‘This Is Us’ Says Goodbye: How a Drama That’s Original Pilot Script Wasn’t Written for Network Standards Changed Broadcast

variety.com:

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWhen Sterling K. Brown won lead actor in a drama series for play- ing Randall Pearson on the first season of NBC’s “This Is Us” at the 2017 Emmys, it marked his second win and the show’s first.

Though Brown’s impassioned acceptance speech was cut off by Fox in a now infamous attempt to move along the awards show, Brown’s spirits remained high and for a few more minutes, “This Is Us” remained a contender for best drama.“Oprah announced the big award.

And there was some talk that we had a shot at it,” creator Dan Fogelman tells Variety. “She kind of opened the envelope and squealed a little bit — and we knew that she liked our show — and she said, ‘The Emmy goes to…’ And she said the ‘Th,’ and it was ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’ I always joked that during the time that the ‘Th’ came out of Oprah’s mouth, I think my heart actually stopped, and I felt like I was going to throw up.” Fogelman had not been to the Emmys before that night, but the unexpected acclaim for “This Is Us” would see him and his team return multiple times for the show’s to-date 38 nominations and four wins. “Sterling winning at the beginning, those times were so overwhelming and a source of pride for everybody — the entire cast, the entire crew,” Fogelman says. “But anybody who said they saw it all coming would be completely lying.”Now, it’s all coming to an end. “This Is Us” aired its series finale May 24, making this fall’s Emmys the final year in which the broad- cast drama is eligible.