There are plenty of stories about TV casts that didn’t gel behind the scenes once the cameras stopped rolling. Grey’s Anatomy, for example, made headlines for disagreements between its actors in the early years, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air famously recast Aunt Viv amid Will Smith’s (now-resolved) feud with Janet Hubert. As many other examples as there are, This Is Us is definitely not one of those shows. In fact, nearly two years after the Pearson saga came to an end, Justin Hartley said the cast still texts each other.
Justin Hartley and the rest of the cast of NBC’s heart-wrenching drama may have moved on to new projects, but the This Is Us actors certainly haven’t forgotten about the people who played their family members for six years. The Kevin Pearson portrayer relayed a great story about the still-active group chat when People asked who from the show he still kept in touch with. Hartley responded:
All those guys! Sterling [K. Brown] and I just got a little video message from Mandy [Moore]. She was doing something ridiculous and it felt like she might've been making fun of us. She probably was. I love them.
Mandy Moore may be younger than Justin Hartley and Sterling K. Brown — who, along with Chrissy Metz, played the children of Moore’s character Rebecca — but somehow it’s not hard to picture her sending them maternal wisdom via text or making fun of them with some “ridiculous” video.
Justin Hartley is now starring in Tracker on CBS, which critics called a hit for the Eye Network, but it’s obvious in the way he talks about his previous show that it had a huge impact on his life and career. In fact, the actor said he credits This Is Us for Tracker getting that sweet post-Super Bowl premiere slot. He’s also going to reunite with his TV stepfather Jon Huertas, who is reportedly directing an upcoming episode of Tracker, and Hartley said he’s looking forward to “spending a ton of time together.”
Even before This Is Us ended, it was obvious how much the cast members meant to each other. What other actors go viral for doing the Wobble during downtime on set? Sterling K. Brown also made an emotional plea for Mandy Moore to win an Emmy Award for her tough storyline in the final season, as Rebecca’s health deteriorated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Since the series finale, Chrissy Metz has said she “desperately” misses the show, reflecting on how life-changing it was for her and for its fans as well. The cast members have continued to celebrate each other’s personal and professional achievements, including Sterling K. Brown’s Academy Award nomination for his role in American Fiction. Justin Hartley always knew his Big Three brother was worthy of such recognition, though, as he told the magazine:
Isn't that amazing? I'm not surprised. I'm thrilled and I'm excited for him, but I'm not surprised.
We may not be getting any new stories from the timeline-jumping Pearson drama, but it still feels good to know the love is still there between the actors. You can relive all six seasons of This Is Us on streaming with a Netflix subscription or a Hulu subscription.
