Critics are calling ABC's 'A Million Little Things' a clone of NBC's 'This Is Us,' and some people aren't happy about the way the show approaches a suicide

ABC

• Critics are not loving ABC's new ensemble drama "A Million Little Things," which centers on a group of friends who change the way they live after a close friend dies by suicide. 
• Critics agree that ABC is trying to compete with NBC's "This Is Us" with an incredibly emotional drama.
• Some people have issues with the show and think it "glorifies" suicide, but others say it brings an important conversation to network TV.

Critics do not like "A Million Little Things," ABC's answer to "This Is Us," and some people have called it "garbage" because they believe that it "glorifies" suicide.  

"This Is Us," which premiered in 2016, is one of the most popular shows on television. It gets nominated for Emmys and wins some of them, and a lot of people tune in to NBC to watch it every week. 

In its new show "A Million Little Things" which premiered on ABC Wednesday night, the network seems to be looking for its own "This Is Us." But critics hate it, and its premise has caused some controversy. The show currently has a measly 40% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. 

"A Million Little Things" is drama series that follows a group of friends who unite and decide to start living their lives more fully after a friend dies by suicide. It stars an ensemble cast that includes Ron Livingston, James Roday, Romany Malco, Allison Miller, and Grace Park. Like "This Is Us," it intertwines stories in the past with the present. 

But critics aren't buying the emotionally manipulative story. Verne Gay of Newsday wrote that the series is "a weepy wannabe from the 'This Is Us' playbook that doesn't build much of a case for caring about the characters, much less weeping over them."

And Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast said, "there is a fine line between emotional storytelling and trauma porn..."

While the show has a high audience score of 91%, not everyone is a fan. When the show aired last night, some people on Twitter expressed their problems with the premise, which puts a positive spin on a tragic suicide.

But some people appreciate what the show is doing: