This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman told Entertainment Weekly that with the series entering its final season he’s starting to feel that “bittersweet emotion” — specifically he said: “I’m starting to feel that kind of bittersweet emotion that comes with something coming to an end.” Well, it’s about time! Because Fogelman and his team have been bringing things big and small to an end for five seasons — and causing more tears along the way than any TV show has a right to. Bittersweet? That could have been the name of the series!
What are the other unexpected things to look for in This Is Us Season 6? Along the lines of the above, Fogelman says the show will get “more emotional.” Yes, you read that right. Good luck to us all, watching a show already hitting regular emotional peaks — now that it’s going on emotional steroids! That’s the first thing, and it really will be a surprise if they can find the dial that actually turns up the emotions on a show like this.
Second is the depth to which a family drama on network TV is going to explore Alzheimer’s Disease, and its devastating effects beyond on the person afflicted — matriarch Rebecca (Mandy Moore), in this case. Look for her condition to radiate far and deeply, bringing fate into the show’s story in an even larger capacity, if such a thing is possible.
Third, the season — especially the first part — promises to stay mainly in the present day, despite the teaser of a major event in the future that will presumably end the show. With the exception of historical exploration featuring Rebecca and Jack (Milo Ventimiglia), look for the Big Three‘s current entanglements to dominate.
Fourth, a quiet start. As Fogelman also told EW, “some things need to be set up to then explode later.”
And so fifth, we can expect explosions. For all the bombs that have been set off so far, the parting detonations promise to be even bigger, with the early combustion seeming merely like the rumblings of a volcano, in retrospect, before it really explodes.
And here’s number six, a bonus that’s sheer speculation. But we know Randall (Sterling K. Brown) is a “rising star” after season five, but we don’t know what it means. Yet we do know he’s a political figure now, so the natural endgame there is a run for the presidency, if the show continues to aim as high as it has with its narrative. The magazine profile that helps launch Randall into new levels of renown is not a launching pad for mayors, you know? It’s for national figures. Governor? Senator? Maybe one of those is a stepping stone along the way to a national campaign? Stay tuned. But of course you will.
This Is Us Season 6 airs on NBC Tuesdays at 9 pm.
