Mandy Moore is surprised by “This is Us” fan theories
This Is Us is not the same as, say, Game of Thrones. There’s mystery and family, granted, but it’s still a soap-y drama. But fan theories still run as rampant for This Is Us as they do for those heavier, deeply-plotted shows. And Mandy Moore is as surprised by this as anyone.
The This Is Us star recently spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the series, which catapulted to TV fame this past season, averaging 15.3 million viewers an episode. It felt like literally everyone was watching it and theorizing about its characters’ lives.
“It’s really mind-boggling all these theories that are popping up. It’s funny because I never expected that side. Yeah, there are twists and stuff … but it’s not a movie of the week, it’s not for the sake of shock value. I am constantly surprised that there are articles like, ‘The Five Most Shocking Things About this Episode."
We also got some insight into the This Is Us formula
Show creator Dan Fogelman spoke to the L.A. Times about how he thinks about the show’s ethos as a whole.
“The only way to describe what we wanted to capture is when you’re feeling sad because you lost somebody and you look at old family videos — there’s nostalgia and melancholy and optimism, yet sadness. It accompanies watching yourself as a child and watching your parents before they had children, those birthday parties when you were 8 on those old VHS tapes.
And it’s not only fan theories that prove how engaged the audience is!
Justin Hartley, who plays Kevin, said fans often open up to him about how the show has spoken to them about their own lives. According to him, people often open up about their personal lives when talking about the show, even though he’s a total stranger! It goes to show how much This is Us is affecting viewers on truly deep level.
And Chrissy Metz, who plays Kevin’s twin sister Kate, agreed.
“I find myself meeting people from every walk of life and they are emotional and we’re crying in the bathrooms together. I didn’t imagine that happening. Yeah, I thought the show was great. But it hits people in the gut.
All of this is even more proof that This Is Us is going to be around for a long time. Six seasons and a movie, please!
