This Is Us, Mr. Robot and The Good Place are part of TV's “mystery-box show” trend

Vulture

So are Twin Peaks, Westworld and The Leftovers — and so was Lost, says Jen Chaney. “What these shows have in common,” she says, “are settings with heightened or fantastical elements; a narrative approach that slowly reveals information in a manner akin to peeling the layers of an onion; and an association with a genre known for trafficking in uncertainty. Murder mystery, sci-fi, cyberthriller, fantasy — we expect the creators of shows in these categories to thread a whole bunch of initially inscrutable story lines through needles.”