'This Is Us' Creator Dan Fogelman Says He Didn't Mean To Make You Cry
When a TV show really connects with viewers, it's often a lightning-in-a-bottle experience; a collision of talent, material and public mood that is difficult to define. But that hasn't stopped people from asking Dan Fogelman, the creator of NBC's supersuccessful family drama This Is Us, this question: How did you pull this off?
Fogelman's answer: tone, timing and cast.
"There is a form of storytelling — a tone — that lives in between the laugh and the [heavy] emotion," says Fogelman, noting that This Is Us strikes a balance between the dark stories critics seem to love and the lighter, more populist fare. "If you hit that tone right, it can be everything."
[Editors' note: The rest of this story discusses some major plot points, so if you're not caught up on episodes, you may want to watch before reading further.]
Cast member Ron
