ABC's A Million Little Things really wants to be This Is Us for men

TIME

"A Million Little Things could’ve been conceived by an algorithm programmed to synthesize popular TV shows," says Judy Berman. "Like This Is Us, it’s an ensemble drama designed to elicit gasps and tears. Like 13 Reasons Why, it takes place in the aftermath of a suicide. And, as with something a computer would write, many of its plot points feel hackneyed and implausible all at once." Still, A Million Little Things does offer reason to hope in episodes beyond its pilot. "It’s the rare show about men that bothers to flesh out their wives, girlfriends and kids, and its cast of seasoned TV actors lends broad characters dimension," she says. "Stories that take male friendship seriously are few and far between these days—and now that the word masculinity so often comes paired with the word toxic, this gentler form of male identity seems ripe for exploration."

ALSO:

• A Million Little Things at once romanticizes and minimizes suicide -- in the service of a slog of a story about irritating and unspecial characters
• It's a story well-acted and well-told, with a cast folding together like fingers in a glove
• A Million Little Lies begins to tackle an issue rarely seen in primetime: male loneliness
• It's a derivative "Thirtysomething Reasons Why" with the dangerous conflating of death as a catalyst for personal improvement