ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how mental illness is portrayed in the NBC series This is Us. Throughout its run, the show has developed a memorable and captivating storyline for the audience, who view the characters at both their highs and their lows and therefore develop a strong connection to them and their stories. The show’s raw account of the characters’ daily lives, including their struggles with mental illness, offers viewers an honest and accurate narrative of living with mental illness. This chapter provides a better understanding of which aspects of those narratives resonate with viewers. This analysis examines how mental illness is portrayed in the stories of the Big Three (the show’s central trio of characters), including how the Big Three communicate with each other, their families, and their relational partners about mental illness. As a result, this analysis may provide a greater understanding of how the narratives of mental illness on This is Us, as well as the communication between the characters, provide a more honest (and positive) depiction of mental illness.
