This Pearson will have to answer to his worried family members when This Is Us returns in January.
In "Number Three," the NBC drama's midseason finale, it was revealed that Kevin (Justin Hartley) was pulled over while under the influence — shortly after discovering his niece Tess (Eris Baker) had stowed away in the back seat.
The moment is a huge one for the Pearson family, who discovered that Kevin is struggling with substance abuse just as he inadvertently put another member of the family's life in danger. According to creator Dan Fogelman's new interview with Deadline, the Pearson family will have a major scene that tackles exactly what's going on with the eldest of the Big Three — and it likely won't be pretty.
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Per Fogelman's conversation with Deadline, that scene will be 12 minutes long, and will feature Kevin's mom, Rebecca (Mandy Moore), as well as his siblings Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown).
"They just go at it in an interesting way that I had to call of them into my office because there’s some really serious acting going on," Fogelman told Deadline. "We find Kevin in rehab and the family has arrived to hash things out in a therapy session. It’s very loaded."
This could mark a major shift for Kevin as a character. Often, it's the former high school golden boy who acts as a comedic relief of sorts for the Pearson clan. In season 1, Randall dealt with the discovery of — and eventual death of — his biological father. Kate coped with body image issues and her own residual guilt over her dad's death. Kevin, meanwhile, quit his sitcom role and dated three women.
This Is Us has always been excellent at peeling back layers on characters we think we've figured out — and now, it's Kevin's turn to do some true soul-searching. Whether his family will forgive him for putting his own life (and, inadvertently, Tess' life) in jeopardy will be something we'll have to wait and see.