Milo Ventimiglia Cast in New USA Network Series ‘Evel’, Will He Leave ‘This Is Us’?

Are Milo Ventimiglia‘s days playing Jack Pearson on This Is Us numbered? The actor made headlines Thursday morning after the announcement he will be leading the cast and executive producing a new series for USA Network. While it’s common for actors to hop on more than one project at a time, given the unpredictable nature of the hit NBC series, we have to wonder if Jack Pearson might be saying goodbye to the rest of the family in Season 4.

Ventimiglia will headline the new limited series Evel, centered around Evel Knievel, the daredevil from the 1960s and 70s. The new show is also executive produced by McG and will be written by Etan Frankel (Animal Kingdom and Shameless).

TVLine released a description of the new miniseries which describes it as “‘an exhilarating portrait of a complex man living the American dream, juggling meteoric celebrity and raising a family — and facing the very real probability that his next jump,’ across the Snake River Canyon, ‘will kill him.’”

“USA Network is known for big event series that celebrate heroes, rebels and icons, and what could be bigger than the story of one of the greatest thrill seekers of all time?,” USA Network entertainment chief Chris McCumber said in a statement released by the publication. “The incredible life and journey of Evel Knievel lends itself to a dramatic retelling, and we are excited to be partnering with Milo, McG, UCP, Atlas [Entertainment] and Wonderland [Sound & Vision] to bring this iconic American tale to our viewers.”

Production on the new series is set to begin in 2020.

The cast of This Is Us has the advantage they can hop on other projects without it conflicting with the beloved NBC series’ schedule thanks to its 18-episode orders. A shorter season allows the cast to have part of the year for limited series and films, as well as guest appearances on other shows.

Sterling K. Brown famously guest-starred in an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine in which he played Philip Davidson, a notorious criminal who put up a fight during an interrogation with the police. The actor is also set to guest star in an upcoming episode of Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

With that, it makes sense to say Ventimiglia’s role on This Is Us will not be affected by his role on Evel, so fans can just sit back and wait for the new show’s premiere.

This Is Us fans were treated to a new trailer for the upcoming fourth season on Labor Day weekend, sharing teases of several new characters coming to the series.

Along with a first look at Jennifer Morrison’s new character, with ties to the military, the trailer also showed a variety of new actors joining the cast including director M. Night Shyamalan, House alum Omar Epps and Revenge alum Nick Wechsler.

“It’s so strange, isn’t it? How just like that a completely stranger can become a big part of your story,” Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore) says in the clip, as the trailer drifts off into series of scenes from the upcoming episodes. “It’s actually kind of terrifying, you know? How a single cross with one person who you’ve never met can change everything.”

This Is Us will return for Season 4 Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. Evel does not have an official premiere date yet at USA Network.