This is Us
Pictured: A scene from the premiere of This is UsFacebook/This is Us

NBC has just aired one episode of This Is Us, but the show has created quite a buzz thanks to the unexpected twist in the plot. The story follows twins Jack, Kate and Kevin, and Randall and the premiere saw all of them celebrating their 36th birthday.

Warning: This post contains spoilers from the premiere of This is Us.

But it was only towards the end of the premiere that it was revealed that the show was functioning on two timelines. While Kate, Kevin and Randall were celebrating their birthdays on the present day, Jack was 36 years behind and it was on his 36th birthday that he welcomed Kate, Kevin and Randall into his life.

Like viewers, the actors too were surprised by the twist. "I think most people aren't clicking until he offers the cigarette to [Jack],"Mandy Moore, who plays Rebecca, told Entertainment Weekly. "That's the moment where you're like, 'Wait….' Even when I was reading it for the first time, I was like, 'You can't smoke in… a hospital!' That's when I was like, 'Oh, whoa!' Then they pull back, and you really see the television and what's on the news…. I didn't see it coming at all," she said.

Calling the twist clever and totally unexpecting, Milo Ventimiglia said he realised there were two timeframes only when the grown-up Kate mentions lemons. "And knowing the lessons we learn as kids, the experiences that we have, the idea of having the parents the same age as the kids and that kind of mirror reflection of what they're all going through, what they're all experiencing, it's a very genius move by Dan," he said.

This is Us airs Tuesdays on NBC. In India, This is Us will premiere on 24 September on Star World Premiere HD at 10 PM.