Premiering on NBC in September of 2016-- following what felt like six months of hype-building commercials-- This Is Us was an immediate hit that resonating with millions of viewers looking for a TV show with heart. The show follows a family through three different eras as they navigate personal and social issues including adoption, divorce, racism, weight struggles, mental illness, and just about anything else a TV show can throw at viewers to make them happy, sad, and angry cry.

This Is Us has a dynamite cast that mixes existing superstars (Mandy Moore), established TV vets (Milo Ventimiglia, Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley), and actors in their breakout roles (Chrissy Metz, Susan Kelechi Watson). Creator Dan Fogelman adds This Is Us to an impressive resume that already included writing the screenplays for Cars, Tangled, and Crazy, Stupid, Love, as well as creating such varied TV shows as the fantasy comedy Galavant. All of that talent has come together to create a show that already feels like an institution only two seasons in.

Of course, even the most wholesome, family-focused of shows aren't without their closeted skeletons. Here are 15 Dark Secrets You Didn't Know About This Is Us.

Forced Cliffhangers before every Christmas hiatus

TV show seasons aren't what they used to be. Once upon a time, basically every TV show started in the fall and ended in late spring, and those two times are when major cliffhangers were started and resolved.

These days, series start and stop at all different times of the year, and shows go on hiatus at different-- and for longer-- times than they used to. Mid-season breaks are extremely common now, and for most shows that break happens just before Christmas. In the case of This Is Us, the show's writers are charged with having the last episode before each Christmas break be a cliffhanger that leaves fans eagerly awaiting the show to return the following year.

So much for the goopy, semi-disposable "Christmas episodes" of TV shows past.

The cast banded together for a raise very early on

Typically, actors on TV shows don't start angling for higher paychecks until their shows have been on the air for several seasons. Traditionally, actors are signed to six-season contracts, and that's why so many TV show casts get massive pay raises after six years on the air - because it's finally contract renewal time. In the case of the This Is Us cast, they didn't wait six seasons. In fact, they barely waited two.

Following huge ratings of the show's second season premiere, the cast got together and demanded "huge" pay increases to reflect the success of the show. Considering those raises only amounted to the top-paid cast getting $80K per episode, it definitely feels as though they were being underpaid for their parts on a massively successful show.

 It almost had a different-- and really awful-- title

This Is Us seems like the perfect name for the show, even if it's a bit generic and can also apply to countless other shows, movies, books, etc. Whatever your personal feelings on the title, there's little doubt that you'll agree it is way better than what the show was originally going to be called.

Perhaps taking a cue from pop star Adele, who has thus far named all of her albums after the age she was when she recorded them, This Is Us's original title was going to be 36, the age all of the characters are turning at the start of the show.

Fortunately, Dan Fogelman knew the title was weak and eventually came up with This Is Us, mostly because he "liked how it looked at the beginning of the show."

Chris Sullivan wears a fat suit

As previously explained, so much of what is compelling about This Is Us is the authenticity, particularly from Chrissy Metz's performance as Kate. So it's a bit ironic that Kate's fiancé, Toby, is portrayed in a way that is the exact opposite of authentic.

When it was revealed that actor Chris Sullivan wears prosthetics to make him appear larger than he really is, many fans felt betrayed. "Why not just find an actor of that size?" many viewers asked. It's difficult to hear of an actor wearing a "fat suit" and not have it conjure offensive caricatures of overweight people from silly movies like Austin Powers and Shallow Hal.

When asked about the backlash, Sullivan wrote it off as people just looking for something to nitpick about a beloved show, saying "outrage is a hobby for some people."

Some fans defended a character's use of a racial slur

"The Most Disappointed Man" episodefeatured one of the few instances of the uncensored use of the n-word on network television.

While the utterance of the word-- spoken by guest star Delroy Lindo, playing the judge presiding over the adoption proceedings-- sparked controversy in and of itself, it was some of the fan reactions that were even more surprising. While reactions to use of the word were mixed, more people praised the show's bravery in using the word than condemned it. In the end, it was the people who particularly defended the character who used the difficult word, saying that he was speaking a truth that the Pearsons needed to hear, that gave us the biggest surprise to come from the word being used.

Chrissie Metz had less than a dollar to her name when she was cast

There's no denying that This Is Us has been a breakout role for Chrissy Metz, launching her into mainstream success and recognition. It wasn't her first role, but her acting resume-- which goes back to 2005, had largely consisted of one-off appearances in TV shows-- had been rather lackluster and includes less-than-glamorous credits like "Chunk" and "Heavy girl."

Even though Metz previously flirted with success via her five-episode stint on the "Freak Show" season of American Horror Story, it wasn't a long-term, bill-paying role. The actress has recently itted that her acting gigs were so few and far between that her bank balance was literally 81 cents the day she was told she got the part on This Is Us.

Last we heard, she is currently getting over $30,000 per episode, so it's safe to say her finances are looking much healthier these days.

Mandy Moore's co-stars revealed her secret engagement to the press

Fans had been waiting for Mandy Moore's longtime relationship with musician Taylor Goldsmith to go to the next level, and when Moore was seen out and about with a rock on her finger, the rumor mill began to churn that Goldsmith had finally popped the question. Eventually, that rumor was confirmed-- only, it was Moore's This Is Us co-stars that spilled the tea.

At the release party for the This Is Us soundtrack, a reporter for Entertainment Tonight asked Moore's co-stars Chris Sullivan and Jon Huertas about that ring, and Sullivan came right out with it: "I was just in the studio with her boyfriend, well, now fiancé." Heurtas followed up with, "I'm really happy that they're going to be ing the club."

This was before Moore or Goldsmith had the chance to publicly confirm their engagement themselves. Way to go, big mouths!

Emmy nomination revoked

To say that This Is Us is award bait would be an understatement-- it's exactly the type of show that critics love to shower with praise via little golden statuettes. The series has been nominated for over 50 mainstream awards already during its short run, including five Emmy awards (of which Sterling K. Brown won the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2017).

However, not all of the show's award nominations have gone so smoothly. In addition to acting and writing awards, This Is Us has also garnered nominations in technical categories, including Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Series. But that nomination ended up being revoked by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences after it was determined that too much of the episode in question took place in the past, and thus wasn't eligible for that particular award.

Kate is based on creator Dan Fogleman's sister

One of the primary arcs on This Is Us focuses on Kate, played by Chrissy Metz, and her struggle with being plus-sized. With so few truly full-figured women on television or in pop culture in general, it's refreshing to see a show feature a character who struggles with her weight and isn't just "Hollywood overweight"-- meaning, basically, anything above a size 2.

The reason that Kate is such a believable character that many fans can identify with isn't just due to the talent of Metz-- creator Dan Fogelman based Kate and her issues on his real-life sister, Deborah. In fact, Deborah is a consultant on the show in order to help ensure that Kate continues to be a believable and identifiable character.

A Kevin Spacey reference had to be removed

The fallout from the sexual misconduct allegations that have been levied against multiple Hollywood figures in recent months hasn't only affected projects that the accused are directly involved in. Even casual mentions of one of those disgraced actors can lead to problems.

In the episode title "The 20s", Kevin's actor roommate casually mentions that he's going to be appearing in a movie with Kevin Spacey. It wasn't a controversial name to bring up when the scene was written or even when it was filmed, but as the troubling allegations against Spacey came to light before the episode actually aired, producers decided to edit out the reference and change it to something else.

It was a smart move, as This Is Us's creators would've probably faced negative backlash for not taking the fairly simple step of axing a throwaway reference.