‘This Is Us’ Star Chrissy Metz Says Show Will Feature Twist Never Seen Before on Network Television

This Is Us star Chrissy Metz says that the show will be featuring a twist that has never been seen before on network television.

Metz recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly and, while she did not spill any specific details, she did say that parenting situation between her character Kate and Chris Sullivan’s Toby will be something unexpected.

“Toby and Kate are going to have a bit of an unconventional parenting situation,” she shared. “Not unconventional in that people aren’t doing it, but not what I think either of them ever had in mind.”

It was recently revealed on the show that Kate and Toby have successfully achieved conception by way of IVF, which is a pleasant surprise considering they suffered a tragic miscarriage and had trouble getting pregnant afterwards.

Metz says that the new direction her storyline is going to take will not be easy, but that she is excited nonetheless.

“It’s going to be challenging for me as an actress, which I’m excited about — scared but excited,” she added. “It’s something I don’t think we’ve ever seen, at least not on network television.”

Metz is not the only one who has commented on the surprising development, as This Is Us executive producer Elizabeth Berger also shared some thoughts on the move.

“We’re going to see very specific struggles that these two have to face, and it’s not necessarily something that we’ve seen up close before,” she explained. “But nothing about Kate and Toby’s journey thus far has been pretty conventional, and it’s going to continue to be something that they have to navigate very carefully. We’re excited to share their journey. It’s a really specific one that we’ve been plotting out very carefully.”

Metz opened up more about her role on This Is Us in another recent interview, telling NPR that Kate’s relationship with her father Jack is decidedly different that what Metz had with her own father-figures in real life.

“I come from the place of wishing I had that relationship. And the lack of those relationships, they fuel the emotion for me when I’m doing these very emotional scenes, or like losing Milo [Ventimiglia’s] character, Jack [Kate’s father],” she revealed. “And so it’s really about the lack of relationship or what I wish might have been, and even sort of living vicariously through this character. … And so I definitely find myself enjoying that process, because I’m like, ‘Oh it’s like a healthy relationship.’ Who doesn’t want one of those?”

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