Back to the Future | “The Big Three” (S1E2)
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Welcome to That Was Us. On today's episode of That Was Us, we'll be discussing Season 1, Episode 2, The Big Three. Jack and Rebecca struggle with raising a family. Beth grows suspicious of William. Kate stresses over her weight loss.

And Kevin faces fallout from his meltdown. Welcome, everyone. How's everybody doing? I'm doing good. Well, how are you? I'm doing pretty good. We're back. Happy to be here and discuss our second episode of This Is Us. Just like that. Title of the week three. Overnight, we're a smash hit. Here we are. Just like that. Sensation. It was so...

It's interesting because I was speaking to that real quick. People ask like, when did you know you had a hit show? And the first one comes out and the pilot hits and it's big, right? And you're like, all right, we got a good pilot. That's good. Sometimes you have like that sophomore slump that falls off, right? We dropped that second joint. People were like, no, we sticking around. Up, up, up, up.

It was great. It was nice. And I'll get to this later, but I want to talk about the synopsis of this one. Jack and Rebecca are struggling with raising a family. Yes. Beth is growing suspicious of William.

Cadis stresses over weight loss. Kevin faces fallout from his meltdown. Now, we didn't actually talk about his meltdown in our first episode. That's right. There was so much to get through. There was so much to get through. So much groundwork to it. Justin and his sort of network, you know, thing, brilliantly just like loses his ish because he has this wonderful scene

Like something like the guy can actually write when you want him to, and he feels so good. And as an actor, you guys can relate to this. Like, all right, let's get an alt that's basically just crappy, right? Like that does not have anywhere close to the same artistic integrity of the thing that you just did, but you still have to do it to quote unquote- Can we go again? And this time, can you just do it faster?

To cover your bases, right? Is always a great note. Yeah. A little faster, funnier, louder. And he just flips out in such a beautiful way. Shout out to the late, great Alan Thicke. Absolutely. Who kind of crushed that scene. He really did. He walks off, he's like, I don't know what he said. He said something like, I don't know. Thanks so much. This has been fun. This has been fun. Yeah.

It was brilliant. So now we're dealing with the fallout of that in this episode. Okay. But before we get to that. Sterling's notes are back. Sterling's going to go to his notes real quick. Okay.

first thing is webster that i have in my notes which is the kids at school are making fun of randall yeah right they're calling him not by his name but by webster who we all know was a sitcom character who was also a transracial adoptee yeah right and the difficult part about it for randall is not just the teasing but it's that his brother joins in on the teasing

So this is really interesting layering that happens because you're not necessarily aware of the connective tissue between Kevin and Kate and Randall. You see that Kevin and Kate are pretty tight with each other. And Randall, you see the picture at the end of episode one, right? But now we kind of get a chance to find out what's the backstory that connects these three kids with each other, right? And it sounds like there's a little bit of tension between these two brothers and that their relationship has not been the best.

We also see in the second episode that we are not telling this story linearly, right? Right. We are jumping eight years into the future, which was a real revelation. Yeah. I don't know if it was to you as well, but like getting that second episode, I was like, here we go. They're coming home from the hospital. And it's like, nope. Right.

We're jumping eight years into the future. The kids are eight. There's a lot going on in their lives. The relationship between Jack and Rebecca is in a precarious place. Yes. Which I think probably feeds into the relationship between the brothers. And, you know, mom is sort of struggling to keep her head above water doing a little bit of everything in the household because Jack is a bit absent. Right.

His drinking has entered the equation. Sure. So it's interesting that Dan thought to kind of jump into the story after the pilot at this particular place, this sort of imperfect past that Jack and Rebecca, who are kind of, you know, they're kind of the glue, right? The parental glue of this family and this storytelling device story.

the things are not in great shape. You go from newborns to tense breakfast in the kitchen. Yeah. Yep. Where dad's off to work. Yeah. Coffee? Drinking his coffee? No, he's like, do you not know? Coffee? Yeah.

Yeah, how many times have they had this conversation? And it's also when we hear the big three chant for the first time. You hear the big three chant for the first time. So again, Dan Fogelman and the writers are not telling you anything. They're showing you what has happened. How old are the kids at this point? Eight. In eight years. Yeah. How this family has developed and how they have decayed in certain ways. Sure. And...

I find it fascinating. And then episode three, again, then jumps back in time. So I think like very quickly we were telling the audience like, you think you're on just this sort of straight path. No, no. We're going to be, as Dan says, taking a bunch of home videos and sort of shaking them up in a box and then someone just grabbing them out. Yeah.

- That's a wonderful description. - Yeah, it's like not knowing what they're getting. That's sort of what each episode was. - Let's jump into that marital friction between Jack and Rebecca and the brilliant Amanda Lee Moore. Many more. So you had to audition with the scene where you're saying to Jack, like, you know, how do you think we're doing as parents? I see why you got the part.

- 'Cause I think we're at a six. - She said, "I'm at a nine!" - You don't really know where this monologue is going. And when she, the way you say that line to him, you're like, "Oh no, we're in a thing." This is officially a conversation. - We have to write this. - The drinking has to stop. I don't know, be a man, figure it out and get it done. But I can't have this anymore.

- Many more. You're the youngest of us, but you're also kind of like the oldest. What do you attribute that to? Like you're just an incredibly mature human being and you've lived a lot of life. - That's lovely of you, thank you. - Yeah. - I don't know. I mean, I think all of us can attribute so much of the work we're able to do on the show to what's on the page. Like what's on the page is just,

so beyond that like most of our job is done for us. I mean, that's how I felt reading that scene and going into audition for it, not knowing where the character was going, what story we were even telling. But I love that very quickly we understand the dynamic in this relationship. Like this is a woman who's not afraid to like put it all out there and to, you know, tell her husband, oh,

what needs to change in order for things to just continue on. The status quo is not working. To juxtapose that again with just the little bit of information we learned about them in the pilot, right? Like them, they're sweet. They have their little routine for Jack's birthday before she goes into labor and her water breaks. You can see that they're very, very deeply in love. You can see obviously like

this is the most important moment of this couple's life, like being in the hospital, giving birth to their children and what goes terribly wrong, all of that. It's like, you still don't quite know who these people are. And then you jump all this, this, like you jump forward in time and have to come to understand that like a lot of life has been lived, but, but yet I, and I felt when I was reading it and when we were sort of playing it, like this is,

isn't something she's ever said to him before. I don't think they've ever had this conversation. Things have really been pushed to the brink where she's forced-- Her hand's been forced. She has to say something. And she does not intend on repeating herself. - Yeah, yeah. - That's clear! We're gonna have this conversation once. And I guess I can relate to that personally, too. Like, it takes a lot for me

To get pushed to the point where I have a point to make like this, you know? Sterling, you know. You've been witness to it. But it's like, it takes a lot. It takes a lot for me to really... My fellow Aries, yes. To really...

not lose it, but you know, stand up for myself, advocate for myself. And that's what Rebecca was doing here because she had no choice. - And it's a moment where you realize that Rebecca, obviously no human is perfect. Everyone has their moments, their flaws, but like Rebecca is the healthiest character in this show.

