NBC drama 'This Is Us' is the first of the fall newcomers to receive a full season order

NBC, which only launched three new series this fall, is showing confidence in its new drama "This Is Us," ordering five additional episodes and giving the series a full season order. The show is the first of the major networks' new fall programs to receive a full season order. Critics mostly praised the series, and it premiered last week to strong numbers, earning 14.3 million viewers overall. "This order for a complete first season of 18 episodes is exactly what we'd wanted and hoped for," executive producer Dan Fogelman said in a statement. "We'd carefully mapped out an 18-chapter story for the first year of the show. To get the order so early on is a tremendous show of confidence and a boost for our entire cast and crew."