At the 34th Annual PaleyFest, the cast of the hit NBC series sits together and talks about how things are going to be in the sophomore season of the series.
- Mar 20, 2017
AceShowbiz - On Saturday, March 18, the night 2 of the 34th Annual PaleyFest featured NBC's hit ensemble drama "This Is Us". The cast of the tear-inducing drama of an intergenerational portrait of family, life and love discussed what to expect in the sophomore season as well as talked about the unanswered question regarding Jack's (Milo Ventimiglia) death.
Representing "This Is Us" at the Dolby Theatre were Mandy Moore (Rebecca), Ventimiglia, Chrissy Metz (Kate), Justin Hartley (Kevin), Susan Kelechi Watson (Beth), Chris Sullivan (Toby) and Ron Cephas Jones (William). Jon Huertas (Miguel), Gerald McRaney (Dr. K) and Sterling K. Brown (Randall) joined the other cast members later as surprise guests.
Executive producer/directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra spilled the beans about the second season which is currently in the process of production. Ficarra said, "There have been advanced talks-a lot of logistics discussions-but [the writers] have to reconvene in early July, or June, actually, to really get it going."
Ficarra added, "We have some new writers on staff. The great thing about the show is it's like this spider web, and we're able to go off in all directions and delve deep into people. We got to see Jack from a certain perspective this season, and I think we might get him from another perspective in other characters [next season]." Requa jokingly added, "There are a bunch of episodes that end in emotion. A couple surprises."
Requa also said that how exactly Rebecca ended up getting married to Miguel would be "90 percent certain" addressed in the new season. "I concocted a story in my head," Moore admitted to the crowd, before revealing that she didn't yet know how it really happened. "When we're in a scene together, we kind of have to have some kind of history built into our characters and how we're approaching our relationship. I have an idea in my head-it's very PG," Huertas added.
Other things to expect in the second season involved the story of Randall and his wife Beth. [SPOILER ALERT!] As teased in the first season finale, Randall showed his newfound desire to adopt another kid. "It's clearly the beginning of a conversation between a husband and a wife," said Brown. Meanwhile, Hartley explained his wishes for Kevin. "I want him to get what he wants. I love him, I really do. I think he's a great guy... and I root for him. I wish he was a little better at getting by than he is. Hopefully he'll get the girl and the movie."
Besides talking about season 2 of "This Is Us", moderator Kristin Dos Santos brought the topic of Jack's death up into the discussion. When Dos Santos asked who of the cast and crew currently know how Jack died, most of them raised their hands. Sullivan gushed a simple remark, "It happens exactly how you think it is going to."
Dos Santos gave out a list of theories which have emerged online about Jack's death. Among the theories is the one which mentioned Miguel as the murderer, which was quickly dismissed along with the theory that Rebecca intentionally or Kate accidentally killed him.
With them being debunked, one theory is left as one of the possible explanations of Jack's death: the theory that Jack died in a plane crash. The theory is supported by some clues which many fans have noticed, such as Kate's fear of flying and Kevin's remark in episode 6 that he threw away all of the model airplanes he made with Jack following his death.
Should the theory be true, many assumed that there could be a real-life component added to it. It has been revealed that Jack died when Kate, Kevin and Randall were all teens. In 1994, when the kids were teen, a USAir jet crashed outside Pittsburgh, where the show is mostly set in. The accident killed 132 people on the flight.
