As season 3 of This Is Us comes to a close (with Beth and Randall’s relationship on the thinnest ice ever), it's time to look towards the Pearson family's future. Fortunately, the producers of This Is Us are spilling all the tea — or, more accurately, giving us a taste of what's to come.
Speaking at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood during the This Is Us PaleyFest panel on Sunday, creator Dan Fogelman shared that the show is opening up to new characters and storylines in the upcoming season 4.
"Our world’s going to expand a little bit in a really interesting way. I think where we’re starting the season is as ambitious as we’ve been, kind of like storytelling way," Fogelman said, per Variety. "We have a plan; we’re at the midpoint. We know where we’re going, we know what we’re doing. I’m more excited about the back half of the plan than the front half."
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One person involved in that plan, said Fogelman, is the father of Rebecca (Mandy Moore), who has yet to be featured on the series in any real way. Rebecca's mother, portrayed by Elizabeth Perkins, previously had a storyline in which she struggled to accept Rebecca's adopted child Randall (Sterling K. Brown as an adult) as her grandchild. Will Rebecca's dad share similar sentimentalities?
Whatever happens with Rebecca's dad, it's clear that the rest of the family will struggle in the future season.
"Everyone is not okay," said Justin Hartley, who plays Kevin on the show.
While it's unclear what that means going into season 4, we know that Kevin is battling alcoholism, Kate (Chrissy Metz) just gave birth to a son prematurely, and that Randall and Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) are dealing with major tension in their marriage.
The final moments of season 3 of This Is Us should set up the dark drama...but at PaleyFest, Fogelman refused to give more than just the smallest of details on what those "sprawling" five minutes are about.
"You’re going to get a lot of answers," Fogelman said, before (hopefully?!?) joking: "Everyone dies!"
Honestly, it's This Is Us — if the answers don't make us weep, are we even watching the right show?