‘This Is Us’ Creator Dan Fogelman Isn’t Interested in Future Spinoffs After Series Finale: We ‘Answered the Questions’

Credit: Frank Micelotta/Shutterstock

'This Is Us' Creator Dan Fogelman Isn’t Interested in Future Spinoffs After Series Finale: We 'Answered the Questions'

The final chapter. As This Is Us came to an end with an emotional series finale, creator Dan Fogelman opened up about his lack of plans for the Pearson family — confirming that season 6 was the end of an era. "My well is pretty dry right now and I think we wanted to end the show when we thought we were at our creative strong point before it got too tiring, too hard for us to come up with ways to keep it special and interesting. I feel this is the right endpoint," Fogelman, 46, explained to Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, May 24. "Who knows what change of heart or midlife crisis brings but I feel like we've put these stories to bed now. Certainly for quite a bit of them." The showrunner joked that there was only one story line he felt went unanswered on screen, adding, "I'm pretty set on this being it. Outside of understandable questions about Audio the Dog, for the most part, we really answered the questions of the show." In a separate interview with Deadline, Fogelman confirmed that Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Toby's (Chris Sullivan) dog was safe and sound. “The dog is there. Nothing’s happened to him. We just we were dealing with 15,000 screaming babies in the final season, and Audio is resting comfortably," he shared on Wednesday. "I believe Kate and Toby post-divorce, shared custody, and he lived happily ever after a very long happy life.” [jwplayer CfcsKEJ8-zhNYySv2] During the series finale, which aired on Tuesday, viewers said goodbye to the Pearsons as they moved toward the next chapter of their lives. Randall (Sterling K. Brown), Kate and Kevin (Justin Hartley) celebrated their mother's memory following her death while contemplating their futures. The final episode of This Is Us also included some flashbacks to when Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) were still alive. The past memories helped Rebecca move on in the last moments before her death. Even though Fogelman currently has no plans to continue This Is Us, the cast members previously revealed what kind of spinoffs they would like to see. Earlier this year, Ventimiglia, 44, pointed out what idea he thought could stand on its own. "William [Jermel Nakia] when he was younger. I'd love to see what happened to Nicky from postwar until his brother found him. God, those are both kind of downers," the Gilmore Girls alum told Entertainment Weekly in February. "Maybe a Toby spin-off would be interesting and fun, given what happens this season. There's always so much to learn about all of them." Meanwhile, Moore, 38, noted that she was more curious about her onscreen son's loved ones, telling EW, "I'd love to see more of Randall's family. I'd love to see Deja and the girls growing up and what high jinks they would get up to. And then Mom and Dad and Grandma stop by every now and then just see what's going on." Scroll down for more revelations about the series finale of This Is Us: [podcast_block]

Credit: Frank Micelotta/Shutterstock

'This Is Us' Creator Dan Fogelman Isn’t Interested in Future Spinoffs After Series Finale: We 'Answered the Questions'

The final chapter. As This Is Us came to an end with an emotional series finale, creator Dan Fogelman opened up about his lack of plans for the Pearson family — confirming that season 6 was the end of an era. "My well is pretty dry right now and I think we wanted to end the show when we thought we were at our creative strong point before it got too tiring, too hard for us to come up with ways to keep it special and interesting. I feel this is the right endpoint," Fogelman, 46, explained to Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, May 24. "Who knows what change of heart or midlife crisis brings but I feel like we've put these stories to bed now. Certainly for quite a bit of them." The showrunner joked that there was only one story line he felt went unanswered on screen, adding, "I'm pretty set on this being it. Outside of understandable questions about Audio the Dog, for the most part, we really answered the questions of the show." In a separate interview with Deadline, Fogelman confirmed that Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Toby's (Chris Sullivan) dog was safe and sound. “The dog is there. Nothing’s happened to him. We just we were dealing with 15,000 screaming babies in the final season, and Audio is resting comfortably," he shared on Wednesday. "I believe Kate and Toby post-divorce, shared custody, and he lived happily ever after a very long happy life.” [jwplayer CfcsKEJ8-zhNYySv2] During the series finale, which aired on Tuesday, viewers said goodbye to the Pearsons as they moved toward the next chapter of their lives. Randall (Sterling K. Brown), Kate and Kevin (Justin Hartley) celebrated their mother's memory following her death while contemplating their futures. The final episode of This Is Us also included some flashbacks to when Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) were still alive. The past memories helped Rebecca move on in the last moments before her death. Even though Fogelman currently has no plans to continue This Is Us, the cast members previously revealed what kind of spinoffs they would like to see. Earlier this year, Ventimiglia, 44, pointed out what idea he thought could stand on its own. "William [Jermel Nakia] when he was younger. I'd love to see what happened to Nicky from postwar until his brother found him. God, those are both kind of downers," the Gilmore Girls alum told Entertainment Weekly in February. "Maybe a Toby spin-off would be interesting and fun, given what happens this season. There's always so much to learn about all of them." Meanwhile, Moore, 38, noted that she was more curious about her onscreen son's loved ones, telling EW, "I'd love to see more of Randall's family. I'd love to see Deja and the girls growing up and what high jinks they would get up to. And then Mom and Dad and Grandma stop by every now and then just see what's going on." Scroll down for more revelations about the series finale of This Is Us: [podcast_block]

Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC

Rebecca and Jack's Final Moments

“In the back of my mind, I always thought that the final actual scripted spoken dialogue in the episode would be Jack and Rebecca just simply saying ‘I love you’ to one another. I thought this original love story, sentiment-wise was the right language to end on,” Fogelman told Deadline.

The New Jersey native noted that the dialogue between the couple was the hardest to write. “That started really getting to me, I think it was the moment when he says ‘We did good. You did so good.’ For me, as a new parent and having had parents, the idea that moves me, at the end of the day, that you get to sit down potentially and be told a job well done by somebody because it’s so hard,” he added.

Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC

Randall's Future

During the series finale, the audience learned that Randall might have a chance at becoming the President of the United States in the future.

“I think Randall’s political journey ahead of him is probably the closest we come on the show to kind of our Sopranos going to black at the end of the episode, and you’re left to choose your own adventure as to what you think happens with him," Fogelman shared with Deadline. "In my mind, I know what happens to Randall and his family but it’s meant to not be answered and to just leave a hint of promise, and then I think it’s up to the audience to decide what they think happens next with Randall."

Brown, for his part, didn't rule out coming back to explore more of Randall's story.

"The first part of that answer is that if Fogelman is involved, I have to consider it. If Fogelman is not involved, I don’t have to consider it. You know where your bread is buttered. You know whose soul infuses everything that you have done," the actor told The Hollywood Reporter. "I think variety is the spice of life, so I’m very interested in doing a few different things, just to be known for a body of work and not one particular character, even though I love this character."

Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC

The Unspoken Eulogies

While honoring their mother during her funeral, the Big Three delivered eulogies that weren't actually heard.

"I knew you weren’t going to hear them, but I wasn’t sure because they tell you one thing, but mic you up just in case. I took to writing a eulogy on this pad of paper that I had as a prop. In between setups, I would just write stuff down," Brown revealed to THR. "I actually delivered about two minutes of the eulogy during that time."

For the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star, this was an opportunity to reflect on the show's legacy.

"I’m saying goodbye to Mandy. Randall is saying goodbye to Rebecca. I have issues in my personal life that are sort of connected to it as well. I thought, 'If I had to write my mom’s eulogy, what would I say?' Because that’s what Randall is going through," he continued. "And it was really interesting what came out of me. You can probably hear little bits of it, but not the whole thing, and I think that’s right because, the time that I have gone through a funeral, even though it was 35 years ago and whatnot, it’s a bit of a fog."

Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC

What Didn't Air

Following the finale, Fogelman confirmed that most of the footage shot four years ago made it into the finale — except for one sequence.

"I recorded stuff that we barely scripted, Jack’s flipping pancakes and making pancakes and then intercut with Randall, his much younger family in the old house flipping pancakes and making pancakes. It was so charming, and it was speaking to the theme at the end of the episode — which is what the entire series has been about — that you carry this stuff forward with you without even thinking about it," he shared with Deadline.

The TV producer continued: "But it was a little bit abstract. The kids were younger, you were in a different timeline with Randall and as cute as it was, I thought we spoke to it better at the end of the episode, and so I didn’t keep it but I was so charming and the kids are so young. and I think I’m going to put it online at some point.”

Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC

No Final Twists

For Fogelman, it was important to wrap up the hit NBC show without incorporating unnecessary plot twists.

"I always thought that the boldest and most confident step and ending for the show would be pulling out one final magic trick at the end. And then one big, emotional, sad ending and allowing the final episode to be a simple reflection on family and time," he said. "I think in some ways, that’s the most challenging stuff. The twists and turns, while you always want to make sure you do those right, the most ambitious stuff and the most challenging stuff has always been the simple stuff. And that’s also the most rewarding and that’s why for us, even though there aren’t a lot of bells and whistles on the final episode, it’s probably as proud as I’ve ever been of an episode of the show.”