*Tonight will be bittersweet for fans of NBC’s “This is Us.”
Viewers will be treated with the anticipated, game-changing episode “Last Christmas” at 9 p.m. ET/PT, but it will also serve as the show’s midseason finale – meaning we won’t see a new episode until January.
Sterling K. Brown, who plays Randall on the series, tells EW that tonight’s cliffhanger takes place on Christmas Eve and offers up a different feeling than previous installments.
“I thought that it was one of our best-written episodes of the season,” he says. “I felt the way in which we flipped the structure writing-wise — it functions like six one-act plays, instead of going back and forth between the storylines through the show — gives it a breadth that you’re constantly wondering what’s going to happen next. Are we staying with this story line? Are we not going to see everybody today? And then, slowly but surely, we see the cast unfold until we all come together at the end of a pretty nice Christmas — for the most part.”
The episode finds Randall seeing his mother, Rebecca (Mandy Moore), for the first time since that exchange on his doorstep. The midseason finale also features a scene between Randall and his colleague, Andy, who is played by Jimmi Simpson of HBO’s “Westworld.”
“Jimmi Simpson and I have known each other for about 17 years,” notes Brown. “We worked together in the non-equity company at Williamstown theater festival, and I got a chance to do a scene together for the first time which was a real joy because I consider him to be one of my favorite actors working. I’m excited for people to see the scene that plays out between the two of us.”
How exactly does Andy factor into the story? “Randall feels the need to treat himself on this particular Christmas and he buys himself a boat from one of his co-workers,” says Brown. “He doesn’t necessarily consult his wife [Beth, played by Susan Kelechi Watson] before buying said boat, and she’s a little perturbed by his purchase, so we’ll see if he has to possibly give it back.”
The end of tonight’s episode, according to Brown, will not disappoint when it comes to dramatic cliffhangers.
“When folks see it, I know they’re going to be mad — they have five weeks to wait until they get a chance to see what’s going to happen next,” says Brown. “I just ask them to be patient. We will be back in 2017, and your questions shall be answered.”
Watch the promo for tonight’s episode below:
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