Can I say that? I mean, she definitely has her... I mean, everybody does. She has her issues and her baggage. But it is the moment... Yeah, Beth, for sure. ...where you kind of...

in an ensemble show, you realize who the pivot point is. - Interesting. - Especially because later... - Yes, we'll get to that later part. - But even Miguel in the bar even says it. - He does.

Is he Mike or Miguel in this episode? He's Miguel. He's Miguel. He's Miguel. He was originally Mike. He was originally Mike. In the script, right. Before John Huertas got cast. Yeah, got it. Huertas has this way of showing up and acting like, was he in the pilot? Like, he's been here this whole time?

He just felt like it just fell right in. - Which is perfect for the character. - Which is what Jon does, right? - Another man who'd been on TV for a long time. - For a very long time. - Who shows up and people are like, "I know him." - "I love him." - "I know that guy, I love that guy." - This also just reminds me, I think, you mentioned how funny Justin is and he is, and you are.

And John is. John Huertas. Lord have mercy. Okay, would you remember scenes, though, with the three? Anytime I would get to set, I was like, oh, gosh, because I was always in prosthetics. John, Chris, and John.

- And Justin, I'm like, this is, Zoe, our makeup artist is gonna get mad 'cause I'm not supposed to move my face so much, but it was trouble. - She's gonna laugh the old right off her face. - I'm gonna laugh the old off my face. It was too much with all of you. - He is hysterical and the way he just sort of like, you know what I love? Like him showing up as his friend

He, I don't know how he did that. I don't know how much time him and Milo had with each other. Again, a lot of it you just attribute to the script or whatnot. But it's like, all right, that's his boy. Because only your boy could talk to you the way that he was talking to him. Like, bro, you about to have your third drink and it's not even 5.05. Like, what's going on? And you know what's waiting for you at home? Yeah. Talking about his wife's ass. Yeah. And he gets away with, hey, come on, man.

Like you instantly know how old this friendship is by the way that they're interacting. - Yeah. And the fact that we learned, like we may not know it now, but the fact that Jack takes it, okay? Because we learned some stuff about Jack, that he don't take much mess from a lot of people. - That's right. - But he does from Miguel. - But he takes it from Miguel. So I think that's a big point too.

You were talking a little bit about how you didn't have a lot to say in the pilot. Yeah. And I think Sue felt similarly in terms of like, "I'm not sure where it's going to go." But there was a trust. Also want to say this about Dan. I think he, over the course of six years, was very attuned to like, "This is an ensemble show. And if somebody's been up..." He wanted to make sure that everybody got to eat.

That nobody felt like they had been sort of disregarded or forgotten about for an extended period of time. Because he had some really good people. He wanted to make sure everybody felt like they were being serviced. With also giving us some nice time off. Also that. I'll let you lovely people do this and then I'll come in and we got a chance to do it that way. And so there's the conversation in bed where she's like, hey baby, can I bring something up?

Like, I don't know how to bring it up. It's like, hey, we don't sense ourselves with each other. And she's like, how long is your, you know, 60 year old crackhead daddy going to be living in my daughter's bedroom? Like, well, damn, baby. And

- And you got a real sense of that marriage 'cause we've been married for 17 years at that time. And it was really interesting, just a little counterpoint, like how people, I don't know if people talk to you, Mandy, about Jack and Rebecca versus Randall and Beth, or if they saw them as the same or complimentary goods or like opposing, like did people talk to you about those two marriages? - Complimentary. - Complimentary. - Yeah. - Yeah. - I mean, I think people held both in such high regard.

- For different reasons, you know? - Yeah. - 'Cause they were such different- - They were very different marriages, right? - Yes. - Like for me, it was one of those things where R&B became such a big thing. - Sure. - Probably similar to like how Sterling and Ryan are, where people like enjoy our marriage and like, "You guys are goals." And I was like, "It's always so sweet."

But it's also, I'm happy when we get to season three and you see us go through things, I'm always worried that people think that it's too easy. Right. Marriage. Yeah. Period. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And like, you guys are so perfect and everything like that. And so it was nice to show that they had to go through something because what makes it perfect is the earnings.

It's not that it's easy. The recovery. It's the recovery that makes something really enviable. Because there's so many places where you can say like, nah, I think I'm tapping out. That you decide not to tap out and figure out what's the way through to the other side. Sidebar. We're sitting in the hallway listening to him about to tell our daughters about his cocaine addiction.

It's just that I was like, hey, man, you really haven't been around kids that much. That moment made me laugh out loud. Not only in the writing, but in the editing. Yeah. Right? One of the things that I learned about how special Dan Fogelman is when I got to direct much, much later was watching the way he edits this show and the musicality of it.

people talk about how sad the show is how much it makes them feel the show is hysterical yes the show is very funny it really is and that moment definitely made me laugh out loud but it's in that in that well cocaine's an interrupt like okay let's you know the the timing and the timing not only of of the performance but of the editing and of the music and just like the way

I don't know. Everything about this show, rewatching it just clicked. It's interesting that you say music because the second episode is really when I started to hear the identity of Syd Khosla's

Talk about that brother real quick. Yeah, gosh. Because he's a killer. Sid is just remarkable. He was our, the composer composed the score, most of all of the original songs that occurred over the course of many seasons of the show. We're going to get all these people in here to talk to us. Correct. But it was interesting watching again with fresh perspective Sid.

The pilot, not as much, but the second episode is like where you started to hear those familiar themes that then were carried through that are the heartbeat of the show. They are so synonymous with, you know, not just like the theme of the show, but...

when you're not even paying attention, it sets the tone for everything. It does. And I feel like it really was, it surfaced in a real way in this second episode for me where I was like, oh, wow, that...

Okay, that's something that I remember hearing like, you know, many, many episodes, many, many seasons from now. It's like the germ of it started in the second episode. When the theme... Was the theme of stuff in episode two? Do we have it? I think it was three. It was three. Yeah. Because I remember like, I couldn't stop whistling it after I had heard it and whatnot. And the fact that they...

