As This Is Us viewers continue to debate the merits of Tuesday’s change-of-pace Deja-centric hour, series creator Dan Fogelman is applauding NBC for allowing him to air the episode at all.
“Must acknowledge what NBC let us do last night,” the EP shared on Twitter. “Our 2nd-to-last episode of season featured little of our superstar cast and instead told the important story of a little girl’s life. Anyone writing the obituary for network TV may want to put down their pen for a second.”
The polarizing episode — titled “This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life” — flashed back to tell the story of Randall and Beth’s foster daughter Deja (played by 14-year-old recurring guest star Lyric Ross). Some fans (in the comments section of TVLine’s episode recap) questioned the show’s decision to devote its entire penultimate hour to a relatively minor supporting character. The episode attracted 8.8 million total viewers and a 2.2 demo rating — the series’ second-lowest numbers ever (besting only last Halloween).
Check out Fogelman’s tweet below and then hit the comments with your thoughts on the controversial outing.
Must acknowledge what @nbc let us do last night.
Our 2nd-to-last episode of season featured little of our superstar cast and instead told the important story of a little girl’s life.
Anyone writing the obituary for network TV may want to put down their pen for a second.
— Dan Fogelman (@Dan_Fogelman) March 7, 2018
