Jack and Rebecca. Randall, Kate and Kevin. Six seasons and a combined 23 actors playing the Pearson mom, dad and children over four jumbled decades of love, war and a fatefully malfunctioning slow cooker.
Add to that the countless tears shed by devoted fans of 鈥淭his Is Us鈥� and the oft-cited box of tissues as a standard accessory. It all comes down to one last good cry as NBC鈥檚 time-traveling family drama airs its final episode at 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday.
Creator Dan Fogelman, who鈥檇 planned the show鈥檚 finite run from the start, is comfortable with his decision to leave viewers wanting more 鈥�- unusual for TV, which has no qualms in milking a popular series for all it鈥檚 worth and then some.
鈥淚f we had done anything different, it would have happened because of the wrong reasons,鈥� Fogelman said. 鈥淎 lot of them are lovely reasons, because I enjoy these people so much that I work with, because the show is lucrative, because it鈥檚 so successful. But creatively, I feel we鈥檝e done the right thing.鈥�
The story was always complete in his imagination, to the point that he knew 鈥渨hat the final five minutes would look like. We knew enough that I鈥檇 say about half, if not more, of the final episode was shot three or four years ago.鈥�
The journey of the Pearsons and their extended circle of family and friends was as addictive, if not as edgy, as the cable and streaming dramas that operate without broadcast TV鈥檚 mandated guardrails.
鈥淭his Is Us鈥� also excelled in its approach to diversity, making it meaningful rather than a check-the-boxes approach. The experiences of Randall 鈥� an African American who as a baby was adopted by white couple Jack and Rebecca 鈥� were explored as fully as those of his white siblings Kate and Kevin.
Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore played opposite each other as the parents, with Sterling K. Brown as Randall, Chrissy Metz as Kate and Justin Hartley as Kevin. Other prominent cast members have included Susan Kelechi Watson and Jon Huertas.
The series鈥� compelling writing and acting, along with its intriguing time-shifting framework, earned fan loyalty: It remained a top-rated program among network-favored young adult viewers throughout its run.
鈥淚t鈥檚 collectively really challenging for all of us to say goodbye to the show and this job,鈥� Moore said before taping wrapped. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 show up any day not grateful for the material. It鈥檚 a dream on every single level,鈥� including the cast and crew.
鈥淭his Is Us鈥� received a wealth of honors, including a prestigious Humanitas Prize, a Writers Guild of America award and two consecutive Screen Actors Guild awards for best ensemble cast. It drew four best drama series Emmy nods, the sole broadcast nominee in recent years amid grander and gaudier competition such as Netflix鈥檚 鈥淭he Crown,鈥� HBO鈥檚 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� and Hulu鈥檚 鈥淭he Handmaid鈥檚 Tale.鈥�
The NBC show鈥檚 stars and guest actors received multiple Emmy nominations, with Brown, Gerald McRaney and Ron Cephas Jones winning Emmys 鈥� two for Jones in the role of William Hill, birth father to Brown鈥檚 Randall.
William was part of the second-to-last-episode that aired May 17 and followed the Pearson matriarch through the final stages of dementia.
As imagined in Rebecca鈥檚 minds-eye, William gently shepherds a young and glowing version of her through train cars for encounters with loved ones, scenes that are interspersed with family members saying their farewells to the frail, bedridden older woman.
The railroad metaphor was not in Fogelman鈥檚 original plan. Instead, he said it was proposed by writer K.J. Steinberg, who had someone in her life with a form of dementia and who spoke of being on a train ride.
鈥淜.J. said, 鈥業 have a kind of crazy idea, bear with me for a moment,鈥� Fogelman said.
The result is surreal but not out of character for a show that鈥檚 thrived on challenging its audience 鈥� most notably with time jumps that create mysteries, such as Jack鈥檚 premature death that went long and maddeningly unexplained. (It was heroic, saving his family in a house fire started by the above-mentioned kitchen item.)
鈥淭here were these kind of watercooler moments early in the show that were, frankly, a little unexpected,鈥� he said. As the show kept 鈥渢hrowing to the future,鈥� as he put it, viewers continued to thirst for answers 鈥� about Kate and Toby鈥檚 divorce, Kevin鈥檚 forever love and other loose ends.
Fogelman is circumspect about finale details but suggested it鈥檚 the opposite of shocking given how much has been resolved for the characters.
鈥淭he goal of the ending was always to just sit with this family in the simplest of ways,鈥� he said. 鈥淲here there鈥檚 not that many questions left, and you can sit and enjoy almost the equivalent of found footage of a family, combined with a very meditative day.鈥�
Moore was asked whether the Pearson saga could one day be resumed, perhaps as a spin-off or a movie a la 鈥淒ownton Abbey.鈥� That鈥檚 hard to imagine given Fogelman鈥檚 determination to end it as planned, she said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really grateful that we鈥檙e able to do that and honor that,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淚 feel like the audience will be incredibly satisfied with how things are wrapped up.鈥�
鈥擫ynn Elber, The Associated Press