Jumping ahead, but the fact that you bodied that song, that that was that melody. Oh, we were all in tears. We'll get to that in season six. We'll talk to you about that in five years. We'll talk to you about that in five years. More That Was Us after this short break.

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And you would think that Justin's like, okay, that fits the character or whatever. Justin himself hated that effing hat. He's like, I don't want to wear this bullshit. Yes.

- That hat is of a time. - And it was also like when Katie Segal says like, "Will you take off that hat?" He was like, "I'm so happy to take this." - So famous that you can wear a winter cap. - I didn't know that he had that reaction to it. - Oh, hated it. - I mean. - Absolutely loathed it. - Gosh, so left out when you're not on set. - The same way that he loathes every once in a while when you have to be future Justin, a goatee. - Oh, he hated that goatee.

It was just, it hates something. It's strong. It's visceral. - Yeah, he wears it. - He wears it very strongly. But there's something about his character that makes me, I always feel like Sterling relates to Kevin in a real way in terms of someone trying to find their artistic integrity and fight for that thing. And like how much agency do you think you could actually pull off, right? - Sure. - Because he has his spaz out.

at the show and then they're like, "You're under contract." - Yeah. - Like you don't- - There are real world repercussions to what you did. - Yeah, you don't just get to walk away from this. - Art meets commerce. - Exactly. And he's still just like, "But I don't like this show." - "But I don't want to." - "So you're under contract." - "But I don't want to."

No, you're legally bound, but I'm not gonna. Yeah. No. Yeah. That's where he is with that. So he enlists his sister. He talks about his time together. Have either of you ever had a moment like that? Where you had to like walk away. You had committed to something. Yeah. But then realized it wasn't going to be what you thought it was. You don't have to tell me. You don't have to say what it was. Sure. Yeah. I mean, I don't think in quite a public sense as Kevin's story sort of unfolds.

Yeah, exactly. I just like walked off set. You've told me, if you're comfortable talking about it, about early in your music career, like people wanting you to be a certain thing. Sure. And you'd be like, yeah, it's not going to happen. Yeah. Yeah.

I guess in that sense, for sure. Yeah. Having a strong sense of self and what your value is and what you bring to the table and ultimately like what path you want to go down, what lane you want to stay in and sort of sticking to that for sure. Yeah. I don't think I've had anything that drastic. I did something where...

I was on a show and they would forget to put me in scenes, but they wanted me in scenes. So they would just take the line from another character and just give it to me. And it wasn't like specific to my character. It was just like a line that they made for me. - Like, "I agree." - Right. That sort of thing. And like, I would say something every once in a while

But I'm also like, I don't think I had the same strength of conviction as Kevin. And I would say like in a very sort of interesting way, just like in terms of ethnicity and whatnot,

I kind of feel like I'm always more expendable and sort of like the way that I temper myself is a little different. Also very afraid of being labeled the angry black man. There's something when a tall Asgardian white cat does something that sort of like feels like he's being strong and convicted or whatnot, that if a brother does the exact same thing, could be labeled in a slightly different way. - Sure. - Sure, sure. - There's privilege in that for sure. Absolutely. - Yeah.

I'll do anything. You have no qualms. Literally all you have to do is ask. The only way I can relate to what you just said is by my size. And I've only realized in recent years that when I have certain reactions, that it makes people feel unsafe. You know what I mean? Yeah, I do. And I don't want to make people feel unsafe. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And yeah, so I've had to like- I feel you. Take that into consideration. Right. Like I don't get to express anger the same way someone who is five feet tall gets to express anger. If I'm considering-

the people, not just who I'm directing it at, but the people I'm with, the people like it feels, yeah. - Yeah, no, I get you, I get you. I just wanted to highlight for a second that I carried my two babies, Annie and Tess, who were played beautifully by Faith and Eris. They were small enough at one point for me to pick them up one in each arm and take them up the stairs. - Can you believe that?

Eris is a freshman or sophomore in college right now. I can't. So we'll talk about this because we're not going to talk too much about our young people. Our minor actors. Just to give them some space and safety. But what a joy it was to watch these kids grow up. Literally. We literally, over the course of six years, got a chance to see children become young adults.

or young adults become even younger, you know, older young adults. And I have relationships with a few of them where every once in a while we text or whatnot and just to see that they're out in this world doing magnificent things because we had a magnificent group of young people. Yes, truly. I'll speak specifically to...

to the young Randles who sort of embodied the character throughout how privileged I was to know that the character was always in good hands. - Yes. - Right? Like it was pretty awesome to see like, oh, it's tracking. You know what I mean? Like it all, the writers do it too, but like the two actors who played, just extraordinary. - And for folks who don't know,

the quote unquote cliche unwritten rule in Hollywood, don't work with kids or animals. It's unpredictable, it's difficult. Not only does the show have kids in it, it has nine, 10, 11, 12. So many kids. Not just kids, babies. Yeah. And Dan not only were there kid characters in the show from the beginning, he kept adding them. Yeah. He just kept adding them, which he knew, he knows how that works. I think that's also part of what Dan wants.

want. You know what I'm saying? And like, it was like a challenge for himself. Yeah. Because...

Well, I mean, obviously we'll talk about it more, but like these kids, like you say, grow up. And so the show has to keep up with them growing right before our eyes. It's amazing. - It was pretty awesome. I know you guys had like kids all the time. - We had all the kids at all the ages. And I will echo that same sentiment. We were so unbelievably lucky. 'Cause as you said, there is that unwritten rule and I don't know how, but we lucked out in every regard with Lonnie and Parker and Mackenzie.

with Hannah and Logan and Niles, who all played the respective-- - Big threes. - Big three at different ages, who were all young people. And yes, we watched them grow up. They were all extraordinary actors to begin with, brought so much to the table. And, you know, to be a part of like the beginning of their journeys as well. - Right. Acting careers. - And now to see where-- They're acting careers. And trying to impart on them that,

This is unbelievable. This doesn't happen. Like soak it in. This is so special. Not every job will feel like this and look like this. And I know Milo and I did our best to try to take care of them as best as we could.

And just had so much fun over the years working with all of them. It reads. It reads on camera how much fun everyone is having. Well, hopefully they trusted us because we trusted them. Sure. And it just like, it really felt like a family. Yeah. It did. They can act too. They can all act. Yes. I want to go, there's weight versus health and Kate, I wrote. And there's a flashback to...

