Is Sophia Bush joining the Pearson family? It sounds like that could be happening.
The One Tree Hill alum, 37, will join season 4 in a mystery role, NBC announced at the Television Critics’ Association’s winter press tour on Saturday, January 11. However, fans were quick to wonder if she could play Kevin’s (Justin Hartley) love interest.
During a recent flash-forward scene, Kevin revealed that his wife-to-be was pregnant. Additionally, at the end of season 3, Kevin was shown with a son. Many assumed his fianceée could be Jennifer Morrison‘s Cassidy, who Kevin had a fling with during season 4, or Alexandra Breckinridge‘s Sophie, who Kevin was in love with previously and married and divorced.
However, it sounds as though one of those options can be eliminated.
“I think so,” Susan Kelechi Watson, who plays Beth on the NBC drama, told Us Weekly exclusively at the Critics’ Choice Awards when asked if audiences had seen the last of Cassidy. Meanwhile, Breckinridge, 37, has not appeared on the series since season 3, in which she appeared as a guest in one episode.
“I feel like whenever the show introduces a new character, we kind of can get a lot of their backstory and learn about them and see how they fit into the family dynamic,” Watson, 38, told Us. “So we have some really wonderful people like Sophia Bush, Pamela Adlon and John Legend. Whenever there are these new characters, they do a really good job of understanding who they are and like why they’re related to the Pearson family so we can expect more of that with them. ”
During the TCA panel, Sterling K. Brown also opened up about what to expect in the second half of season 4.
“[Creator] Dan Fogelman and our writers came up with a story line that I think is quite compelling, and it allows us to sort of delve into further into Randall’s mental health and how he takes care of himself,” the two-time Emmy winner, 43, said on the panel. “The Pearsons, I love them so much. They mean so much to me. And then, like, this moment happens where you’re like, ‘Oh. Oh, s–t. This is about to kind of go a little sideways.'”
In December, Brown spoke exclusively to Us about the midseason finale, calling one moment “one of the more shocking things that I’ve seen” on the show.
“The end of episode 10 had me screaming at the TV out loud,” he said at the time. “I knew what was going to happen. But like, when I saw it, I was like, ‘They’re not ready.’ The audience is going to collectively gasp when they see our premiere for the second half of the season. That’s all I can really say.”
This Is Us returns on NBC Tuesday, January 14, at 9 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Taylor Ferber
