This year, PaleyFest LA is back in person with a wonderful lineup of shows including the emotional family drama This Is Us. Premiering in 2016, the series follows the lives of one family in several different time frames. The show sometimes deals with emotional and heartbreaking topics, but the underlying theme remains that the love of a family bond will never break. Sadly, after 106 episodes, This Is Us, is wrapping up its sixth and final season this year, and fans like myself are already mourning the loss of this beloved show.
On April 2, Her Campus at UCLA had the exciting opportunity to attend the This Is Us screening and panel. We grabbed our tissues and headed over to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The first part of the night began with a screening of the latest episode of the series (Season 6, Episode 11). Before beginning the episode, writer and creator of This Is Us, Dan Fogelman, warned the audience to be prepared because “this episode is a deep one.” He was definitely right, as the episode was very powerful, but there were also moments of laughter and joy. Although I won’t spoil anything major, we get to see all of the generations of the family come together which is so special. The episode also gave us a little bit of a preview of what’s going to unfold in the final remaining episodes of the series.
After the screening, Scott Evans from Access Hollywood welcomed the cast from This Is Us. The cast that appeared included Milo Ventimiglia, Chrissy Metz, Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley, Mandy Moore, Chris Sullivan, Susan Kelechi Watson and Jon Huertas. The panel began with Evans discussing the casting on the show and how they ended up with such a talented cast of actors. The show is known for its star-studded cast of actors and even manages to bring on talented guest stars such as Ron Cephas Jones who won two Emmys for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Dan Fogelman said he owed all the amazing casting to the casting directors and also trusted his instincts when it came to who he wanted to hire.
Following the brief discussion on casting, the cast moved on to talk about how much they have grown since the start of the series. Most of the cast talked about how their lives changed the minute they were given the script of This Is Us. Justin Harley, who plays Kevin, mentioned how it is easy for some actors to let the fame get to their heads, but the cast of This Is Us has not changed. He stated, “They are beautiful people…and their dedication to their characters has continued.” It was a touching moment and one where you could really see how close the cast is not only on the screen but in real life as well. Chris Sullivan, who plays Toby, said that there also is magic in the format of the show. It has taught him to “zoom out and look at the big picture” and helped him to navigate difficult conversations in his real life. The different time frames on the show is not very common in other TV shows, but This Is Us blends the storylines together perfectly. We, as an audience, see how all of these different moments in time are somehow connected together.
After answering some audience questions, the cast moved into the final portion of their conversation discussing the finale of the show and also the biggest thing that they have learned from their characters. Fogelman discussed how he actually envisioned the final scene of the show at the very beginning. Despite fans feeling like there is still so much left of the story to finish, Fogelman said fans should feel “satiated with the ending.” This Is Us covers so many challenging topics but also gives the audience some amazing life advice along the way. The cast members each shared one word that they want fans to remember as the legacy of the show. The words mentioned were reconciliation, healing, forgiveness, joy, compassion, patience, connection, hope, and family. All of these words definitely describe the impact that This Is Us has already had on fans across the world.
Her Campus at UCLA is grateful that we had the chance to bid farewell with the cast to a show that has shaped television history. If you haven’t gotten the chance to watch This Is Us yet, you can catch up with the show on NBC and on other streaming networks like Hulu. We can’t wait to see how Dan Fogelman and the cast plan to wrap up the series, but we can already anticipate that it’s going to be an emotionally packed ending.