‘This Is Us’ Star Chrissy Metz Sends Message to Fans After Season 3 Premiere

This Is Us returned for its third season this week, and like always, the NBC drama had fans getting emotional.

To thank viewers for their support and emotion, series star Chrissy Metz used Instagram to share a message to fans along with a selfie from the Season 3 premiere party.

“SEASON THREEEEE! Thank you to everyone who made it to the premiere, watched in your homes and are catching up today!” Metz wrote. “Your messages of love, support and relatability truly tug at our hearts strings! Buckle up, y’all…we’re back!”

One of the biggest reasons for a Twitter meltdown during the episode was a flash-forward scene that continued from the Season 2 finale and saw older Randall tell older Tess that it’s time to see “her.” The scene then sees older Randall call older Toby, who is sitting in bed alone.

“She wants you to be there too,” Randall tells Toby.

Fans immediately began speculating that the scene means that Kate, played by Metz, has passed away in the show’s future timeline. Many pointed to the events of the season premiere as reason to believe this theory, as Kate and Toby (Chris Sullivan) want to conceive a baby with the help of an OB/GYN despite the high risk for Kate.

As a result, some fans think Kate passed away from childbirth.

Others wondered if Kate and Toby have simply separated.

Co-showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger semi-cleared things up with they spoke with Glamour, sharing that the identity of the mysterious “her” won’t remain a mystery for too long.

“I think it’s totally open to interpretation,” Berger said of the theories regarding future Kate. “Kate could be in the next room [with Toby], or they could not be together, or something could have happened to her. It’s left mysterious on purpose.”

In regards to Toby’s bed, one side of which was perfectly made up, Aptaker cracked, “He’s very neat in the future. But that does not feel like a bedroom where someone, a partner, is sharing it with Toby.”

This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

Photo Credit: Getty / Axelle/Bauer-Griffin