It's a drama (with humor) that's not full of car chases and explosions — it's about the characters. A lot of characters. A lot of characters who are easy to like.
It's about the parallel lives of a young couple (Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia), who are about to become parents for the first time; a hunky actor (Justin Hartley) who's successful but unfulfilled by the lame sitcom in which he stars; his sister (Chrissy Metz), who's struggling with her weight and her life; and a successful young family man (Sterling K. Brown),whose world is upended when he meets his birth father for the first time all intersect in unexpected ways.
There's a big twist in the final moments which explains it all — and it's completely worth waiting for.
You'll laugh. You might shed a tear.
Did I mention that I love "This Is Us"?
Elsewhere on TV ...
• "NCIS" (7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): The team investigates a deadly car explosion linked to an NCIS special agent who disappeared six months ago. (Season premiere)
• "Dancing with the Stars" (7 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): The first elimination of the season.
• "The Voice" (7 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): Blind auditions continue.
• "The Contenders — 16 for 16" (7 p.m., PBS/Ch. 7): The presidential runs of Howard Dean and Pat Buchanan are recalled.
• "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (7 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13): Jake and Holt remain in Florida, adjusting to life in the Witness Protection Program. (Season premiere)
• "If Loving You Is Wrong" (7 and 9 p.m., OWN): Alex leaves home and takes matters into her own hands.
• "New Girl" (7:30 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13): Jess tries anything and everything to get her mind off of Nick.(Season premiere)
• "Bull" (8 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): This show about a jury consultant Michael Weatherly ("NCIS") isn't horrible, but it isn't good. For moe about "Bull," click here.
• "Defying the Nazis: The Sharp's War" (8 p.m., PBS/Ch. 7): An American ministerand his wife Martha spend two years saving Jews from the Holocaust during World War II.
• "Scream Queens" (8 p.m.., Fox/Ch. 13): Years after the events of Season 1, Dean Munsch purchases an abandoned hospital and a new killer surfaces. (Season premiere)
• "MADtv" (8 p.m., CW/Ch. 30): Original cast members Alex Borstein and Will Sasso guest star.
• "NCIS: New Orleans" (9 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): The team tries to track down a sniper targeting crowded areas of the city. (Season premiere)
• "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (9 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): Hydra has been eliminated, and S.H.I.E.L.D. gets a new director. (Season premiere)
• "Strut" (10 p.m., Oxygen): This new reality show follows top models at an agency that caters to transgenders. Whoopi Goldberg is one of the executive producers.
• "P.O.V." (11 p.m., PBS/Ch. 7): "Kingdom of Shadows" looks at the drug war along the U.S.-Mexico border through the eyes of a DEA agent, an activist nun and a former drug smuggler.
• "Born This Way" (11 p.m., A&E): The Emerald Ball arrives.
• "Halt and Catch Fire" (11 p.m., AMC): Tensions rise over an offer to buy Mutiny; Joe has a standoff with the board.
• "Atlanta" (11 p.m., FX): Paper Boi goes nuts; Earn needs to earn some money.
• "Chrisley Knows Best" (11 p.m., USA): Todd and the kids appear in a commercial.