It won’t be easy to say goodbye to This Is Us — again — after Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown and Chris Sullivan finish rewatching the show for their podcast, but luckily, the former costars are already talking about another plan.
“We have been talking about [what to do next] as we come closer to the end of our episodes — and how we might be able to keep this connection going,” Sullivan, 45, exclusively told Us Weekly during a joint interview about the upcoming That Was Us Live event, taking place Saturday, January 17. “We are brainstorming that and trying to figure out [if it is possible to rewatch episodes of other shows]. So stay tuned.”
Brown, meanwhile, joked that the possibilities are endless. “We’re going to watch the podcast and then do a podcast about the podcast,” he quipped. “It will be very inside baseball.”
This Is Us, which ran from 2016 to 2022, focused on siblings Kevin (Justin Hartley), Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Randall (Brown) in addition to their parents, Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Moore). Two years after the hit NBC series came to an end, Brown, 49, Moore, 41, and Sullivan reunited to celebrate This Is Us in podcast form.
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“Now with a few years removed from it, I experience it purely as a fan. And I find myself incredibly moved by the show,” shared Brown, who now stars on Hulu’s Paradise. “It’s not my performance, it’s their performances. But I understand in a new way the resonance that it had when it was out in the world at that time. It’s a show that connects people in this gorgeous way.”
He continued: “When I watch this show, it is abundantly clear to me that I’m watching people who love each other. There’s incredible structure, there’s incredible writing and storytelling — but the relationships that you see play out on camera are based on relationships that people have in real life that are founded in love. It feels so clear to me watching it and I experienced it on the other side doing it.”
Sullivan called This Is Us a “handbook for living,” adding, “We talk about it a lot. So if anybody is ever feeling lost or like they are going through something that nobody could understand, This Is Us has the answers on how to navigate all of that.”
After releasing more than 400 episodes of their “That Was Us” podcast, the trio are elevating the passion project with a live event.
“This could open the floodgates for us doing more of these — maybe in other cities across the country,” Moore told Us. “We are waiting to see what the response is.”
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Moore noted that fans can expect several surprises. “We’re not focusing on one particular episode with this recording. We’re talking about music generally throughout the show and how it’s woven into the fabric of what the show is,” she teased. “Then once we finish talking about music, we have a couple of special guests who are going to help us talk about it. We’re [also] going to have some special performances for just the audience that comes and sees the show. It won’t be something that’s a part of a future episode that airs.”
The actress is most excited to be in the same room as This Is Us fans. “We’ve seen other podcasts do it, and honestly, I felt a little jealous,” she admitted. “I wanted to do that because it looks like fun. We have so much fun doing this show together and we’re so touched by the connection that fans have to the show and that fans have to the podcast.”
Moore continued: “We’ve never really had an opportunity to take conversation live and feel it in person. We’re just really thrilled to be able to have that opportunity here.”
Tickets are available now for That Was Us Live on Saturday, January 17, at The Wiltern in Los Angeles.
