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As a huge fan of director/writer Dan Fogleman’s 2015 feature Danny Collins as well as his scripts for Cars and Crazy, Stupid, Love, I’m definitely looking forward to his upcoming TV series This Is Us.
Starring Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember, American Dreamz), Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes, Mob City), and Emmy nominated actor Sterling K. Brown (American Crime Story), This Is Us centers on a group of people whose lives cross and intersect with one another in various synchronistic, heartbreaking, and pivotal manners.
Fogelman is that rare scribe who brings emotional gravitas into the proceedings sans any overdose of saccharine. His best work is rooted in life’s day to day struggles and challenges, and amidst all that adversity there’s also room for minor victories and a healthy does of humor.
During the NBCUniversal press tour, I asked Moore, Ventimiglia and Brown about what makes Dan Fogelman such a unique storyteller:
“He’s such a feeling-ful person. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and I think that very much translates in his work.” –Mandy Moore, who previously worked with Fogelman on Tangled.
“He kind of still feels like a little boy who’s seen magic happen and he believes in it, and he’s astounded by it. But also he has this sage wisdom of life where he kind of has a story or a point of view about everything. It’s unexpected and it’s a beautiful way of looking at life and celebrating it.” – Milo Ventimiglia.
“He also has the ability to subvert that. He can be precious and then undercut his own preciousness like that. He has a razor sharp wit that goes along with that heart that he has on his sleeve. That combination contributes to what we’ve made with This Is Us.” – Sterling K. Brown
This Is Us premieres on NBC September 20 at 10/9c.
