“This Is Us” returns for its sixth and final season Tuesday night. The show is set to leave behind a legacy of great performances, great television and a great impact on fans.
Sterling K. Brown, who plays Randall on the drama that routinely tugs at viewers' heartstrings, says the show has definitely changed lives.
“I’ve had a woman come up to me one time who had a child strapped to her chest, she’s walking around,” he told TODAY Tuesday while joined by several of the show’s stars. “She saw me. And she goes, ‘I adopted this baby because of you.’ And she goes, ‘Not you, but your character.’”
Brown says Randall’s decision to quit his job in the first season also resonated with fans.
“People come up to me and say, ‘I just quit my job because of you,’” he said. “And I was like, ‘Hey, Randall didn’t tell you to quit your job,’ but he was like, ‘I was already close enough to making the decision and watching that episode put me over the edge.’”
Brown is grateful that he can be part of a show that goes beyond entertaining audiences.
“It affects people in a really profound way and it’s nice for us because we’re in a bubble shooting it and then we go out into the world and we see how it affects people and it’s like, ‘Ah, we’re doing something that means something to other people,’” he said.
Mandy Moore echoed Brown’s sentiment, noting how rabid the show’s fanbase is.
“I think we all knew what a special show that first episode was, but to be a part of something that has this sort of immediate affection of the audience — the audience has been with us since episode one — and it’s just, it’s incredible,” she said.
With the end of the series’ run in sight, will fans be pleased with how it wraps up?
“I think people are going to be satisfied with a full heart,” Milo Ventimiglia said. “At least, I think that’s kind of the hope.”
He says he thinks fans will be content after watching all the ups and downs of the Pearson family.
“Even if things are coming to an end, it doesn’t mean that you have to be despondent about it or upset about it. It’s something that is full.”
"This Is Us" returns to kick off its final season Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
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