This Is Us returns September 25.

Every Tuesday night from 9 to 10 p.m., 14.6 million viewers around the globe tune in to the emotional drama they’ve come to know as This Is Us. It follows the story from parents Jack and Rebecca’s past, while triplets Kate, Randall and Kevin attempt to figure out their lives as present day 36-year-olds. This Is Us has the family and the drama. NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke calls the show “as good as anything we’ve ever had.”

But what makes this show so different than any other drama series on television today?

Though there are many things that contribute to the soaring popularity of This Is Us, the arguably main two are the show’s ability to attract people from differing age groups and its relatability to those groups.

“I wait every week for This Is Us,” junior Abbey Leahy said. “I was honestly crushed when the season finale came because it’s like emotional support. You don’t think anyone is going through what you’re going through, and even though you ultimately know the show isn’t actually happening, you feel like you aren’t as alone seeing them face them too.”

Fans consistently express how the show is special because of the tough topics it tackles. Whether that be Kate’s miscarriage, Jack’s AA program, Kevin’s rehab experience, or Randall’s struggle with foster child Deja, This Is Us does not shy away from real-life issues.

“You don’t really see that kind of real anymore, you know? It’s all reality TV, which is actually just way more fake,” senior Grace Fulk said. “You get attached to the characters and their feelings, but you don’t know until you experience it for yourself.”

Viewers of the show find themselves attached not only because of the relatability, but also because they aspire to be like the characters. The father of the family, Jack Pearson, is viewed as a flawed father figure all across media platforms because of his deep and sacrificial love for his family.

“I’ve watched the show and I think the reason I like it so much is because I want to be like Jack,” senior Carson Watkins said. “He’s perfectly imperfect, you know? He struggles with problems but overcomes them to provide for his family and remains true to who he is. That’s something I really wish I can do one day.”

It’s not only the values of the characters that are inspiring, but also the hardships that they experience. As Jack combats his alcoholism, Kate her self-confidence, Kevin his sense of belonging, Randall his desire to help everyone but himself, Rebecca fights to balance it altogether and it takes the show to a personal level.

For many viewers, This Is Us is more than a show or a plot line to follow once a week. It has transformed into a place where they can come and experience together what it’s like to walk through life.

“A lot of people don’t realize how real the show is until you see them struggle with what you do. Then, when you watch them overcome it, you’re inspired to do the same,” Carson said.

One topic of strength and perseverance grows from the introduction of foster children and adoption in the show. When Deja was brought into Randall’s home, audiences watched as the family pushed through struggles. It conveys the realness behind what the show represents.

Many viewers also find themselves interested and comforted by the tough topic of Jack’s death. By experiencing and watching the Pearson’s take on their father (and husband’s) sudden passing, it allows a considerably therapeutic approach to dealing with death in their own lives. AP Language teacher Carrie Wisehart went through this in her own life when she lost her dad to cancer when she was only 22 years old.

Not only does death in the family change how a person functions independently after the death, it alters the family dynamic as well. In This Is Us, the audience watches as the Pearson struggle to make up for the personality of the family that is Jack, and that’s something that is truly reflected from real-life experiences.

“There’s always that elephant in the room. Everyone knows that someone is missing,” Wisehart said. “The entire family dynamic changes and it’s hard to adjust when you lose someone. When my dad died, we had to relocate and those two personalities that balanced the family is offset.”

The series also shows how the pain of death can affect others around. In This Is Us, Kate, aware of it or not, puts a lot of weight and reliance on Toby for support revolving around Jack’s death.

“It’s not always fair to [my husband] Brady, like how it’s not fair to Toby,” Wisehart said. “It shouldn’t have to affect him in any way, but it does.”

The Pearson siblings lost their own father as seniors in high school, right before their graduation date. Even as the triplets turn 36 almost 19 years later, Kate, Kevin and Randall still struggle with Jack’s death. It reflects an intense reality that’s prevalent both on the screen and off.

According to statistics provided by the U.S. Social Security of Administration, approximately 1.9 million teens and children under the age of eighteen living in the U.S. are without at least one of their parents. That’s just over 2 percent of all the children in the country. Often for them, it can be difficult to find safety when either talking about the subject or finding someone who has also experienced it.

In This Is Us, viewers can find relationships and counseling as they watch the Pearson siblings push through their father’s passing as teens, young adults, and adults in their mid-30s. The unique timeline of the show provides for a progressive outlook that displays how the triplets have changed as the gap between Jack’s death and the present grows.

There is also a sociological connection between how audiences of certain shows react and relate to the characters on the screen. U.S. history and sociology teacher Leslie Clark describes it as a change over time, and something that society creates as a culture.

“Humans are always looking for that human connection. So people watch these shows and get engrossed in their lives and in their stories,” Clark said. “We want to be able to see people feeling and experiencing the same things we do or have gone through in our lives.”

Because This Is Us has the ability to relate to audiences on such an intimate level and present these tough topics, people feel immediately pulled to it, thus gathering a large fan base and following. Whether audiences recognize it or not, they are unconsciously drawn to watch.

This Is Us has taken the television world by storm, and continues to break records and viewing stats. Despite Super Bowl LII being the lowest rated Super Bowl to date, This Is Us managed to receive the most post-Super Bowl viewer ratings at just under 27 million, all while streaming network Netflix aired a surprise new movie at the same start time.

Original episodes of the drama average a 4.6 rating with adults 18-49 and 14.6 million viewers overall, which includes those who watch it the day it airs or on a delayed basis on Hulu or the NBC app over the next seven days according to Nielson Media Research.

This Is Us has also allowed for other award-winning breakthroughs. At the 2018 Golden Globes, actor Sterling K. Brown (who plays Randall Pearson) became the first African-American male ever to win Best Actor in a Television Drama. In addition, Brown has won four other awards for the show, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series, the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, and the Critics’ Choice Television award for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Together, Brown also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series with co-stars Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore (who plays Rebecca Pearson).

“I mean I’m not surprised at all. The show has everything anyone could want in TV,” junior Hailey Byall said. “This Is Us has all the family drama, the sadness, the joy – there’s nothing like it out there anymore. Some shows get crazy with plots and stuff, but This Is Us is real, like it’s stuff that could actually happen. They deserve more awards than they get, honestly.”

These awards come no surprise to its viewers based on its ratings. They support it through hardships, happiness, and life. Seeing, experiencing, and loving life together with Jack, Rebecca, Kate, Kevin, and Randall is a journey to watch and a journey to live. To its viewers, This Is Us isn’t a show, but a family.