NBC’s upcoming dramedy series This Is Us has received an unusually warm welcome. In the trailer’s first week, it has been viewed 40 million times on the show’s Facebook page, which smashes the previous record for an upfront week, Deadline reports. Factoring in other platforms, such as YouTube and NBC.com, drives the number up, reportedly bringing it to almost 60 million views.
The numbers for This Is Us are impressive on their own, but they become still more so with additional context. Compared to its upfront competition during the seven-day period, the trailer is is far and away the most popular on Facebook. Fox’s Prison Break is at a distant second with around 23 million views.
Also noteworthy is how much more attention This Is Us has garnered on the social media site compared to the typical new series. The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow previously held the freshman show trailer record, and its 4.1 million Facebook video views during last year’s upfront week look downright paltry in comparison. And, as a spinoff from Arrow and The Flash, that show brought with it a pre-existing fan base.
It remains to be seen if This Is Us will be able to live up to the hype, of course, but the trailer does look promising. Created by Dan Fogelman (Crazy, Stupid, Love), the multiple intersecting storylines are handled well in the glimpse we get from the preview. The issues that are touched on — becoming a parent, weight struggles, love, loss, and more — seem powerful and relatable, and clearly, they have been resonating with viewers.
Interestingly, while there are familiar faces, you wouldn’t assume the ensemble cast to drive the kind of response that the trailer has gotten. The series stars Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, and Sterling K. Brown, among others.
We’ll get to see more when This Is Us premieres in the fall on NBC.
