T’S BEEN SIX MONTHS
of hypothesizing and
hand-wringing since
This Is Us ended its
third season with a
future family reunion
that left Rebecca (Mandy
Moore) seemingly on her
deathbed; Kate (Chrissy Metz)
and Miguel (Jon Huertas) MIA;
and the identity of the mother
of Kevin’s (Justin Hartley) son a
mystery, even bigger than why
Toby (Chris Sullivan) was pack-
ing sidewalk chalk.
Now that the Pearsons are
gathering for season 4 of NBC’s
ultrapopular, überemotional
family drama, those burning
questions will be...left to simmer
a bit longer. “To return to that
period, you first have to fill in
some of the middle, and that’s
what’s going to start happening,”
says creator Dan Fogelman.
“They’re going to inform what
you’ve already seen.”
There’s a “big, sprawling,
ambitious start” to season 4,
says Fogelman, and it expands
the world in unexpected ways.
Cast members hint at a sizable
revelation in the premiere,while Sullivan declares, “The
show is going bigger than it’s
gone before—and it’s going in a
direction no one expects.”
What can you expect? A
parade of new faces, including
Omar Epps and Jennifer Morri-
son. (“She’s got a very com-
plicated part,” Fogelman says of
Morrison’s “badass” military
character .) Also: New beginnings
galore! Rebecca and Miguel relo-
cate to L.A. to help Kate and
Toby, who are caring for their
newborn. Newly single and sober
Kevin lands another film with an
A-list director. And freshly rec-
onciled Randall (Sterling K.
Brown) and Beth (Susan Kelechi
Watson) settle their family into
Philadelphia, where she’s open-
ing a dance studio and he’s a city
councilman. “[Randall] is going
to be very critical of himself and
the impact that he wants to
have,” says Brown. “Whether he
falls short of what he wants to
accomplish could send him in a
couple of different directions.”
Back in the early ’70s, Jack
(Milo Ventimiglia) tries to com-
partmentalize the traumas of
Vietnam. “He may be pastphysical war, but it doesn’t mean
he’s not in personal war,” says
Ventimiglia. He must also meet
Rebecca’s parents. “Wouldn’t
you expect Jack to win anyone
over?” says Moore. “But her par-
ents can be a bit...tricky. They’re
a little protective.”
As are TIU fans who worry
that future Kate may no longer
be with Toby, or even alive.
Quips Metz: “I just keep say-
ing, ‘She’s probably at the dry
cleaners! It’s fine! Not to fret.’ ”
A fresh set of worries—and old
warm-fuzzies—await this fall.
—DAN SNIERSONT
HisIS
U
S
↑ “The move to Philadelphia is inspiring,” Sterling K. Brown (right, with Susan Kelechi Watson) says of Randall and BethT UESDAY
Returning Drama
Season 4 � SEPT—24
9 pm � NBC
↓ Season 4 shows Kevin, here on a
movie set, “in a way we’re not used to
seeing him,” says Justin HartleyCOMMON KNOWLEDGE? > Alyson Hannigan, Catherine Bell, Elizabeth Montgomery, Melissa Joan Hart, Kat Graham