‘This Is Us’ Star Ditching NBC for ABC

In advance of This Is Us‘ final season, one of the show’s stars is on the move to a new network. Deadline reported that Chris Sullivan, who plays Toby, will headline a new comedy pilot for ABC. Sullivan’s new show is set to be titled The Son In Law. 

ABC’s newest comedy is being produced by 20th Television, the same studio that produces This Is Us. The Son In Law follows a man named Jake, played by Sullivan, who is seeking the approval of his fiancée Asha’s parents. In the description for the show, Jake, who is a divorced father of a 21-year-old daughter, finds trouble with both of his fiancée’s parents. While he struggles with asking Asha’s father for his blessing, he’s also dealing with her “loving but controlling” mother.

Sullivan isn’t the only member of the This Is Us cast who has secured another job prior to the show’s end. His co-star Milo Ventimiglia has also secured a role in a new ABC series. Deadline reported that he’s set to headline the network’s new drama The Company You Keep, which is a project that he developed with his company DiVide Pictures. Another of Sullivan’s co-stars, Justin Hartley, is headed to CBS. Hartley will reportedly star in the network’s The Never Game. Although, The Never Game was taken out of the regular pilot season due to scheduling issues. It still has a pilot production commitment and could find a place in the off-cycle or midseason. 

In May 2021, it was reported that This Is Us would be ending after its sixth season, which is currently airing. The news likely didn’t come as too much of a surprise to fans, as creator Dan Fogelman has long said that there were no intentions for the show to go beyond its set end. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “We never set out to make a television series that was going to last 18 seasons, so we have a very direct plan. I have script pages I have written and I’m writing that really are deep, deep, deep into the future. We have a plan for what we’re going to do, and I know what the plan is.”