What You Can Learn About Adoption from ‘This is Us’

“This is Us” is one of the biggest hits to come out of this fall’s television lineup. But, did you know that it has close ties to adoption?
Focusing on the everyday trials of one family, the show is told in multiple timelines, from the birth of the children to their lives at age 36. One of the children, Randall, is the adopted African-American son of two white parents — and one of three triplets, nonetheless. After hiring a private investigator, he reconnects with his long-lost birth father, revealing one family secret that changes his life.
The show, which airs on NBC, is a fairly family-friendly way of normalizing adoption for all involved: birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptees. Before the midseason finale airs tonight, catch up on the lessons the show has taught us about adoption here.