It's never too late to introduce a new member of the Pearson family -- or, in this case, the Malone family. This Is Us Season 3 is winding down, with just two episodes left as of this week. But Season 4 will mark the arrival of Rebecca Pearson's father, show creator Dan Fogelman teased, and it sounds like he'll have a lot more than just a guest role:
Rebecca’s (Mandy Moore) father is going to become a prominent part of the show.
Dan Fogelman shared the news during a "Truth or Dare" game at PaleyFest (via EW). We've already met Rebecca's judgmental mother Janet Malone (Elizabeth Perkins), and Rebecca confronted her in Season 2, calling her a racist for ostracizing young Randall. It should be interesting to meet and get to know Rebecca's father. Hopefully he's nothing like her mother. Could he be anything like Jack Pearson?
Also, it's not clear when in time we'll meet Rebecca's father -- in a flashback from her childhood? From later years when The Big Three were teens? Much later, when The Big Three are grown and Rebecca is older? He wouldn't be around for the flash-forward timeline, would he? Seems like he would be too old for that, since Rebecca herself would be quite old (if she's even still alive). It's possible multiple actors will be cast to play Rebecca's father in different timelines. We'll have to wait and see.
Dan Fogelman also said Season 4 would show more of the early days in Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca's relationship, after their California dreamin' road trip. We'll also see Randall, Kate, and Kevin go through puberty.
Our world is going to expand a little bit in a really interesting way. Where we’re starting the season [next year] is as ambitious as we’ve been in a storytelling way.
What could that mean? Starting from the flash-forward perspective, perhaps?
Don't forget that the Season 3 finale is titled "Her." We finally learned that "Her" refers to Rebecca, so it would make sense if what we find out about Rebecca carries into Season 4 and the debut of her father.
This Is Us Season 3 has spent a lot of time helping us get to know other members of the extended Pearson family. We met Jack's brother Nicky in the modern timeline, with the surprise discovery that he's still alive. We also recently met Beth's family in her own Beth-focused episode. Speaking of Beth, the final two episodes of Season 3 will focus on what Beth and Randall decide to do in their marriage. "R & B" -- the Randall and Beth episode after the fallout of that awful voicemail -- airs tomorrow, March 26 on NBC.
Dan Fogelman warned fans not to miss the final minutes off the following week's Season 3 finale, since it sounds like another major cliffhanger is coming:
It’s kind of gigantic — the last five minutes of the episode are sprawling.
Oof! The This Is Us Season 3 finale, "Her," airs Tuesday, April 2 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
