I turned on the TV and scrolled to Netflix last night, the same way I do several times a week once the kids are in bed and the house is quiet. On the home screen, two familiar faces caught my attention. My heart swelled like I was being reunited with two old friends, Jack and Rebecca Pearson. 

Look, I know. Maybe that sounds a little dramatic.

But the truth is that no other TV show has ever touched me the way This is Us did while it aired on NBC from 2016 (has it really been that long?) to 2022.

If you somehow missed this show the first time around, I highly suggest you put it on your list to stream now—a rave review coming from someone who rarely recommends television series or movies. Starring Milo Ventimiglia as Jack and Mandy Moore as his wife, Rebecca, This is Us follows the story—or many stories, rather—of the members of the Pearson family, spanning four generations.

But it’s more than that.

This show was the human experience in raw, messy, beautiful television form. 

It was subtle. 

It was real.

It included something relatable for everyone, without shoving anything down our throats. 

RELATED: This Is Us Splits Our Hearts Open Every Week

It touched on all of the precious, fragile, beautiful, heartbreaking parts of life we all know so well: Marriage. Divorce. Pregnancy. Miscarriage. Coming of Age. Death. Grief. Race. Addiction. Careers. Finances. Disabilities. I could go on and on. 

Episode after episode ventured to places light-hearted media tends to steer clear of, and it was done with so much tact and realness. There was the kind of substance that left us with something to think about every single week.

It made us cry one moment, laugh the next, and always nod our heads along—because somehow, even though they’re fictional and live on our TV screens, the characters told our own stories so well.

Truthfully (and yes, maybe a bit dramatically again), I don’t think I realized how much I’ve missed This is Us until it was glowing back at me from the screen last night.

So yes, I’ll likely be watching all six seasons again in 2024. It’s the me-time resolution I didn’t know I needed, and maybe it’s yours too.

In the words of Jack—This is Us, “You make us feel like we’re home.”