Tonight's 'This Is Us' Series Finale Will Be A Fond Farewell!

Grab those tissues, folks! 

The Emmy award winning “This Is Us” is coming to an end tonight after six seasons of its stunning ability to paint a graceful picture of every single element pertaining to being part of a family; Even those who are not loyal viewers of the show are likely aware of the writing team’s ability to reduce the audience to tears!

Over the last few weeks, the cast, including Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia who play the Pearson parents Rebecca and Jack, have been documenting their final days on set via social media, and have been sharing tidbits of behind-the-scenes info with fans. Now that the time has come to toast a farewell to the show, (ideally with a drink from the Pearsons’ favorite bar, Froggy’s!)  fans will soon be able to watch the Pearson family’s final chapter come to life and be able to unearth the full meaning behind those secret nuggets of surprise shared by the cast.

Telling a decade-spanning story of family and bringing highly dimensional characters to life from page to screen for six seasons has, no doubt, inspired deep connections between the cast and the characters they have brought to life! Saying a final goodbye to those characters has definitely been an emotional process. 

Bidding a fond farewell to the Pearson family also means preparing to close the book on the story of their lives and reflecting on the six seasons worth of storylines as a full picture. 

Milo Ventimiglia spoke to Deadline via Us Weekly about this very process. 

He shared, “It was whole, and it was full,” reflecting on the series finale’s contribution to the Pearsons’ story. “I was happy to end the show with Mandy in a scene together because that’s how we started it. It felt good, it felt accomplished. It felt like we were given the opportunity to close things out respectfully, wholeheartedly for the characters. I was grateful,” he concluded.

Fans may feel ‘grateful’ for the bit of insight Ventimiglia gave on the finale’s contents! 

“As we’re reading the last several episodes, I’m starting to see loops close where there was a moment or a story and it hits an end,” he explained to Us Weekly. “It may not be happy- or it may be happy. That’s just how life works.”

Cementing all of life’s aspects, whether they are tragic or triumphant, was a task Ventimiglia’s TV wife Mandy Moore had to face while playing Rebecca during her final days.

The writers of the show fulfilled their goal to tell the complete story of both Pearson parents’ lives while the characters were earthside. During season six, Rebecca’s devoted family comes to terms with her Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Rebecca ultimately goes to join her beloved first husband in the great beyond in “The Train,” the series’ second-to-last episode which aired last week.

During the episode, the Pearson family, including members of a new generation, gather to share their final moments with Rebecca. Although Moore was laid up in a bed for the entire episode, she had to stop herself from reacting to the activity going on around her.

“I remember thinking, ‘Okay, I’ve gone through four hours of makeup and I just get to lie in bed and listen to my friends say these beautiful things about this character.’ I was like, ‘Ugh, I can’t wait! What a great day!’” (via People.)

We will salute the cast and crew of “This Is Us” for contributing to many great Tuesday nights on the series’ finale, airing tonight at 8/7c on NBC.