‘This Is Us’ Casts Former ‘Chicago P.D.’ Star Sophia Bush in Recurring Role

Former Chicago P.D. star Sophia Bush, along with Better Things star Pamela Adlon, are joining NBC‘s This Is Us. The two stars will appear in the second half of Season 4, which returns on NBC next week. Adlon will be involved in Randall Pearson’s storyline, while Bush will return to NBC to play an important party in Kevin Pearson’s life.

Creator Dan Fogleman told Deadline that Bush will be part of Kevin’s story, meaning she will have plenty of scenes with actor, Justin Hartley. Fogelman declined to say if she is the mother of Kevin’s child.

“The story who is the mother of Kevin’s child and all that journey will be a story in the back half of the season, and there will be an answer by the end of the season,” Fogelman told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour Saturday, referencing a mystery set up at the end of Season 3.

Fogelman said the second half of Season 4 will look at Randall’s (Sterling K. Brown) mental health and “how he takes care of himself, what’s right and what’s wrong about how he takes care of himself.”

“We have a cool guest star coming, Pamela Adlon, who will be involved in Randall’s very intense storyline,” the co-showrunner explained. “She has an unbelievable arc in the back of the season, she plays a limited but very important part of that story.”

Adlon came onto Fogelman’s radar because she has worked with Brown in the past. Her scenes were filmed while she was on break from Better Things.

“I’m such a fan of hers and her and Sterling a relationship,” he said. “I reached out on a whim, asking would she ever have time. I happened to have caught her in off-season (on Better Things), and she is going to do this cool part with Sterling.”

The first three episodes of This Is Us Season 4’s back-half will each center on one of the Big Three, beginning with a Randall-centric episode. John Legend will perform a new song in the hour.

Timothy Omundson’s Gregory and Ron Cephas Jones’ William will also return. Odmundson agreed to come back even after suffering a stroke.

“I have been really excited to see how the audience has been reacting to his part of the show,” Fogelman explained. “You are watching someone who is really putting himself out on camera in the middle of their recovery process, speaking openly about it and acting his a— off. It’s a really exciting part of the show, and hope it will be for a while.”

Bush starred on Chicago P.D. for four seasons. She has a recurring role for the upcoming Disney+ series based on Love, Simon, which is being developed by This Is Us co-showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger.

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

Photo credit: Maarten de Boer/NBCUniversal