You putting her to bed and... And talking about food. Mama only ate fruit today. Yeah. I just wanted to like... Yeah, I think they were sort of starting to lay the seeds in the groundwork of the complicated nature between a mother who's concerned about her child's health and recognizes that body image is a thing with women specifically and how all that was going to play into...

-the future. - Yeah. And how to sort of handle it delicately. Again, I mean, I think that Rebecca is truly a flawed person like all of us and doesn't always nail it, doesn't always make the choice that aligns with what I would want to do. But I love that all of that is aired. I love that all of that is, you know, a part of what the show is and we get to see these characters experience that. It's such a throwback too, to...

being a parent and what would that have been? The late 80s? Yeah. Yeah. Like what types of conversations we were having, what types of relationships we had with our parents. With food? With food. With what healthy eating meant? Like just eating a bowl full of fruit? Like I'm like, where's the protein?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah. -The blood sugar's gonna spike and she's not gonna... She's gonna fall asleep in the middle of class. Like, yeah, it's really interesting, but I think it starts to, you know, pinpoint exactly what their relationship, their mother-daughter relationship and dynamic is that obviously we see carried throughout the seasons and throughout the series. There are things, my wife and I frequently laugh about this, that we grew up eating on the regular.

that are difficult to find in our house. Because high fructose corn syrup was in everything. Just for the young people that don't know, you guys ate high fructose corn syrup? For my pancake syrup, we had a bottle of Cairo. There weren't other options. High fructose corn syrup that I poured. We have some in our pantry right now. Do you?

For cooking barbecue or do you pour it directly on the pancakes? For when my mom comes over.

- Oh, interesting. - 'Cause it's, it's, sir, I mean, it's- - It's what she knows. - It's what she knows. - And it's what I, it's like, oh yeah, she might need, when she comes, she might want this. She doesn't. - Right. But just in case. - But it's in our pantry. - Just in case. - Just in case. - Does anybody know what Cairo is? Nobody listen now. - Only people who are our age will know what I'm talking about. But it's so interesting because like you, you had like, they were eating cereal and you, you put something else to the side for her. - Yeah. - In that, in that particular scene. - Fruit and cottage cheese or something, yeah.

I don't know, just over time, what I think knowledge of like what to do and once you know better, you do better. Right. Right. And you're just trying to figure it out. Like the grace of the show in addendum to all the other things that we're talking about is seeing parents at the same point of life as their children helps to elucidate that like, oh, these are just people trying to figure it out. Right.

- Yeah, survive. - And when you're a kid, you're expecting perfection from these people. And then you grow up and you have kids and you say, "I'm so sorry." - The amount of empathy that I've developed over the last three years. - Yes. - For your own parents. - For what my parents were trying to do in the early '80s with no resources, no internet, no family around, like,

It's amazing that we made it. Yeah. Just jumping around in the backseat, no seatbelt on. Yeah. What you're showing in the show. Like the kids are just the best. Dukes of Hazzard as role models on how to... I used to love the General Lee. Yeah. What? Yeah.

Oh, I missed that laugh, Sterling. Oh, my goodness. Okay, okay, wait. So the next one I have, because we're starting to lay the foundation of Kevin and Randall, because they're having a little wrestling match. You know, you're like, why are you messing with your brother? What's the problem? Yeah. And why are you calling them Websters? Like, well, they call them. They think it's weird that I'm his brother. I think he says something to that effect. Yes. Right? Which...

For an eight year, it has to be. It has to be so strange for, I look at the way my four year old is processing the world. Three and a half year old. And the way he's trying to like make sense of things and how like, like,

confusing everything is but also perfectly clear yeah to him like well everything is everything nothing is put through uh a lens of history or a lens of baggage or a lens of trauma it's just like it is what it is yeah it is what it is this is weird yeah why is he my brother that's but as they get older i mean you you have older kids than than we do yes so by a certain age

I'll say for this, for the 12-year-old in particular, because when we get to that part with our kids in the show, his level of cognition, of recognition of what's happening around him, it's like, I know whether you decide to tell me about it or not, I can see. The computing power. So they're figuring things out. So oftentimes, and this will be an echo back to the show, we think by not talking about something with a kid, we're shielding them from it. They see that stuff.

- Yeah. - Right, they see it. And it's either they're gonna get the information from you or they're gonna get the information from somebody else. - From someone else. - I gotta tell you this anecdote. This will probably get edited out of the show. The other day, every time when I drop my son off at school, he rides the tire swing with two other kids and we're pushing him around and that's our ritual, right? And there's some kid who I see every morning. He's a lovely kid. I love him. He's hysterical.

And he's swinging around on the tire swing. And as he swings around, he looks at me with a big smile on his face and goes, I want to chop your head off. I said, I'm sorry, what? He said, I want to chop your head off. And I couldn't stop laughing.

Just like how these minds. Pure. I didn't ask, where'd you hear that? I didn't correct him. I thought it was hysterical. Oh, man. That really got me. He knew you were a taser face. He was like, I'm going to chop this head off. And then my son started parenting it. And I'm like, okay, who wants to go faster on the tire swing, huh? Just chase the subject. Oh, man. Like, what?

It was just these moments where you have an insight into the mind of a child and how, as they are socializing themselves. This goes back to these two brothers socializing themselves and being pulled by negative forces and positive forces and helpful things and things that detract. It's so terrifying.

to send them out into the world. - So, okay, that's a perfect segue into the quote that I was looking for, which is from Rebecca to Randall. And she says, "Promise me you'll always be good."

because it feels so like innocuous. - What a thing. - And it's so- - Do you know what I mean? - On a person. - And such an innocent, like hopeful thing that you would want for somebody. And to see how he sort of- - It's like in 300 when he says, "I hope you live forever." - Internalizes that. - Right. - And uses that as like, not as a crutch, but like it almost becomes this burden for him. Like I have to be good for mom. I told mom I would be good. - Yeah, no one can do that.

-No one can do that. -I'm the good one. Yeah. And we'll go-- So, okay. That is an interesting, like, foreshadowing. You gotta give our writer-- He good. -They can write. -Every single one. Because it comes from the top down. Every single person he brought on to write with. Yes, to be a part of this show. And this is something I can say about our show, because people-- You know, we're gonna go through all these episodes.

all six seasons. - Yeah. - This show was stopped intentionally. We didn't get canceled. - No. - We didn't get yanked. - Yeah. - There was an idea on how the show was gonna go. And so in the writing, there is no fluff. - Yeah, there's no filler. - There's no filler. - No. - They were not trying to meet an episode order. - Right. - Like one year we did 16 instead of 18. - Yeah.

