Common Sense Media Review
By Jenny Nixon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Weepy drama explores mature themes like suicide, infidelity.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
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A Million Little Things
What's the Story?
A MILLION LITTLE THINGS follows a close-knit group of friends reeling from the news that one of their own has died by suicide. Creatively frustrated, wannabe movie-maker Rome (Romany Malco, Weeds) struggles with depression and his inability to share how he's feeling with his wife. Cynical cancer survivor Gary (James Roday, Psych) scoffs at the idea that "everything happens for a reason," and distracts himself with a new love interest. Stay-at-home dad Eddie (David Giuntoli, Grimm) is a washed-up musician and recovering alcoholic struggling in his marriage to wife Katherine (Grace Park, Hawaii Five-O), a successful lawyer. Together the friends try to understand why their de facto leader, generous and well-liked real estate honcho Jon (Ron Livingston, Office Space), would end his life -- and end up re-evaluating their own lives in the process.
Is It Any Good?
Examining the way men express their emotions (or more problematically, the way they don't) isn't a bad idea, but at this point in the pop culture landscape, using a suicide to do so feels a bit lazy. A Million Little Things is almost like something concocted in a laboratory -- a pastiche of other, better-written shows. Take the flashbacks, plot twists, and tear-jerking musical cues of This Is Us and add a healthy sprinkling of the flawed but mega-popular 13 Reasons Why, specifically its depiction of the bewildered loved ones left behind, baffled by their dead friend's dramatic and irrevocable choice.
The cast is capable enough, but there's no real gravitas to the proceedings, as predictable as they are. This Is Us succeeds because of the way it intertwines sadness and light, and the writing and performances make those relationships feel real -- the show earns its tears. In contrast, A Million Little Things feels like a calculated ploy to get audiences to cry, like it's just ticking off all the boxes of Serious Issues Adults Deal With™. Grief is a complicated subject, suicide perhaps even more so, and unfortunately the writing here just isn't up to the task.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the issues raised in A Million Little Things, such as depression. Why is it important to talk about mental health? How can outdated attitudes toward people (especially men) expressing their emotions interfere with people getting the help they may need? Do you think there is a stigma attached to talking about depression?
Talk about the way A Million Little Things depicts friendship, especially among couples. Are the characters and their decisions realistic? What about the consequences of those decisions?
TV Details
- Premiere date : September 26, 2018
- Cast : Ron Livingston , Grace Park , Allison Miller , James Roday , David Giuntoli , Stephanie Szostak , Romany Malco , Christina Marie Moses
- Network : ABC
- Genre : Drama
- TV rating :
- Award : NAACP Image Award - NAACP Image Award Nominee
- Last updated : October 3, 2024
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