THE TIME-REARRANGING, TEAR-
duct-straining This Is Us returns
to NBC on Sept. 24 with a journey
into the early ’70s to learn more
about a couple of Pearsons—
specifically, the couple who started
the Pearsons. The season 4 pre-
miere explores the early courtship
between Rebecca (Mandy Moore)
and Jack (Milo Ventimiglia), the lat-
ter of whom recently returned from
combat in Vietnam. As you can see
above, Jack will need to don proper
duds and meet the parents of his
new girlfriend. “There are going to
be some family dynamics that enter
the equation from my side, having
to contend with my parents and
their thoughts on him,” Moore tells
EW. Ventimiglia hints at a man in
transition from the traumas of war.
“I’m curious to see how Jack boxes
it all up and stuffs it away,” he says,
“and I think it’s going to be a pro-
cess.” Back in the present day,
Randall (Sterling K. Brown) and Beth
(Susan Kelechi Watson) reconnect
and relocate the family to Philadel-
phia. “Subversive” is the word that
Brown uses to describe the first
9 - 1 - 1
Former mixed-martial-arts
fighter Ronda Rousey guest-
stars as a legacy firefighter
in 9-1-1’s third season
(Sept. 23 on Fox), which
kicks off with a tsunami
hitting the Santa Monica
Pier. Rousey’s team is lost
during the disaster, so
her character joins Ryan
Guzman’s Eddie and the rest
of Station 118 to help save
some lives. “Like our multi-
part earthquake episodes
from last year, cast and
crew are pushing the limits,
striving to create a realistic
experience of human
endurance in the face of a
natural disaster,” executive
producer Tim Minear says,
before joking, “Our goal is to
make Quentin Tarantino at
least tear up by the end of
every hour.” —Lynette Rice
BFall TV ack
First Take
This
Is Us
↑ Meet the parents: Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) will get to know Rebecca’s (Mandy Moore) folks in season 4
SUMMER BREAK IS OVER! A FIRST LOOK AT SOME OF OUR FAVORITE SHOWS AS THEY RETURN TO SET.
28 SEPTEMBER 2019 EW ● COM
THIS IS US
: RON BATZDORFF/NBC (2);
9-1-1
: AARON EPSTEIN/FOX;
GREY'S
ANATOMY
: KELSEY MCNEAL/ABC;
NCIS
: MICHAEL YARISH/CBS