- Was that coming out of the pandemic? - COVID. - Whenever that was, and it's just like, and Dan just refused. - Well, it was so intentional because it's like, especially with the way that we tell this story, it's like the end, we're already telling the end. So like the middle had to sort of meet up at just the right point. There wasn't a way to sort of extend it just for the sake of it. - Well, 'cause we got, well, we get to it. We got to the end at the Super Bowl episode.

- Right? - Yeah. - Yeah, that's for the first time. Anyway, just a little teaser for you. - Little teaser. - I talked about how do you think we're doing so far at parenting, killer.

I can go back to it again because the focus. So let me tell y'all something about Mandy Moore. I don't know. Ready? Go. Tell us. I'm like, what? So Mandy Moore, like before a scene, sometimes, like if it's like a deeply emotional sort of thing, she sort of like revs herself up a little bit. She does this thing with her arms. Yeah, show us. I don't have enough space. I'm going to knock over the microphone. No, no, there's a wide shot. Stand right here. But the microphone. Stand up. Stand up right here. There's a wide shot.

Hold on. I don't do it as much anymore, Sterling. You don't. This was a first season thing. We got to see it. We got to see it. Can you do it? Can you show us? Or maybe... You don't want to do it. No, no, no. I want to see Sterling's interpretation.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you got to do what you got to do. You just want to feel it. She was embodying. She was getting amped up, right? And I can only imagine before this one. Because sometimes like sitting down is, it's so stagnant. It's like you've got to just like shake it up. It's all up here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you were waiting for Jack like the gun was cocked and loaded. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I have something to say, sir. How do you think we're doing at parenting? Yeah. Like the both of us. Because like I'm doing pretty good.

When you're good, when you're here, you good. I think that's the most heartbreaking revelation in that scene. It's like she knows and the audience knows like this is, these are two people who are so deeply connected and she so wants for him. She so knows he's capable of doing it. Yes.

which is really relatable. Yeah, which as you're re-watching this show, there are these moments, right? These monologue-ettes that are delivered so beautifully. But what this show does that TV tends not to do, they did it with the Dr. K, Jack conversation. Yeah. And they did it on Rebecca's monologue, where it is so good. She lived on it.

they do not cut away. Yeah. And I guarantee that wasn't the plan. Right. Like that's not, that's not intended, but when you're watching that episode,

You are so good that the editor is like, well, what would we cut to that's better than this? - We're gonna talk about how good Mandy Moore is. - Why would we cut away from the, no, we all came here. We all came here to pat each other on the back. - You're gonna be uncomfortable and you just sit in that discomfort and you're gonna be fine. - Close your eyes, soak it in. The monologue is brilliant. - Monologue is brilliant. - Thank you. - Mandy Moore is brilliant. We'll be right back with more "That Was Us."

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We're going to this party. So Kevin is the, I think his agent or the producers of the show that throw in a party. He's expected to go so he can apologize. He invites Kate, you know, somewhat innocuously because Kate has been his long-term personal assistant, what have you. He's like, I need you here with me.

It also just sort of points it like, I need you here with me. And it seems sort of innocent in that moment. But as the episode goes on, it's like- The codependency. There's an interesting codependency that's not the healthiest thing and doesn't leave a lot of space for a pair more. You also realize they are technically working together. Like she is employed. Yeah. By him. By him. Which is a tricky dynamic. Yep. So then she's asked to go to Hollywood. Now as a plus size woman, you're asked to go to the midst

Like to the- The mecca of- You know what I'm saying? Like where everybody, all the models and the actresses are going to be. And so she's like, I got to get a dress for this thing. And you're like, yo, I know who this is. Yeah. Tobias loves Chopin. This was when I thought that the costume designers and things were like following me. Where I was like, this guy is starting to get close to me.

Like, how is this? I would wear this hat. Can we talk a little bit about your sense of style and how you came to it? Because it's very specific. It's confrontational. And only you can pull it off. That's how I like to, it's confrontational. Okay. It will not be ignored. Yes. Is the point. Yeah!

It's something to talk about. And that's flavored into Toby for sure. Oh, absolutely. And Toby shows up in the hat. And when Justin says, you wearing that? Okay. So good. So small. Well, let me tell you about this night. For folks, night shoots. Oh boy. Talk to them. Go all night. We were at this house that was a house on a hill in Los Feliz that was a historic mansion.

Beautiful house. I've never done a night shoot before. I'm very excited. Until you're not. You're caffeinated. Until I've been dancing on that dance floor for four to five hours. You saw my Beyonce? I did see it. That was my... How much sweat in that suit? Not how much. I was medically injured on my inner thighs.

I was chafed to the point of ointment. Oh, my God. Oh, man. I walked home, like, back to the van at 5 a.m. Like, oh, God. Get this Aquaphor. But also, we show up, and, you know, you show up in these scenes, you know that these characters exist, but you're not privy to casting necessarily. Maybe you didn't look at the call sheet. I didn't see Katie Segal on.

and Brad Garrett were hanging out all night too. So part of the-- they were there, and to get out there on that dance floor, the stuff that Kate was feeling, the being observed, the being viewed, hit me because you're surrounded by extras who have been directed to mock you. - Oh, wow. - And you're like-- - This is uncomfortable. - Oh, this does feel terrible. This feels--

And we spent the whole night dancing and then we get drunk and we're doing ridiculous. I think I spun around on the floor at one point. But it was a long night. It was a long night that led to a very interesting phone call between the three of you. So this is like Kevin calls Randall.

And he says, "They're not letting me out of my contract." And it's the first interaction that we've had with each other in the show. And it's so amazing how in such a small period of time you get this sense of history. Because you see them in the background as young people and you see again, they come off the bus and they go, "Hey, Webster." And they go, "Randall, ditch Webster, let's go." And Kev is just like...

- And walks away. - Yeah, that's what I'm gonna do. You know what I'm saying? Even though my mom told me to do otherwise, like the social pressure, he's like, "I have a pressure to fit in too." And Kev doesn't have a whole... Randall has a lot of stuff in terms of his acumen and stuff, but like Kev is cool. He's gotta maintain his cool, right? And so you see in this short period of time, like he says something like, "I wasn't the best brother," right? And Randall says, "No."

But there's still time. This phone call. First of all, this is the first time that the two of you interact in the series. Yeah. Yeah. And you learn so much about...

Yeah, you've seen what they've went through as children, but in an instant, just by the way you answered the phone. Yeah. You understand the history. That there is, yeah, that there is a lot left. He made himself available because even as I hope it didn't wake him up, I was just working on some paperwork. But it's also the big three chant comes back in. Yes. This episode's called the big three. It's called the big three. So you realize, you're starting to realize the gravity of the connection regardless of the history. Yeah.

that no matter what we are we're the big three yeah we're family we have to be there for each other it's very true this is so like the people will come every once in a while people will do the champ somebody hit me on the chest they'll be like you know victory you're like that's not for you knock it off you're not a part of it you knock it off that's the only that's the only fan you've chastised no i didn't chastise it at all i just like

And as it develops over time, like you see there's a connection between Kate and Randall and there's obviously this connection between Kate and Kevin.

But it was like one of my favorite things to play with over time is that relationship between Kevin and Randall. - Yeah, yeah. - Because we, it went like this, you know what I'm saying? And as to see in the past, like these two young men who are sort of vying for a position of man of the house. - Two very different alphas. - You know what I'm saying? And like how that's supposed to manifest for each other and how it was always sort of just trying to force their way into connection, but in competition with each other at the same time.

It's a fascinating relationship. Fascinating relationship. And it's not exactly like me and my brother. I have an older brother who I adore, who's a good dude, but we've rode the wave, these crests and troughs of what our relationship is supposed to be like. And God bless those of us who are able to find a way to still be a part of each other's lives, even when we don't want to. Yeah.

Like that's something because it's easy to write people off whether they're blood or not. - Especially when you are living apart. - Yeah, yeah, 3000 miles away. But the fact that like, I think that's a power, like folks continue to show up for each other regardless if things are harmonious or not. - Yeah. - Right? It's a pretty cool thing.

Jump again. I'm just going to look at my notes while you- I love your notes. They're all just like my observations of what's happening in the show. We're going to bring our stream of conscious notes next time. I want to say, Randall on the treadmill. I was the last of the Pearsons to be topless. First to- Say the best relax. Oh my God.

You didn't have to bring it up. You knew we were going to bring it up. I knew. I was watching it too because I was like, oh, I was the last one because Milo was first. And then Justin also in the pilot laying there with the two ladies and whatnot. I was like, oh, I made it through a whole pilot. And then they were like, 102, let's go ahead and throw him in the treadmill. Treadmill lived in the bedroom for one season, one season only. Yeah.

- Yeah. - Good call. - Well, because America couldn't take it after that. - Yeah. - I guess that-- - If we have to see more of that, this is gonna be a different show. - I was the only person though who was sweaty. I was also a sweaty person. - Was that your sweat or was that stage sweat? - Stage sweat.

Stay Sweat, they try to make a little V. It goes like this. Brown, full body. That's not how Brown sweats. Brown go full body. Yeah. It's full body. You're so committed. Because if you learn anything about SKB, it's all 100% full body. I commit. Listen, so in between takes, this is how weird I am. Like, I just run. Oh, my God. Because I want the sweat to be there when the camera starts. Sure, sure. Marathon man action. To which Olivier would say, My dear boy, why don't you try acting? There you go.

I'm Hoffman up in this piece, Jack. - Someone could come and spray you down. - We got a spray bottle for that, buddy. - Yeah, we got some Evian. - He's like, "No, I was trying to get a work edit anyways." Beth and William have this conversation. It's time for us to have a talk. Again, you were talking about how much you had to do in the pilot, and I have this conversation with Sue too. So in addendum, it's interesting that both of these happened in 102, 'cause you have your conversation with Jack, and Sue lays it down to William in a way like, "Hey, man,

I need to understand why you're here and what you're up to because you don't know who you're dealing with. And it was a really interesting thing to hear your character through your wife's eyes. And like, she goes, he's not good.

He's perfect." And then later on he says, "His vice is his goodness." And like, as you-- as I read that as a character, I'm like, "Oh, man, that is--" Everybody has their thing. Everybody has their thing. I mean, each-- like we were talking about earlier, everybody's entering this moment of second half of life where they are-- Yeah, they're on the precipice of some sort of monumental change. Whether it's food or fame or alcohol or perfectionism, which perfectionism

doesn't get, perfectionism in our society is framed as a virtue. - Right. - It's a mental illness. - Yeah. - Because there's no such thing. - Right. - Correct. - So the pursuit of it, the obsessed pursuit of it- - Of something that cannot be attained. - Will drive someone to anxiety. - Absolutely. - Yeah. - Absolutely. And it sets up the way that I think the audience looks at Randall because you find out that he went blind. - Because of this. - Because of this. Like he like could not see.

And so while everybody may see it as innocuous and she sees he's on the treadmill looking up stomach cancer, trying to figure out ways to figure it out. She's not focused on the run. She's focused on what he's doing while he's running and how he needs to stop and just take a moment. And then the fierceness with which she delivers it is also just shows

You say it again, and I think this is a brilliant thing, people taking care of each other throughout the show. She's like, "I can't have you do this to my husband again, because I know the cost." Right?

be open and honest and let us know why you're here. - But isn't it interesting too that in the next episode, Rebecca also sort of echoes that same sentiment to William. - Yes, yeah. - It's like both of the most important women in his lives know him and know his vice. They know his weakness. - Yeah, and the power of parenting and how for better or worse,

Your initial partnership agreement or your partnership example are these people who raise you. Yes, yes, yes. You end up...

I married my mom. I'm just saying. I married my black mother. Me too. Rachel would say the same thing about me. And it's so interesting because when Rach and I get into moments of dysregulation, it's two middle-aged women arguing with each other. It's her mom and my mom just arguing with each other.

And so it's just fascinating. And also another terrifying realization as you watch this show, the parallels that it makes. Okay, so as I'm raising my son or my daughter, what type of attachment style do I want to impress? Oh, yeah. Yeah, we can talk about that one offline because it goes along. Wait, I wanted to end with this point, though, because this was the second best

Big twist that Fogelman pulled. So the pilot is, oh, they're in two different timelines. My kids say, grandma and grandpa are here. Yes. And we walk to the door. And you see the moon necklace. And we see the moon necklace. Which has just been given to Rebecca by Jack. Just been given to her. In the 80s. She says, I'll never take it off. Correct. It's just delightful. And then next to Rebecca...

- Is Miguel? - People were pissed. - Lost their minds. - Oh my God. My best friend called me and was like, "Hey Kel." He called me Kel. "Hey Kel, where is Jack at?" - People were so mad. - So mad.

- The audience lost their minds. - John Huertes, they immediately hated him. - Immediately. - What did he do? What did he do to Jack? - Because he was introduced as his best friend and the bro code is like- - You never snake your best friend's lady. - That's not gonna happen. And as much as I even tried to like explain it to people later on, like, you know what? He got permission and there was time and they're like, "Oh no, no." - People still- - And so this time we have a secret.

but everybody knows we have a season. - Yes. - Yeah. - The first time, we just had to keep our mouths shut. - Correct. - Now, we had to protect the storyline. - Yes. - For how many, I don't know how many episodes, 10 episodes between the reveal? - No, we had to go do into season two. - That's right. - Into season two. - For sure. You find out later in the season, I believe it's episode five, that Jack passed away. - Right.

And we don't figure out how or why or any of the sort of, you know, extenuating circumstances around that until season two. That's when I started telling the press that Miguel killed him. Great. Just really throw them off. I remember doing an Instagram post with all of us backstage. And we're like, what are you guys doing tonight? You know, like it was a Tuesday night. We're going to watch the show. I was like, what about you, Miguel? He tried to say something. He's like, nobody cares because nobody likes Miguel. Ha ha ha.

And that was it. Nobody likes Miguel. And it took him five seasons. - It really did. - To win people back over. - It really, really did. - Man, then it just packed a punch right at the end, you know? - I remember saying in interviews as we were going through press for the show early on that the show was teaching me about relationship and about how to repair it, right? And I remember saying,

Especially that phone call. Who do you need to call? I'm still learning this lesson. Who do you need to reach out to? What repair do you need to make? Because the perfection is not in a perfect relationship that's free of... Conflict. Conflict. Sure. The perfection is in, like we talked about, the repair. Absolutely. Yeah, I'd be interested to hear...

from the people watching now, the people who saw the show, kind of how that relates to their life. If it relates currently, if it did at some point. We have the email. - Yep. - [email protected]. - Right on. - We also have- - Emotional support hotline, 412-501-3028. Please call, leave us messages. Let us know how this episode impacted you or what it led you to do by virtue of watching it. What you're still in the midst of.

- Yeah, maybe we can help. - Help you process it. - Yeah. - Maybe we can bring people together. I don't wanna overstretch our ability here of healing. - I don't wanna go too far. That's under promise and over deliver, but you know, we're here. I mean, we're here to be of service if we can be, right? Amen. - Drop us a line. - All right. - Thanks friends, this is fun. - Right on y'all.

- Here we go, everybody. - Kick it. - All righty. We've been sharing the number for our emotional support hotline with you, and we are excited to share that this segment is presented by our friends at Talkspace. Check your insurance coverage and you can start speaking to a therapist today at Talkspace.com/TWU. - Now, we don't claim to be therapists. - Most certainly we do not. - By any stretch. - Yes. - But we really, really do wanna talk to you. - Yes. - Yes. - So reach out. - And I don't know if you guys have heard, but our voicemail will be popping.

I think it's time to call someone back. Let's do it. Yeah, let's do it. Okay. So we've got, we've been given unlimited minutes by Mint Mobile. Yes. I love it. So that we can call people back as much as we want over the course. Unlimited calls. Come on. Unlimited calls. Love it. So we're going to,

listen to a voicemail here from a lady named Chelsea. And then we'll give her a ring. Alright, Chelsea, let's hear it. Hi, my name is Chelsea Walliser. I am a mom of two teens in Vegas. I'm going to be honest, I called this number. I thought there was no way that this was going to be a hotline. I could leave a voicemail on because that would be way too good to be true. So I guess I'm calling because I just wanted to say, one, my life would be made if I got

Any type of response back first of all and second this show was so beautifully written I watched obviously all of the seasons And not only did I watch them and cry in every single episode and I am not a crier But now I have two teams that are annoyed with everything I do my existence my breathing

But they love this show and we sit down together and we watch it as a family. And it's something we discuss, we talk about, and it helps me introduce life lessons to them. And I just wanted to say, thank you. I think you guys are so amazing and so talented. Every single one of you. I don't think any other show is ever going to live up to this as us. It,

It's every single family in a different way. And again, the writing, I don't understand how they did it, but it ties in to your heart in every single episode. So thank you for having this hotline and for sharing your talent with us and your story with us and for giving, you know, moms somewhere to go and wind down and breathe out for an hour. Yeah.

And for being kind, decent people, it seems like. So thanks. Bye. Chelsea. I don't know if we're going to be giving Chelsea emotional support. Or she's giving us emotional support. Or she just gave it to us. I feel so good. Like? Also, her voice is so soothing. It really is.

Wow, what a beautiful sentiment. Like for our first emotional support hotline caller. I'm ready to call her. Let's call her and say hi. Let's call her back. Can we call her back? Let's call her back. Hello?

Chelsea. Hi. It's Chris Sullivan. And Mandy Moore. And Sterling Brown. All right. I'm going to try to stay calm right now. Thank you so much for calling me. Oh, my goodness. Thank you for your beautiful voicemail. No need to stay calm. We're not calm at all. Not at all. That was a beautiful, beautiful voicemail. We are so touched. Thank you. Chelsea, we actually just said we don't know if we're going to be giving you emotional support or if you just gave it to us.

Because that was about the sweetest thing that we've heard in a long time. We're so glad the show has touched you. So glad that you're now able to watch it with your kids and sort of impart life lessons onto them through the show. Like what a special sort of bonding, connecting experience you get to have with them. Tell us more about that. So I have two kiddos that are in the teen phase right now. One is

12 and 13. They're 11 months apart. So it's a super stage we're in right now. And of course, I started off just watching it. And it became my hour of... They knew not to bother me during that hour while I was watching the show. They were more than welcome to watch it with me, but they kind of would roll their eyes and, you know, Mom, no, that's your show. And so it became my own quiet time to

to decompress and then after I watched it all and I started to, they wanted to start watching it with me and it just kind of has become like a time for us to sit down as a family together and

and talk about life lessons and they tease me um because i know i cry in every single episode hey so do we so do we right and i'm not a crier i'm not an emotional person but man you guys get me every time is there a recent example of of one of the one of the life lessons or something that you guys connected on that was an interesting conversation good question

Honestly, I feel like every single episode, there's something that we take away from. Definitely the teen episodes, you know, where it shows real-life situations with what the teens are going through and how, you know, they get so irritated with me because I kind of always glance over when Rebecca is scolding the teens for, you know, not listening or they did something they weren't supposed to or they talk to them in a, you know, disrespectful way and come back around. I definitely will say that

But the episode where Jack passes away, which I will never get over. Yes, ma'am. You know, when Kevin was mouthy and walks away and that's something that he had to live with the rest of his life. And so we definitely talked about, you know, you never know. We have a very short amount of time here. We don't know when it's going to be the last time we see each other. And that was definitely an amazing moment where we stopped and kind of reflected on

we treat each other because it's, it can be gone in a minute, you know? So, yeah. I'm curious what the, what the sibling dynamic is between your kids. Like, does it echo some of what we see on the show? Are they a little closer than, and sometimes we see like Randall and, and Kevin. Absolutely. Yep. And I would say that that is more so their dynamic at this stage. Yeah. Randall, Randall and Kevin. Yeah. You know, they absolutely, they, that's all they know is, is to have each other. Sure. But,

They're at a stage now where everything irritates each other. They want their own space. They want their own time. But then there's still many times where I'll wake up and they're still cuddled up and they fall asleep together. So yeah, they're best friends who also beat each other up every day. Yeah. I have the same thing. Mine aren't as close in age as yours, but they love to hate each other before they love each other again.

Exactly. Exactly. They would be lost without each other. But, you know, so that's, that's just been the most recent thing with us. But I mean, I, there's not enough time for me to tell you guys how amazing your show is. All the lessons. It's just, um,

Yeah, it's just amazing. I think every single one of you, I mean, I'm a nobody, but your acting is just amazing. Chelsea, you're not a nobody. I'm one of the bazillion people. If you've watched This Is Us, there's no such thing as a nobody. You know this. Thank you. That is true. But I mean, you know, the show is one of the very few that I feel like didn't make everything rainbows and butterflies. Not at all.

Jack and Rebecca had this amazing love story, but it wasn't smooth sailing. She was an amazing mom, but she felt like she kind of lost herself, and it shows those battles. Very few shows, I feel like you finish each episode, and you're like, okay, that's relatable. That's where I'm at in this stage. Randall's anxiety. I've had anxiety my whole life. It was so amazing to see a writer actually hit touchstone

you know, on every real life thing that people go through. So thank you guys. It was just amazing. Thank you. Thank you for distilling down what the show is meant to you and really what the show is and is about in such a, you know, sort of like macro sense. Like I've never heard it described so perfectly, really like so succinctly. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. And there's even episodes where,

You're not as invested in specific characters because they're not necessarily main characters. So I'm gonna be honest when you start this episode There's at first you're kind of like oh man, I was gonna help you touch more on this or this sure, you know But then by the end of the episode once again Even those characters that seem like they're not a huge part of the story ties into the rest of the big story It's amazing to me how the writers I don't understand how they did it Even my husband

I reeled him in as well. And he was even from the first episode where you realize that you guys are the babies and everything's tied in and he was blown away. Like, how does the writer even... I know. We felt like that when we read it too. We were like, how the hell? Yeah. If you watch any of our press interviews throughout the seasons, it's a constant tennis match of...

the writers throwing praise at actors and the actors throwing the praise right back at the writers. - There you go. - True. - Yeah. - Very true. - Incredibly lucky. - I wanna say this to your voicemail.

because you were talking about how your kids don't think you're cool because they're teenagers. I have a 12-year-old and an 8-year-old. My 8-year-old thinks I'm pretty cool. The 12-year-old thinks I'm pretty lame. And the fact of the matter is, Chelsea, I am pretty cool. So...

So this is what I'm saying. We all go through that same thing together. So you are not alone. That's it. That's what I wanted you to know. You are very cool. Take it from us. We'll give it to you. Even if your kids won't right now, they'll come back around. Amen. Right. And, and I,

The theme song for forever now, literally my life anthem. I cry every single time I play it. I think you guys are amazing. Chelsea, thank you for like kicking this off in such a fantastic manner. You have made our day. This is exactly what the emotional support hotline is.

was intended to be. Thank you for leading the charge. It truly, it just, it made our whole week to be able to talk to you. It made my entire life. And you guys are so sweet. So thank you so much. Likewise. Chelsea, you're the best. You know, when you watch

And just to be clear, I know I touched on Randall and I touched on Rebecca. Toby and Kate were absolutely also just, you guys were amazing. - Look at her. She's like, "I'm not gonna leave you out young man." - Like I said, I don't have enough time, but you guys are, that storyline, the love story, the life struggles, the utility stuff, the showing up for each other when, even when you guys didn't make it work.

everything about every single one of you guys are just more amazing in every episode. Chelsea, thank you. And if your kids ever, ever give you any more guff, you just play this portion of this podcast for them. Absolutely. And they'll know exactly how cool their mom is. I will hold on to this few minutes for every single day, every bad moment you guys have made.

- Oh. - Absolutely cheered me up. So thank you guys so much. - That means a lot. - Thank you, Chelsea. - Thank you. - Have a good day, Chelsea. - Yeah, we're sending you lots of love. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. - Thank you guys. Thank you so much. Have a great rest of the day. - You too. - You too, Chelsea. Bye. - Bye. - Come on. - That's pretty-- - Come on, how come we haven't been doing this our whole lives? - Remarkable.

That was awesome. This is going to be great. She's awesome. She was amazing. That was just like a shot of dopamine or something. I'm like, whoo.

- I feel invigorated. - Yeah, I do too. That's the thing too. Isn't it always the thing? It's like you think you're doing something for people and like you get just as much as you hopefully gave to them, right? Like it's real, like, uh-huh. But that's so rare, you know what I mean? It's like not every project that we're all lucky enough to be a part of is gonna have those same sort of

Connective. Exactly. Connective tissues and like far reaching. It's, it's, it's really something that I think all of us will hold on to forever because of that. It's like what it meant to us, it meant to the world or to, you know, some folks out there. And that's,

beyond special and rare i'm vibrating me too me too and this is a rare opportunity to be able to to look back and you know we have these interactions on the street maybe with a fan who we get a couple seconds sure and it's hard we're people are running around you're in a busy place whatever it is but to sit down for you know 10 minutes and talk to somebody about the show is is unique yeah and how it specifically impacted them and i feel like she just had such a

like terrific grasp of what the show was. And I was like, can you be the spokesperson moving forward? - I was like, you know, I would break it down better than that. - Totally. - Awesome. Well, that was the- - That was the emotional- - The premiere of the Emotional Support Hotline. - I liked it. - Brought to you by Talkspace. - Working out exactly how we intended. Thanks, Talkspace. - We'll do it again next time. Thanks, Talkspace.

That Was Us is filmed at The Crow and produced by Rabbit Grin Productions and Sarah Warehunt. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith.