As a fan of Nate Bargatze, I had already planned to catch his new 2026 movie The Breadwinner when it arrived in theaters. As a Swiftie, it was an added bonus when I learned that one of Taylor Swift's most recent hits, "Opalite," would be featured in the film. I was expecting that to pop up at some point in the movie, but what I didn't see coming was a nod to Mandy Moore's pop-music roots. See, I'm also someone who's...well...let's just say old enough to be nostalgic about '90s pop music, so I absolutely adored the needle-drop that paid homage to Bargatze's co-star in the movie.

Mandy Moore plays aspiring business woman, wife and mother, Katie Wilcox in The Breadwinner, and while she's absent for chunks of the film, due to her efforts to get her budding business off the ground, her character's presence is felt through her husband's desperate efforts to captain the family's ship while she's away. Moore's presence is also felt at one point in the film when "Candy" starts to play in the background of the screen, and I'm not gonna lie, I grinned with deep appreciation for Moore's sugary hit, as the movie not only tipped its cap to Mandy Moore's pop music, but I also like to think it was a nod to Moore's decades as an artist in the entertainment industry.

While Moore is likely better known for her acting roles throughout her career, she got her big break was a teen in 1999 with "Candy," a single that would launch a promising pop music career during the era of iconic solo artists like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. As she was releasing albums in the aughts, Moore was also establishing herself as a rising star in film, appearing in Dr. Doolittle 2 (2001) and The Princess Diaries (2001), and then taking the starring role in the book-to-screen adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' A Walk To Remember.

In more recent years, she's well known for playing Pearson family matriarch in the drama series, This Is Us, and voicing Rapunzel in Tangled (and reprising the voice for shorts and other Rapunzel appearances).

If you remember "Candy" and its music video, you're probably of the right age to remember the song showing up in Center Stage. The 2000 ballet movie, which served as Zoe Saldana's feature debut, includes Moore's song during the scene where Amanda Schull's character Jody visits a modern dance studio to take a break from training. Moore's song, "I Wanna Be With You" is also featured in that movie.

Back to The Breadwinner, critics and audiences weren't in agreement about the movie, as its Rotten Tomatoes critics score is currently at a rotten 21%, while the audience score sits at 86%. I think I'm somewhere in between on the film, as the story was just ok to me, but there were some good laughs (including a cute nod to Nate Bargatze's book Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind), and I loved the cast, which -- in addition to Bargatze and Moore -- includes Colin Jost, Kumail Nanjiani, Will Forte and Severance's Zach Cherry.

Whether you catch it in theaters or decide to wait for streaming, definitely keep an ear out for "Candy." It's still a bop!

Comedian Nate Bargatze’s fame has skyrocketed over the past few years thanks to brilliantly quotable standup specials, a couple of Saturday Night Live appearances (that Washington’s Dream sketch is a classic) and the unique ideas he brought to his Emmys hosting gig. Now he’s set to star in his first movie — The Breadwinner — as a guy who becomes a stay-at-home dad when his wife gets a big deal on Shark Tank. Reviews are in for the new comedy, and this is exactly what I was afraid of.

The premise of The Breadwinner draws an obvious comparison to Mr. Mom, which came out in 1983. More than 40 years later, are we still supposed to laugh at dads who can’t cook eggs or do laundry? Is this not insulting to both men and women? I do love Nate Bargatze’s comedy, though, so I hoped that would overpower a seemingly antiquated plot. According to Natalia Winkelman of Variety, that’s not exactly the case, as she says in her review of The Breadwinner:

William Bibbiani of The Wrap agrees, saying this “hackneyed” premise was old in 1983 and even when I Love Lucy did it in 1952. It begs the question, Bibbiani says, of how The Breadwinner scored a major summer release with a plot that doesn’t belong in this century. The critic continues:

Matt Schimkowitz of AV Club gives the movie a C-, saying it’s too busy trying to sell regressive comedy and KFC to produce quality entertainment. Fans of the comedian will have some laughs, but overall, they deserve better. The critic's review reads:

Frank Scheck of THR also argues that a movie doesn't have to be “painfully bland” to be family-friendly. Scheck’s review of The Breadwinner also points out that its story might be funnier if it wasn't something that’s been done in funnier ways in every family sitcom and several movies before it. The critic writes:

Alison Foreman of IndieWire cuts Nate Bargatze a little slack, grading it a C+ and saying it’s “truly decent” compared to other big studio releases right now. There are enough solid jokes to elicit some laughs — which should be a given with a cast that boasts talent like Mandy Moore, Colin Jost, Zach Cherry, Kumail Nanjiani and Will Forte. Some viewers may find the not-so-subtle product placement distracting, though. Foreman warns:

It would be nearly impossible for a movie starring and co-written by Nate Bargatze to not be funny at all, and most critics agree they had at least a few chuckles. However, between shameless product placement, cliché humor and a bafflingly outdated plot, this may not be the big-screen debut the comedian hoped for.

If you want to see The Breadwinner (possibly at a reduced rate), the movie hits theaters on Friday, May 29.

Earlier this year the Internet became obsessed with Ashley Tisdale’s “toxic” mom group drama, and it’s easy to see why — it was petty, it was relatable, and it involved several celebrities. Hilary Duff was suspected of being a key target of the High School Musical alum’s essay in The Cut, but Meghan Trainor’s name also got dropped in all the brouhaha. Now, the “All About That Bass” singer has spoken out about her recent conversation with Tisdale and why Trainor called herself a “bad mom friend.”

In January, Ashley Tisdale penned an article titled “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group,” and while she didn’t name names, there was plenty of evidence showing her on trips, etc., with other moms like Mandy Moore, Haylie Duff and sister Hilary, so fans were pretty sure they knew which group she meant. Meghan Trainor had been in that group, too, but she said by the time the drama went down, she wasn’t anymore. She explained to US Weekly:

Meghan Trainor may not be involved with the mom group anymore, but it doesn’t sound like there’s any bad blood there at all. It seems perfectly understandable that between a busy career and three kids under 5, Trainor couldn’t find time to be active in the group chat or attend the other events.

So apparently she was caught off-guard when all the Ashley Tisdale drama started. She continued:

Apparently fans thought that because Meghan Trainor wasn’t seen around the other women in the group, many assumed she’d been the so-called “toxic” member. Even RHOBH’s Crystal Kung Minkoff got involved!

Meghan Trainor didn’t care, though, and even posted a TikTok to that effect, set to her song "Still Don’t Care.” For the record, the singer has spoken to Ashley Tisdale and said she wants only the best for the former Disney star and the other moms:

It’s true, we do need something to talk about, and if that can be some easily digestible, petty drama involving actresses we grew up with, even better.

Meghan Trainor’s seventh studio album, Toy With Me, drops Friday, April 24.

You know what time period I love in film history? The early 2000s. And, it's mostly because I think a lot of the movies were completely unhinged. One of my favorite unhinged movies is the 2006 American Idol satire film, American Dreamz, starring Mandy Moore, Hugh Grant, and a bunch of other noteworthy actors.

I’ve already discussed my love for the Crank series, and it must be remembered that the early 2000s was also the reign of Uwe Boll (who once beat up his critics. I'm dead serious).

What's interesting about American Dreamz, though, is that upon its release, it took a critical drubbing, which you likely wouldn't expect from a movie that also stars the likes of Willem Dafoe, Dennis Quaid, and Marcia Gay Harden. So, why do I love it then? Well, you're about to find out.

This Movie Came Out During The Bush Years And It Feels It

Do you know what I like to call the early 2000s? The 24 years. Not only is it one of my favorite TV shows of all time, but I think it also perfectly encapsulates that post 9/11 time period, where it seemed like everybody was focused on “the War on Terror.” In this era, terrorists were the bad guys. And, while most movies and TV shows took this seriously, there were a few that lampooned the current events (Like Team America: World Police).

Going back to Uwe Boll, in 2007, we got a video game movie from him that you might not have even heard of called Postal, and it actually begins with a 9/11 joke. Obviously, the movie is in poor taste, but it's one of the few films that dared to poke fun at something that was relatively recent, and American Dreamz pokes fun, too, though a lot more effectively.

In a nutshell, the film is about a talent show called American Dreamz, which is a parody of American Idol. Hugh Grant plays the host, Martin “Tweedy” Tweed, and even though he isn’t as prickly as Simon Cowell, you know that that’s who he’s taking inspiration from. American Idol is still around, of course, but I think it was at its peak in the early 2000s, and this film perfectly captures that mania.

That said, this film ALSO tackles the terrorism side of the early 2000s, which might be why people weren’t in love with this film at the time, since it’s like two different movies. However, that’s why I love it! But first, let me talk about the reality TV/talent show component.

This Movie Both Loves And Hates Reality TV In Equal Amounts

Reality TV has been around at least since the late 1940s when Candid Camera jumped from radio to TV, but it came back into major prominence in the ‘90s with The Real World, and then exploded in 2000 with Survivor. Since then, the whole concept of “reality” television has kind of been shown to be a farce. The actual “reality” side is often staged, and even though it’s often cheaper than producing scripted television, that doesn’t mean that reality TV isn’t also somewhat scripted, and this movie delves into that.

Mandy Moore plays a wannabe superstar, and she sees being on American Dreamz as her chance at stardom. When a film crew comes to her house to let her know that she’s been selected, she runs outside screaming and yelling, but is then told to do it over again since they weren’t filming at the time, to which she obliges, going even more over the top. This is obviously a dig at the whole nature of “reality” television, and the movie takes several more digs at it.

That said, you also kind of get a sense that the director/screenwriter, Paul Weitz, actually appreciates the whole ersatz nature of the medium. Even though people are getting absorbed by the stories of the contestants, you also kind of feel like Weitz finds something charming in a nation glued to their screens and united in something as silly as a talent show.

In fact, it’s the talent show that brings both Americans and jihadists (Yes, you heard that right) together in the end, which I’ll get into next.

A Key Plot Point In This Comedy Involves Sleeper Cells. I'm Serious

Okay, so while you have the whole reality TV/talent show aspect of the film, you also have the political side, as Dennis Quaid plays the President of the United States. Quaid is obviously a stand-in for Dubya, and he really plays up the caricature. Anyway, America is at war with the Middle East, and a character named Omer (Sam Golzari) loses his mother to an American attack.

Serious stuff, right? Well, yes, but not in this movie. Because Omer just so happens to love show tunes, so even though he joined a jihadist outfit that wants to scream death to America, he’s also too clumsy and awkward to be a proper terrorist. However, with the outreach for new talent for American Dreamz, the jihadists see their chance to blow up a lot of people during a taping of the show. And, with the President now being enlisted as a new judge, what better time than now to strap a bomb onto Omer?

Didn’t I tell you this movie was unhinged? But it goes further. Because Chris Klein (who once starred in the worst movie I’ve ever seen in my entire life) plays the boyfriend of one of the contestants, and even though he gets dumped, their relationship plays into the narrative that American Dreamz is trying to push.

That said, once he gets jilted again, he straps on a bomb, ending this movie on a kaboom. I’m telling you. This movie is crazy!

Luckily, The Cast Is All Game For The Lunacy

Even though the film didn’t do well at the box office, and it wasn’t a hit with critics, it sure does have a pretty stacked cast.

As mentioned in the intro, some of the big names that star in this film are Dennis Quaid, Willem Dafoe as the Chief of Staff, Mandy Moore as the singer, Sally Kendoo, Jennifer Coolidge (who played Stiffler’s mom in Weitz’s American Pie and now plays Mandy Moore’s mom in this film) Chris Klein as Kendoo’s boyfriend, Marcia Gay Harden as the First Lady, and Hugh Grant as the host.

And the thing is, they’re all game for the film. This is a really goofy movie, and all of the actors are just as goofy. I think Dafoe might be one of my favorites, as he’s constantly trying to clean up the president’s messes. He plays an understated, yet very larger-than-life performance.

In fact, this movie kind of makes me think of another satirical film I love, Don’t Look Up, in that it shows people with all the power in the world being utterly inept at their jobs. Nobody comes out of this film looking like a brainiac, and it’s all the better for it.

So, in the end, American Dreamz is honestly a hidden gem from the early 2000s. And, even though it’s pretty dated by today’s standards, it’s still a pretty funny time capsule if you remember this era.

There seems to be drama brewing between Ashley Tisdale and some other celebrity parents, after the High School Musical alum wrote an essay titled “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group.” Fans are fully obsessed with the messiness — which they think involves Hilary Duff, her husband Matthew Koma and her older sister Haylie — and now even more famous faces have been dragged into it, including Mandy Moore and Meghan Trainor.

Ashley Tisdale’s essay in the The Cut revealed that she had been “feeling left out” of her mom group, and that “a growing distance” caused her to ultimately step away. Fans believe she was referencing Hilary Duff’s close circle, particularly since Tisdale didn’t attend the moms’ October trip. Her absence didn’t raise red flags at the time, but following the article and response from other famous moms, people are now looking back at all of the connections between the former Disney stars.

After Ashley Tisdale's Post Went Viral, What Mandy Moore, Meghan Trainor And Matthew Koma Said

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody alum told TMZ her essay was not referring to Hilary Duff or the other women in that group; however, reactions from Duff’s husband and now Mandy Moore have left fans skeptical. For one thing, Ashley Tisdale allegedly no longer follows the Lizzie McGuire star or Moore on Instagram. And then there’s Matthew Koma, who proved he’s not afraid to mix it up when he previously roasted Candace Cameron Bure.

In a seeming response to Ashley Tisdale going viral for her article in The Cut, Matthew Koma posted an Instagram Story on January 6, photoshopping his image over Tisdale’s face and wrote:

He also wrote: “Read my interview with @thecut. ‘A Mom Group Tell All Through a Father's Eyes.’"

After what seems to be a calling-out of Ashley Tisdale, Mandy Moore broke her silence to support Matthew Koma. The couple famously took in Moore and her family when they lost their home in the Pacific Palisades fire, and on January 8 she reposted one of Koma’s Instagram Stories that showed her performing her hit “Candy” at a benefit concert. Moore wrote:

While Mandy Moore didn’t mention any of the ongoing mom drama, the timing of her support for Matthew Koma didn’t go unnoticed by fans.

Meanwhile, Meghan Trainor had a seemingly more direct response, as she posted a TikTok video referencing “mom group drama” as her song “Still Don’t Care” played in the background:

Reports from supposed insiders are also supporting the narrative that there is tension between the celebrity moms.

What Insiders Are Saying About The Mom Group Drama

Sources who are allegedly close to the celebrity moms also seem to support the theory that Ashley Tisdale’s essay was about Hilary Duff's group, as one told US Weekly:

The insider said the This Is Us star and Hilary Duff think their issues could have been handled privately and that Ashley Tisdale’s article portrayed them unfairly — even though Tisdale did not name any women specifically.

Some More Evidence On Ashley Tisdale’s Connection To The Duff Sisters

Fans have also noticed that Hilary Duff’s sister Haylie seems to be standing by Ashley Tisdale amid the drama. The Napoleon Dynamite actress, for one, liked Tisdale’s Instagram post promoting her essay in a subtle show of support. Haylie and the High School Musical star have been connected for at least the past 10 years, as US Weekly reports that Tisdale sold her mansion to Haylie in 2016 for $2.7 million.

Many believe Haylie Duff's apparent support of Ashley Tisdale also supports the longstanding belief that tension exists between the celebrity siblings.

Fans are also now looking back at a November episode of Jake Shane‘s Therapuss podcast, in which Hilary Duff said she has a “talent” for cutting out friends who aren’t suiting her anymore. She said, in part:

Of course there’s no indication that Hilary Duff was talking about her relationship with Ashley Tisdale, and in fact, with none of the celebrity moms coming out with any direct statements, it all remains a bit circumstantial. However, with so many connections to be made and evidence that continues to mount by the day, it’s easy to see why the Internet is so obsessed.

On Saturday morning, it was revealed that Oscar-winner Diane Keaton had died at the age of 79. The news about the actress who starred in massive movies like Annie Hall and First Wives Club has led to an outpouring of tributes from Hollywood actors who loved her. Many of them, including Bett Midler, Steve Martin and more, had their own experiences working with her on the set of her iconic movies and called her a personal friend.

We’ll start with Bette Midler, who starred with Keaton in The First Wives Club back in 1996. She was quick to go on Instagram to say this:

Now, the third part of the trio, Goldie Hawn, has yet to comment on the loss at the time of this article’s publication, but her daughter Kate Hudson found the perfect scene of Keaton’s to celebrate the kind of presence she brought to the screen from The First Wives Club. Check it out:

The First Wives Club is such a quotable movie, and we’ll never forget Diane Keaton’s performance in it.

Another one of Keaton’s famed co-stars is Steve Martin, whom she was in the Father of the Bride movies with, and he paid tribute to her in a fittingly funny way. Here’s what he wrote shortly after news of her passing:

Keaton and Martin reunited with their Father of the Bride cast back in 2020 for charity, and seemed to be close. Martin found a lighter way to remember the talented actress, as we’d expect from the comedian.

Kimberly Williams-Paisley, who played their daughter in those movies, wrote this in an Instagram post:

Along with being in a lot of rom-coms and becoming a great director while still being an actor, Keaton played a lot of mom roles over the years, including in 2007’s Because I Said So with Mandy Moore. The This Is Us actress also penned a tribute to the late star, writing on Instagram:

Keaton is survived by her children, Duke and Dexter, whom she adopted in her 50s. The actress never married. Keaton's The Book Club co-star Jane Fonda also took to Instagram to say this:

Another fellow Oscar winner, Viola Davis, who never got to work with her, wrote this on Instagram following the news:

Similarly, Rosie O’Donnell sent all the love to Keaton’s family after hearing the news, which was originally reported by People. In her words on Instagram:

Here’s one more tribute from Octavia Spencer on Instagram. Clearly, a lot of women (inside and outside of Hollywood) really looked up to Diane Keaton:

As of right now, we don’t have details about Diane Keaton’s passing, other than she died in California with the Los Angeles Fire Department responding to her home at 8 a.m. on Saturday, October 11.

Here at CinemaBlend, we send our condolences to the family, friends and fans of the incomparable Diane Keaton.

The This Is Us cast is still, even three years after the heart-wrenching NBC drama came to an end. Not only are there reunions, but creator Dan Fogelman has been keeping some of them busy with new shows. He most recently created the Hulu series Paradise, which stars Sterling K. Brown. Now, Fogelman is set to reunite with another TIS alum, Mandy Moore, though they won't be collaborating on Brown's aforementioned show.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mandy Moore has been cast in Dan Fogelman’s new NFL drama, which will be streamable for Hulu subscription holders at some point. Moore joins Law & Order: Organized Crime star Christopher Meloni, who is set to star as a football coach. Fogelman is also set to write and executive produce the show, which comes from 20^th Television and Skydance Sports.

As for Moore’s character, she's going to be a bit different from Pearson family matriarch Rebecca. Moore is set to star as Lauren, who's the daughter of William H. Macy’s character, Hank. Lauren's in a bit of interesting position, as she's next in line to inherit the NFL team her dad owns, which is coached by Meloni’s character. Needless to say, this is going to be a switch-up for Moore, and I'm so pumped to see her engaged in some potential family drama.

Whether or not fans can expect more This Is Us to appear on the currently untitled sports series is unknown. However, given that Dan Fogelman is now back in business with two stars of his Emmy-winning family drama, I don't think it's totally out of the question. I mean, why not cast someone like Mandy Moore's on-screen son-in-law, Chris Sullivan, to play a coach or a retired player on the new show? Still, I'm just excited that Fogelman is already working with longtime collaborators again.

I will say, however, that since Paradise was renewed for a second season, it would have been fun to see Moore in that series and reuniting with Brown and Fogelman. There have indeed been This Is Us reunions on-screen as of late, though, with Justin Hartley’s Tracker hosting one.

Meanwhile, Moore has been plenty busy since she said goodbye to Rebecca Pearson. She’s been growing her family and welcomed baby number three last year. On the acting side of the equation, Moore has appeared in several projects, including Dr. Death and most recently, #1 Happy Family USA. She's also been co-hosting the This Is Us rewatch podcast, This Was Us.

At present, I'm hopeful that it won't be too long before additional information on Dan Fogelman's NFL drama series rise to the surface. Considering Fogelman's work on other shows, I'm eager to see how his storytelling sensibilities can be applied to the cut-throat world of professional sports. I'm also confident that Mandy Moore's character, as a result of Fogelman's writing, will be just as dynamic as Rebecca Pearson.

While you wait for updates, stream This Is Us and Paradise, which just wrapped on Season 2, on Hulu now.

On the heels of NCIS announcing a delay in production due to the tragic LA wildfires, former spinoff star Eric Christian Olsen shared that he lost his home to them and is staying with family. Following the actor's tragic life update, his post brought in an outpouring of support from Wilmer Valderrama, Mandy Moore, and many others in Hollywood.

As CinemaBlend continues to monitor how the 2025 TV schedule may be impacted by the California wildfires, Olsen's wife and actress, Sarah Wright Olsen, shared the news about their home on Instagram. See her words below, as well as photos of the aftermath following the fire raging through their home:

Like the homes of Denise Crosby and Mandy Moore's family, the Olsens house was taken down by the fires. Just like these folks, many around Los Angeles have no other choice but to make accommodations until they can figure out their next steps and start the healing process from losing places that were important to them. My heart breaks for the children of the Olsens, who took their first steps in the home.

Sarah Wright Olsen's comments were a who's who in Hollywood, as Moore and many other celebrities, both tied to NCIS and other projects, showered them with love and support. This includes Wilmer Valderrama, who knows something about tragic life-changing experiences after a plane accident:

• Love you guys. I’m sorry doesn’t do justice for the grief and pain of a magnitude of this kind of loss… but I’m sorry. Thinking of you and your family. - Mandy Moore
• I’m so sorry 💔 - Ashley Tisdale
• the family who literally housed me…u all are the epitome of love. ❤️ - Caleb Castille
• Oh babe I’m so sorry. I love you so much - Rumer Willis
• ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ - Rose McIver
• Sending you so much love sister - Wilmer Valderrama

Eric Christian Olsen did not share his own post about the tragedy.

The actor has kept busy since the ending of NCIS: Los Angeles and has signed on as an executive producer on the new CBS hit drama Matlock. No doubt he and his family will also be busy as they look for a new home and try to regain all they lost in the fires. In the meantime, they're staying with "Uncle Dave" and "Aunt Dani," and are lucky to have family willing to step up and help when they need it most.

The tragic stories from the California wildfires just keep coming, for example, actress Jennifer Garner recently revealed she lost a friend to them. Authorities are working around the clock to continue to contain the blaze, and some families have been allowed to return to their areas after evacuating. Long-term disaster recovery efforts are underway in areas to help families in need, but there's a lot of work to be done.

CinemaBlend continues offering condolences to all impacted by the L.A. wildfires and hopes everyone can return to some form of normalcy soon. Here's hoping the coming week will bring even more progress to combatting and containing the fires.

The fires in Southern California have been the true meaning of the word disaster. Thousands of acres have burned and an as yet unknown number of people have lost their homes. Because of the location of the fires, many celebrities have been impacted by the fire, some are seeing their work delayed as several series have paused production due to the fires, and others have actually had to evacuate their homes. Among them are This Is Us star Mandy Moore and her family.

While Mandy Moore’s home wasn’t completely destroyed by the fire, it did receive significant damage. But her brother-in-law (musician Griffin Goldsmith) and his family, as well as his parents, have also lost their homes in the fires. Like so many, Goldsmith’s family has set up a GoFundMe to ask for donations that will help them rebuild and get back on their feet, but now that GoFundMe is a source of controversy.

Why Mandy Moore Is Defending A GoFundMe

Mandy Moore has been updating fans about the fire via Instagram and she also used the platform to promote her brother-in-law’s GoFundMe for any fans who may want to contribute. This led some to criticize Moore for asking others to contribute. A few people assume that Mandy Moore, being a famous celebrity, is rich, and therefore could help her family rebuild all on her own. In a response on Instagram, she made it clear that she is helping out her family, and that assumptions of her wealth may be wildly off base. She said…

Moore also reminded people that they have lost a great deal in the fire as well. While most of Moore’s house is apparently still standing, they have not been able to return there, and another celebrity has been helping out.

How Hillary Duff Is Helping Mandy Moore’s Family

According to a post from Moore’s brother-in-law Mandy Moore and her family have been taken in by friend Hillary Duff, and her husband Matt Koma. In fact, Koma is the “Matt” mentioned in Moore’s comment that apparently suggested setting up the GoFundMe in the first place. Goldsmith wrote on Instagram…

The fires have been devastating for a lot of people Jennifer Garner revealed that a friend of hers died in the fire. It's going to take a lot of time, and a lot of support for everybody to recover.

Over the last few days, the wildfires rampaging around Los Angeles have caused insurmountable destruction. Taking the homes of many, this natural disaster has uprooted and changed many’s lives. Along with that, the fires have caused production delays on shows like Fallout, NCIS and many more projects in the works and on the 2025 TV schedule. Now, as it continues and firefighters work to contain the flames, celebrities like Kevin Smith, Mandy Moore and Denise Crosby are sharing updates about how their homes have been impacted.

Kevin Smith Thanks Firefighters And Provides An Update About His Home

Kevin Smith started his Instagram video by giving a “huge hearty thank you to the LA Fire Department” and other people who came to help put out the fires. He then went on to explain that he lives near Runyon Canyon, and there were planes flying over it last night dumping water down to put out the fire. It worked, and his home is still standing, as he explained:

In a second video, which you can see below, Smith explained that the firefighters “saved our home, saved our neighborhood.”

According to Deadline, the Sunset Fire, which is the one that affected Runyon Canyon, is now fully contained and evacuation orders have been lifted.

Denise Crosby Shares That She Lost Her Spanish Cottage Home

Star Trek actress Denise Crosby lost her home in The Palisades Fire, according to People. Over on X, she had posted videos from Sunset Blvd. of the fire and noted that she had evacuated and was scared she’d lose her home that had “survived 100 years.”

Yesterday, she posted an image of where her home used to stand with the tragic news that it was now gone:

At the time of this writing, The Palisades Fire is 0% contained and has destroyed 300 structures, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Mandy Moore Explained That Her House Didn’t Fully Burn Down, But Much Of Her Neighborhood Did

Mandy Moore has been actively using her Instagram to post updates about her own home and the town she lives in, Altadena. Yesterday, she noted on IG that her family and pets were safe and had evacuated, but wrote that her kids’ school and their favorite restaurants were gone.

Today, she posted – which you can see below – that part of her own home was destroyed, but it didn’t fully burn down, while some of her close family and friends completely lost their homes:

According to Cal Fire, Altadena is impacted by the Eaton Fire, and at the time of this writing, it is 0% contained and is 10,600 acres. The number of structures destroyed or damaged is not listed yet.

Overall, the fires are still raging and many others have lost their homes. This includes A-list celebrities like Billy Crystal, Paris Hilton, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester and more. And, it also includes thousands of others we don't know whose lives have been uprooted and changed because of this catastrophic event.

As we learn more about how this disaster is impacting people in Los Angeles as well as the 2025 movie schedule and TV calendar, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.

I cannot count how many times Scrubs has come up when discussing the best TV sitcoms of all time. Over the course of nine seasons (and two networks), the Zach Braff-led medical comedy introduced audiences to some of the most iconic and endearing small-screen characters of the past 25 years, as well as some legendary celebrity guests. With Academy Award winners, Star Wars alumni, and on-the-rise comedians, Sacred Heart Hospital was a hopping place when these 32 actors popped up on Scrubs.

Brendan Fraser

Though Brendan Fraser is best known for roles in movies like The Mummy, The Whale, and Encino Man, the Oscar winner played a small yet pivotal role as Ben Sullivan on Scrubs. Dr. Cox’s (John C. McGinley) brother-in-law, Ben was at the center of several of the best episodes of Scrubs as well as one of the most emotional TV moments of all time. Seriously, Ben is one of the best characters to ever appear on the show, which is saying a lot.

Michael J. Fox

One of several Spin City cast members to show up on Scrubs, Michael J. Fox appeared in a pair of episodes during the show’s third season. Taking on the role of Dr. Kevin Casey, a confident and talented doctor and surgeon dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Ryan Reynolds

Before he was leading some of the best Marvel movies and showing up in great romantic comedies, Ryan Reynolds had a one-off appearance on Scrubs. Showing up in the show’s second season, Reynolds played Spence, J.D. (Zach Braff) and Turk’s (Donald Faison) college friend who comes to visit while in town for a wedding.

Courteney Cox

A few years after Friends came to an end and a few months before Cougar Town premiered, Courteney Cox had a brief fun on Scrubs. During her handful of appearances in the show’s eighth season, Cox played Dr. Taylor Maddox, the new Sacred Heart chief of medicine following Dr. Kelso’s (Ken Jenkins) sudden departure.

Dick Van Dyke

Probably the Scrubs celebrity guest with the most prolific career, Dick Van Dyke showed up for a single episode partway through the show’s second season. The legendary actor/singer/dancer took on the role of Dr. Doug Townshend, a Sacred Heart doctor who no longer wanted to stick around and keep up with technology and decided to retire.

Elizabeth Banks

In terms of guest spots, few actors appeared in as many episodes as Elizabeth Banks. Between Seasons 5 and 8, Banks popped up in a total of 15 episodes as Dr. Kim Briggs, a urologist at another hospital who eventually became the mother of J.D.’s son before it was all said and done.

Colin Farrell

Colin Farrell was just about everywhere in the 2000s, including Scrubs. The In Bruges actor played Billy Callahan, an Irishman who was sticking around to watch over a man he knocked out in a bar fight, partway through Season 4. Though his arrival caused a stir at Sacred Heart, it all eventually worked out in the end.

Aziz Ansari

Before he became one of the biggest comedians on the planet thanks to Parks and Recreation and Master of None, Aziz Ansari had a supporting role on Scrubs. Ansari appeared throughout the show’s eighth season where he played Dr. Ed Dhandapani, one of J.D.’s young interns, and possibly the laziest person at Sacred Heart.

Heather Graham

A major player throughout Scrubs Season 4, Heather Graham took on the role of Dr. Molly Clock, a psychiatrist at Sacre Heart who kept referring to J.D. as “Johnny.” She appeared in nine episodes during her single-season run on the show.

Billy Dee Williams

Billy Dee Williams, of Star Wars and Brian’s Song fame, showed up in a single episode of Scrubs Season 5. But like other guest stars, Williams played himself, or at least a version that was Julie Quinn’s (Mandy Moore) godfather.

Matthew Perry

The late Matthew Perry (appearing alongside his real-life father, John Bennett Perry) showed up for an episode of Scrubs back in the show’s fourth season. In his one-off appearance, Perry played Murray Marks, a man who comes to Sacred Heart Hospital to donate a kidney to his ailing father.

Mandy Moore

Several years before she led another all-time great NBC series, This Is Us, Mandy Moore showed up on Scrubs as Julie Quinn. Though she only appeared on a pair of episodes during the show’s fifth season, Moore’s character made quite an impact on the staff at Sacred Heart, especially J.D. Their romance was short-lived, but one the hopeless romantic doctor wouldn’t forget.

Richard Kind

Harvey Corman is definitely one of the most iconic (and annoying) guest characters on Scrubs, and that’s all thanks to the brilliant work by Richard Kind. A hypochondriac like no other, Corman was in and out of Sacred Heart Hospital with all kinds of issues and medical emergencies throughout Seasons 2 through 4.

Masi Oka

Before having a massive breakout role on Heroes, Masi Oka appeared on Scrubs off and on between Seasons 1 and 4, in which he took on the role of a lab tech named Franklyn. Though he only appeared in a handful of episodes before leaving the show, Oka’s character showed up in some of the most memorable moments in Scrubs history.

Tom Cavanagh

In addition to leading the comedy series Ed, Tom Cavanagh also had a sizable guest spot on Scrubs. Every once in a while, Cavanagh would show up as J.D.’s older brother, Dan Dorian. There for a life, a shoulder to cry on, or an important life lesson, Dan was there for some of his brother’s most trying moments.

Tara Reid

Tara Reid was part of the Scrubs cast for 11 episodes, with all but one coming from the show’s third season. During her run, Reid took on the role of Danni Sullivan, Ben Sullivan’s younger sister, who became one of J.D.’s many girlfriends at one point.

Phill Lewis

Phill Lewis has appeared just about everywhere throughout his prolific TV career, including Sacred Heart Hospital for a stretch. During his run on Scrubs, Lewis portrayed Hooch, an orthopedic surgeon with a wild and dangerous side, to say the very least.

Jason Bateman

Jason Bateman popped up for a single episode of Scrubs during the show’s fifth season. During his one-off appearance, Bateman plays Mr. Sutton, a garbageman who refuses to thank J.D. after being treated.

John Ritter

The late John Ritter showed up in two episodes of Scrubs as Sam Dorian, J.D.’s dad. The cash-strapped and constantly unemployed character had his issues, but still cared deeply for his song.

Taran Killam

Before landing a steady gig on Saturday Night Live, Taran Killam had a recurring role on Scrubs during the show’s penultimate season. Killam took on the role of Jimmy, one of J.D.’s interns at Sacred Heart.

Jimmie Walker

Jimmie Walker, best known for his portrayal of J.J. Evans and his “Dynomite” catchphrase from Good Times, appeared in two episodes of Scrubs. During the show’s first season, Walker played himself as he appeared in two of the J.D.’s signature daydreams.

Sean Hayes

Best known for his roles as Jack McFarland on Will & Grace, Sean Hayes has made a ton of other appearances over the years. This includes Scrubs, where he played Nick Murdoch, an intern whose time at Sacred Heart was shortlived because he couldn’t handle the stress and emotional toll of watching a young patient’s slow demise under his care.

Ricky Schroder

Ricky Schroder’s career got off to a hot start as a child actor, including multiple appearances and a leading role on Silver Spoons, one of the most beloved sitcoms of the ‘80s. That career would continue well into adulthood for the former teenage star, including a four-episode turn on Scrubs. During the show’s second season, Schroder played Paul Flower, a male nurse Elliott Reid (Sarah Chalke) was embarrassed to admit she was dating.

Kelli Williams

If you look at the list of the best TV shows of all time, you’ll find multiple featuring the work of Kelli Williams. In addition to Law & Order, Quantum Leap, The Practice, and Ally McBeal, there’s also Scrubs. During her two episodes back in 2001, Williams played Kristen Murphy, a surgical student at Sacred Heart Hospital.

Cheryl Hines

In the middle of her run as Larry David’s wife on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Cheryl Hines made a brief appearance on Scrubs. During a single episode in the show’s fifth season, Hines played Paige Cox, Dr. Perry Cox’s very religious sister who shows up at Sacred Heart Hospital and forces the temperamental doctor to think about memories he long locked away in the deepest and most secure vaults of his mind.

Dave Foley

Dave Foley, best known for his time on The Kids in the Hall and movies like A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2, had a pair of appearances on Scrubs during the middle of the show’s nine-season run. Foley took on the role of Dr. Lester Hedrick, a Sacred Heart grief counselor who was like a softer, kinder, and more easy-going mentor for J.D. when compared to the easily angered and annoyed Dr. Cox.

Julianna Margulies

E.R. wasn’t the only NBC-based show set in a hospital to feature the work of Julianna Margulies, as she also popped up on Scrubs for a couple of episodes during the show’s fourth season. But instead of playing a doctor this time, Margulies took on the role of Jenna Broderick, a candidate for the scariest lawyer award. The malpractice attorney had a habit of showing up and causing trouble, especially with J.D. Not much is known about the character’s whereabouts about J.D. put an end to things.

Keri Russell

Keri Russell, best known for her work on shows like Felicity and The Americans, had a short run on Scrubs, appearing in two episodes. In the show’s sixth season, Russell took on the role of Melody O’Harra, Elliott’s sorority sister who shows up and brings her easy-go-lucky personality and philosophy on life to the core group of the cast, but mostly J.D.

Heather Locklear

Heather Locklear added Scrubs to her long list of TV credits when she appeared for a pair of episodes during the show’s second season. During her time on the show, Locklear played Julie Keaton, a pharmaceutical rep who showed up at Sacred Heart Hospital to sell her company’s latest and greatest product. But she got more than she could chew when she started a relationship with Dr. Perry Cox, which provided a short-lived reprieve for everyone who had grown tired of his anger and outbursts while making rounds.

Christopher Meloni

Christopher Meloni played one of the most sadistic prisoners in the Oz cast as well as a dedicated and complicated detective on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, but did you know he played a pediatrician on Scrubs? Well, that was the case for an episode during the show’s third season in which he played Dr. David Norris, Dr. Cox and Jordan Sullivan’s (Christa Miller) son’s pediatrician. Though a far stretch from his turn as Chris Keller on the landmark HBO series, Dr. Norris was still a wild card, to say the very least.

Amy Smart

Amy Smart showed up in movies like Varsity Blues, Road Trip, and The Butterfly Effect throughout the late ‘90s and early 2000s, but she also had quite a few TV appearances during that stretch of time. This included a spot on Scrubs as Jamie Moyer, aka “Tasty Coma Wife,” the wife of a car crash victim. This led to one of J.D.’s most ridiculous relationships on the series, which is saying something.

Nicole Sullivan

Mad TV star Nicole Sullivan appeared in a handful of episodes of Scrubs. Sullivan played Jill Tracy, a recurring troubled patient at Sacred Heart who made an impact on everyone she encountered, for better or worse. Her death, which ultimately led to one of the show’s most heartbreaking sequences (it features The Fray’s “How To Save a Life”), is one that had a massive impact on the medical staff for years to come.

Even the greatest actors have ups and downs in their careers. For some, it's more dramatic than others. John Travolta was virtually forgotten about before Quentin Tarantino cast him in Pulp Fiction, for example. Then there was "The McConaissance," when Matthew McConaughey roared back to prominence. Those two are hardly alone in finding roles that brought them back. Here is our list of 32 roles that saved actors' careers. 

Pulp Fiction - John Travolta

This was a big one. In the late '70s, there wasn't a bigger star than John Travolta. On the strength of a hit TV show (Welcome Back, Kotter), and two huge hits at the box office with Saturday Night Fever and Grease, Travolta was on top of the world. Then, almost all of a sudden, poof, he was gone. In the 16 years between Grease in 1978 and 1994, he appeared in only 11 movies, and three of those were Look Who's Talking movies and most of them bombed. Then Tarantino came along and cast him as Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction and once again, Travolta was on top of the business and he's never looked back. 

Dallas Buyers Club - Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey exploded onto the scene in the early '90s in Dazed And Confused, where he delivered some of the most iconic quotes. In the mid-90s he started playing more dramatic roles in movies like A Time To Kill, Contact, and Amistad. By the early 2000s, he established himself as a popular lead in rom-coms. Then, after a few of his movies struggled to make an impact in the late 2000s, his star faded a little. That all changed in 2013 when he starred in, and won a Best Actor Oscar, for Dallas Buyers Club and The McConaissance was born. 

Stranger Things - Winona Ryder

With movies like Beetlejuice, Heathers,  The Age of Innocence, and Little Women, Winona Ryder was a superstar in the late '80s and early '90s. But in the early '00s, after some bad press for her shoplifting conviction, Ryder's star had fallen quite a bit and she even took a short break from acting. Though she never fell off the map completely, it wasn't until she starred in Stranger Things starting in 2016, that Ryder returned to the top. 

Judy - Renée Zellweger

Between Jerry McGuire in 1996 and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in 2005, Renée Zellweger was one of the most popular and successful actors in Hollywood. With a slew of hits and awards,  Zellweger could do no wrong. Then, after a few less-than-successful movies, the industry showed how fickle it could be and she fell off the A-list. That all changed in 2019 with Judy, followed up with the TV series The Thing About Pam.

The Whale - Brendan Fraser

the 1990s were Brendan Fraser's decade. He had some massive hits, most notably The Mummy in 1999, but soon after, it's like everything dried up. He worked still, but barely and it left the world asking what had become of the heartthrob. He answered every one with his amazing performance in The Whale, winning the Best Actor Oscar and roaring back to the top. 

Birdman - Michael Keaton

In the 1980s, Michael Keaton delivered some of the funniest lines in some of the funniest movies. In the mid-90s and early 00s, his career slowed a bit. He was still working but wasn't the big star he'd been when he got the role in Tim Burton's Batman. That is, of course, until he starred as an actor much like himself in Birdman and brought the great actor back to the top of the A-list. 

House Of Cards - Robin Wright

When she burst onto the scene in The Princess Bride, the sky was the limit for Robin Wright. She reached new heights with her role as Jenny in Forrest Gump but found herself a tabloid regular with her marriage to Sean Penn. Ultimately, she found perhaps her greatest fame when she landed the role of Claire Underwood in Netflix's House Of Cards. 

Everything Everywhere All at Once - Ke Huy Quan

Has there ever been a feel-good story in Hollywood like Ke Huy Quan's return to fame after winning an Oscar for his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once? After decades of virtually not working in the industry, having found fame as a kid, Quan was once again the toast of the town. 

Halloween (2018) - Jamie Lee Curtis

She's been called the original slasher film "final girl" for her role in the original Halloween, and Jamie Lee Curtis rode that fame to the top of Hollywood. You might not remember, but in 2006 she actually announced her retirement from acting. Though she didn't give it up completely, she was very selective about roles, mostly playing supporting characters. That changed with 2018 Halloween when she roared back into the business head first. 

Sin City - Mickey Rourke

People forget just how huge Mickey Rourke was in the 80s. Men wanted to be him and women wanted to be with him, as they say. Then, he decided he'd put acting on the back burner and become a boxer. After a somewhat successful run, he returned to acting, and with Sin City and The Wrestler, Rouke was back on top in Hollywood

Scream - Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore became a huge star as a kid in the 1980s with movies like E.T. and Firestarter. In her teens, some personal problems derailed things a little, but when she starred in Scream, it brought her completely back and she's never looked back. 

Wild - Reese Witherspoon

When Reese Witherspoon won the Academy Award for her performance in 2005's Walk The Line, she was on top of the world. Just a few years later though, after a string of poorly performing romance movies Witherspoon dubbed her "love triangle period," her career hit a valley. Then came Wild which marked not only her resurgence as an actor but her transition to big-time producer as well. 

Iron Man - Robert Downey, Jr

There probably isn't a more famous comeback story than Robert Downey, Jr. After years of personal problems and addiction, his career looked like it was going to be completely wasted. Then Downey sobered up and landed the role of a lifetime as Tony Stark/Iron Man and the rest is history. 

Arrested Development - Jason Bateman

Jason Bateman has had quite a few ups and downs in his career. In the '80s, he was a teen star on the verge of big things, but then his career hit a serious lull. It really wasn't until the cult success of Arrested Development that Bateman once again commanded must-see TV. 

Ryan Reynolds - Deadpool

With big roles in 90s TV shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Two Guys And A Girl, Ryan Reynolds was poised for huge success. At first, that's what he found, but it started to fizzle out with a string of forgettable movies in the late '00s and early teens, including the disaster that was The Green Lantern. Then came another superhero movie in 2015 called Deadpool and now he will be doing that until he's 90. 

Yellowjackets - Christina Ricci

By no fault of her own, Christina Ricci's career hit a string of bad luck with projects that she shined in, but for one reason or another didn't capture the attention of audiences. That changed, obviously, with Yellowjackets starting in 2021. 

The Godfather - Marlon Brando

People forget that when Francis Ford Coppola cast Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, Brando was on the outs in Hollywood. It's well-known lore at this point that Coppola had to fight to get the legend in the movie, but we're all grateful he did. 

24 - Kiefer Sutherland

With roles in Stand By Me, The Lost Boys,  and the two Young Guns movies, the late '80s and early '90s were big for Kiefer Sutherland. The mid and late '90s saw a bit of a lull with some box office disappointments. In 2001, Sutherland took on the role of Jack Bauer in 24, which quickly became one of the most popular shows on TV and Sutherland rode it to a new level of fame. 

 Orange Is The New Black - Natasha Lyonne

Legal and personal problems almost completely derailed Natasha Lyonne's promising career in the '00s. Thankfully, she got the help she needed and cleaned up, she scored a role on the Netflix hit Orange Is The New Black and she's continued to crush in a number of roles since. 

This Is Us - Mandy Moore

Around the turn of the century, Mandy Moore was unstoppable, starring in hit movies and charting on the Top 40. It was in 2016, however, when she was cast as the matriarch in This Is Us that her fame shot to an entirely new level. 

The Town - Ben Affleck

After a big decade in the '90s, Ben Affleck's fame in the '00s was more about the tabloids than it was about his filmography. It took a few years, but eventually, he proved to everyone how great a filmmaker he was with The Town in 2010, and ever since, he's been crushing it. 

Monster-in-Law - Jane Fonda

There weren't many bigger stars in Hollywood than Jane Fonda in the '70s and '80s. Then, in 1991, she announced she was retiring from acting, coinciding with her marriage to Ted Turner. She returned, to everyone's delight, in 2005's Monster-In-Law alongside Jennifer Lopez and has scoring hits ever since. 

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle - Neil Patrick Harris

Like his character on Doogie Howser, MD, Neil Patrick Harris was a prodigy. However after the hit show ended, he struggled to move into more adult roles. Surprisingly, it was playing a fictionalized version of himself in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle that landed him back on audiences' radar screens, and then he landed his most famous gig on How I Met Your Mother

Bohemian Rhapsody - Mike Myers

Mike Myers was everywhere in the 1990s. From SNL to Wayne's World (one of the best movies based on an SNL character) to Shrek to Austin Powers, he was on top of the world. In 2010, after a string of box office misses, he retreated from the scene, only to emerge with a glorious role in 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody. 

John Wick - Keanu Reeves

After proving to be box office gold for a couple of decades, Keanu Reeves had a string of misses in the late '00s, but when he teamed up with director Chad Stahelski for John Wick in 2014, he helped launch a whole new franchise that continues to pump out hits. 

Unfaithful - Diane Lane

Diane Lane has always been selective about her roles, going back to her early days in Hollywood in the '80s. This has led to multiple career "revivals" but the most notable has to be her turn in the hit Unfaithful in 2002 which earned her a Best Actress nomination at the Oscars in 2003. 

Airplane! - Leslie Nielsen

For a generation of audiences, Leslie Nielson will forever be known for his roles in some of the best parody movies like Airplane! and The Naked Gun. But before Nielson was delivering hilarious lines in those movies, he was known for his dramatic acting., though his career had slowed before he reinvented himself in the first Airplane!  

Striptease - Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds was one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the '70s, but a few poorly received movies in the '80s knocked him off that lofty perch. While many might point to his role in Boogie Nights in 1997 as reviving his career, it was really his hilarious performance in Striptease from a year earlier that put him back on the map.

No Country For Old Men - Josh Brolin

After finding success as a young star in the 1980s in movies like The Goonies, Josh Brolin hit a career drought that lasted more than a decade and left him wondering if he'd ever regain his earlier success. He did so and more after his amazing turn in No Country For Old Men in 2007 and has been one of Hollywood's best ever since. 

Trading Places - Don Ameche

With an amazing career that had started in the 1930s, Don Ameche's bookings dried up in the 1970s. Luckily for all of his, he landed a role as one of the Duke Brothers in Trading Places and he once again was a huge star, this time with a whole new, younger, generation of fans. 

Sea of Love - Al Pacino

It is easy to forget that even the greatest sometimes find themselves in slumps. Such was the case with Al Pacino in the mid 1980s. After all the incredible success of the '70s, he learned how fickle Hollywood can be and it wasn't until 1989's Sea Of Love that Pacino regained his rightful spot among the elite. 

Rocky Balboa - Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone is responsible for some of the biggest franchises in Hollywood history, but even the great ones stumble. Stallone had a pretty rough run of bad movies in the late '90s and early '00s, but when he returned to his roots in 2006's Rocky Balboa, he once again found his footing and not only starring in Rambo, reviving his other monster franchise, but he launched a new one with The Expendables.

Over the course of its six-season run on NBC, This Is Us featured an extensive cast, as the story spanned multiple generations and introduced a plethora of characters who were close to the Pearson family in one decade or another. Alyson Hannigan was not amongst its guest stars, but it turns out her house played a really big role, despite her initial apprehension to allow the tear-jerking drama to use it as a filming location.

The How I Met Your Mother star once opened up about how her home became the cabin that Kevin Pearson (Justin Hartley) designed and built for his mother — the home where Rebecca (Mandy Moore) ultimately died. In 2021, Alyson Hannigan told Sirius XM’s The Michelle Collins Show (via ET) that before they’d moved in, the house was regularly used for film shoots. Despite turning down studios who requested “at least twice a month” to film there, the actress and her husband reconsidered after learning This Is Us’ director was a neighbor of theirs. Hannigan said:

I have to agree, the drama that aired from 2016 to 2022 was pretty great, that that cabin became almost a character in itself for what it meant to Kevin and for the fact that it’s where all of the Pearsons gathered in Rebecca’s final days.

However, one can understand why the American Pie actress wouldn’t be too enthusiastic about inviting a film crew into the home she shared with husband Alexis Denisof and their children Keeva and Satyana. Alyson Hannigan even said they “know what productions do to locations,” and what a picturesque location it was! If you don’t remember what the Pearson cabin looked like, refresh your memory with this spread on Instagram:

It seems like it all turned out for the best in the end. Alyson Hannigan told the podcast that in addition to fixing any damage sustained during filming, the production went above and beyond in returning the home to mint condition. She said:

With that cabin being the setting where so many Pearson mysteries were introduced and then finally solved in This Is Us’ 2034 timeline, I don’t think I could ever think of anyone living there other than Rebecca and Miguel (Jon Huertas). It was a really emotional time, guys, don’t you remember all of those wild plot twists?

If you want to relive the Pearson saga, all six seasons are available to stream with either a Netflix subscription or Hulu subscription. Also be sure to check out our 2024 TV schedule to see what premieres are headed our way.

Earlier this year, Mandy Moore dropped some big news for her fans, as she revealed that she and her husband, Taylor Goldsmith, were expecting their third child together. The 40-year-old actress confirmed the news by sharing a sweet message featuring a This is Us reference. Well, it would now seem that the family’s newest addition has finally arrived, as Moore returned to social media to confirm her daughter’s birth. And, of course, while announcing the new baby’s birth, she dropped that same nod to TiU, which is sure to make fans obsessed.

The former Rebecca Pearson actor took to Instagram to share the big news. She and Taylor Goldsmith – who already share August "Gus" Harrison (3) and Oscar "Ozzie" Bennett (1) – are now the proud parents of Louise Everett Goldsmith. The actress’ post included a sweet pic, which showed her in the delivery room, smiling while her hubby gazed down at her and their new child. As sweet as that was, it was the message that may truly get fans of the aforementioned NBC drama in their feelings:

Her “big three” comment is so perfectly timed that it hurts! For those who aren’t aware, that term was commonly used to refer to the three Pearson siblings on This is Us. The triumvirate was made up of Randall (Sterling K. Brown), Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Kevin (Justin Hartley). All three characters experienced their share of ups and downs throughout the series, before having some truly meaningful moments in the finale.

Surely, fans wouldn’t wish their tribulations on Mandy Moore’s kids. However, I’d wager that so many are now delighted that after playing a mother of three for years, she really is one now!

What’s more is that the Tangled star also received a wave of support from her co-stars and more following her big announcement. Chrissy Metz (who’s admitted to missing This is Us since it ended in 2022) jumped into the comments section with a sweet message. Fellow TiU alums Susan Kelechi Watson and Caitlin Thompson also showed love. You can check out their responses along with those of other celebrities down below:

• Awww, Lou! Congratulationssssss!!! 🎉❤️🎉❤️🎉❤️🎉❤️🎉❤️🎉 - Chrissy Metz
• In. Love. 💖💕💝💓💕 - Susan Kelechi Watson
• Congrats guys!! So happy for you and your big three! ❤️❤️❤️ - Caitlin Thompson
• Congrats beautiful! I love the name!! - Ashley Tisdale
• Congratulations mama!!! 💞💞💞 - Sophia Bush
• Congrats, Mandy! - Yvette Nicole Brown

The birth of her third child really does signify a full-circle moment for the Princess Diaries alum, and it’s hard not to smile when thinking about it. Her own references to a “big three” seem to indicate just how close her highly popular family drama still is to her heart.

Mandy Moore, who was emotional after reading the show’s finale script years ago, has long expressed her love for the series and even co-hosts a rewatch podcast with Sterling K. Brown and fellow cast member Chris Sullivan. Moore has cultivated quite a fanbase through the six-season series, and it’s wonderful that she still receives love during a major life event like this one. Here’s wishing Moore and her family the best as she and her husband move forward with their adorable big three!

For those of you who are suddenly feeling nostalgic for This is Us, know that you can stream it in its entirety with a Netflix subscription. Also, make sure you check out the 2024 TV schedule for information on more recent small-screen offerings.

Disney’s live-action remakes of its animated classics have become a franchise all their own. There have been good and bad movies among all the Disney live-action remakes, but there’s no slowing down the train. Among the upcoming Disney movies in the next few months, we’ll be getting both Mufasa: The Lion King, a prequel to the “live-action” Lion King movie, and the long-awaited Snow White movie starring Rachel Zegler. We also know there’s a live-action Moana on the way and Hercules is in development. Several other remakes are reportedly also in development, but none are as anticipated as Tangled.

The rumor that a Tangled remake is one of those on the drawing board at Disney has been around for years. While Disney has never confirmed the film is in development and did not do so during the recent D23 Entertainment Showcase, that hasn’t stopped fans from casting the alleged film. While too much time has passed to make original Tangled cast leads Zachary Levi and Mandy More reprise their roles in live-action, the way The Rock is doing in Moana, there’s a solution for that that is making the rounds online: make them parents.

This is actually a pretty great idea. We’re used to seeing cameos from original stars in remakes. It’s a nice way to tip the hat and include them in the new version. In most Disney remakes, that’s not an option because we’re talking about movies that are decades old. But Tangled, like Moana, is a fairly recent film, and so that option exists. It would be a shame to let it go by without taking advantage of it.

Levi and Moore are sort of the “parents” of Tangled. They could be cast as the king and queen, Rapunzel’s parents. It would essentially be a cameo, since in the original animated film, the characters only appear at the beginning and end of the movie and don’t even have any dialogue. A live-action remake would almost certainly expand those parts, but they still wouldn't be major characters.

There is one other “parent” in the movie that could also work: has anybody suggested casting Mandy Moore as Mother Gothel? It would give her a bigger role, let her sing at least one song, and would completely turn the casting upside down, but it could be a lot of fun. It would leave us with a need to find a role for Zachary Levi, but I'm sure we can come up with something. He can run the Snuggly Duckling.

Many different names have been suggested as allegedly in consideration to play the leads in a Tangled remake. Even Zachary Levi has his thoughts on who should play Flynn. It does seem like only a matter of time before such a movie becomes a reality and Disney will have to cast somebody in these parts.

It was a heart-wrenching moment on This Is Us when Randall’s biological father William passed away from stomach cancer toward the end of Season 1. It was just as heartbreaking to fans in real life when the actor who played him, Ron Cephas Jones, passed away at the age of 66 in August 2023. Now, Mandy Moore and Sterling K. Brown are reflecting on the memories they have of their beloved co-star struggling with his health while on set.

On an episode of the podcast That Was Us, the stars spoke about Season 1’s episode “Pilgrim Rick.” This was when Jack and Rebecca had a marriage goal moment after a car accident made the married pair and their kids stuck in a motel missing Thanksgiving dinner. They came up with their own traditions of watching Police Academy 3, roasting hotdogs on the furnace and wearing the famous Pilgrim Hat.

Mandy Moore remembered when her co-star, Ron Cephas Jones, filmed a hiking scene and what a “physically taxing exercise” it was for the Tony Award nominee:

Ron Cephas Jones struggled with health scares and was diagnosed with emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In 2020, he received a double lung transplant, spending two months at the hospital being on and off a ventilator. That year, the actor eventually recovered and he went on to make Emmys history with his daughter Jasmine by being the first father/daughter duo to win awards at the same show.

Despite his character’s death, Ron was able to cameo in the series finale with William escorting Rebecca, who was dying from Alzheimer’s, on the train towards death. Then, a few years after the show ended, the Emmy winner passed away on August 19, 2023, from “a long-standing pulmonary issue.”

In “Pilgrim Rick,” William, who was battling stomach cancer, was asked what it felt like to be dying, which he described as “beautiful pieces of life are flying all around me” and the importance of “catching the moments.” After Mandy Moore read William’s monologue, Sterling K. Brown was in tears remembering his on-screen biological father on the podcast, saying:

It’s truly tragic that as Ron Cephas Jones was going through health issues of his own around this time. However, he was able to draw from his personal experiences and bring them to William, making his character all the more authentic.

When the cast of This Is Us was tributing Cephas Jones after his death, Brown posted on Instagram a still photo of the two from the episode “Memphis.” He touched on how “the world is a little less bright” without him there, but he will be “loved” and “missed.” Mandy Moore’s post also sent kind words to the beloved actor remarking that “he was such an intrinsic part of the fabric of the show.”

Mandy Moore and Sterling K. Brown recalled that their co-star Cephas Jones was “struggling” during moments on the set of This Is Us due to his real-life health issues. However, the celebrated actor continued to be an iconic presence on the show with his recurring appearances, earning himself two Emmys and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

You can watch Cephas Jones, Moore, Brown and the rest of the cast of This Is Us with a Netflix subscription or Hulu subscription.

Mandy Moore is about to have her own Big Three, and I’m already crying. The actress, who played the beloved Rebecca Pearson for six seasons on the NBC hit This Is Us, announced her third pregnancy. Of course, she did it in a heartwarming way too by referencing the series we all know and love that’s all about family. 

Back in 2020, Moore was pregnant with her first child while she was filming the beloved drama, and Gus was born in 2021. Her second kiddo, Ozzie, was born in 2022, and now the actress and her husband Taylor Goldsmith are expecting their third. So, there really was only one way to announce this news, and it was by calling her trio of children The Big Three:

Isn’t that just the sweetest thing ever? While she and Goldsmith’s kids aren’t triplets like Kevin, Kate and Randall, they are a trio and they’re this family’s Big Three. Hopefully, we get a video in the years to come of all three doing the Big Three chant that goes:

If that happened, then I’d really need the tissues, cause the tears would likely be falling hard.

At the moment, Moore’s oldest son is 3 and her now-middle child is 1, which will make baby No. 3 just a smidge younger than both her siblings. I imagine they’ll have very similar adventures and relationships like This Is Us’ Big Three, and I’m also certain that like Rebecca and Jack, the actress and her husband are incredible parents. 

While This Is Us ended two years ago, the cast is still close – Moore, Sterling K. Brown and Chris Sullivan actually just started a re-watch podcast called That Was Us – and they support each other big time. So, it tracks that Moore wanted to reference the drama and the family created on that show while revealing this exciting personal news.

Speaking of Mandy Moore’s This Is Us family, her on-screen daughter, Chrissy Metz, shared a sweet comment to congratulate her This Is Us co-star, writing:

Overall, everything about this announcement, from the This Is Us reference to the sweet photo to the comment from Metz, is perfect!

As we learn more about Mandy Moore and her little one that’s on the way, we’ll be sure to keep you posted. To go back and cry to the show that she called out in her pregnancy post, you can stream This Is Us with a Netflix subscription or Hulu subscription. 

Mandy Moore is one of the best 2000s movies queens (if not the best, and yes, I am aging myself). She recently shared a major The Princess Diaries throwback reminding us of that fun gig, not to mention starred in Chasing Liberty and many other great rom-coms in the Y2K era. Now, some of her other early roles have resurfaced, and while they all prove she’s left no stone unturned, there’s one that is especially nostalgic: Her role as Julie Quinn on the brilliantly funny Scrubs. She acted alongside then-boyfriend, Zach Braff, who also starred in what is still considered one of the best tv comedy shows to this day. And what she had to say about working with him is sweet, humble, and just very on-brand for her.

Mandy Moore's medical TV show resume is impressive, having also played in Grey’s Anatomy. On Scrubs, she guest-starred in Season 5 for two episodes ("My Half-Acre" and "Her Story II") as the klutzy love interest to Zach Braff's J.D.  Unfortunately, their relationship didn't on screen last long because J.D. wanted something long-term while Julie didn't.

Even though her time was short on the sitcom, she mentioned in an interview with The A.V. Club that her role in Scrubs holds a special place because it was her first TV show appearance where she got to play a different character, and also work with Zach Braff – but don’t think there was any awkwardness or bad vibes on set. She was all gush as she talked about her time on the show:

Mandy Moore was on Scrubs near the end of her relationship with Braff, whom she dated from 2004 to 2006. Still, she went on to talk about how while she had a great time on the Scrubs set, she has since discovered more about the roles she really wants to pursue versus those that she doesn’t when it comes to sitcoms.

Comedy apparently isn't her strong suit, and she would prefer doing a traditional single-cam sitcom instead of a multi-cam. (Which she said doesn’t really exist anymore for those who want to get really technical). 

Of course, I don’t have to going in-depth to explain the big moves Mandy Moore has made since she starred opposite her then-boyfriend. There's This Is Us and Dr. Death, and even voicing Rapunzel in Disney’s Tangled cast, she’s done it all. Even if she doesn’t ever play a role like Julie Quinn again, just taking the trip down memory lane and learning how much she enjoyed and valued her experience is worth a rewatch of her episodes – and maybe a few more of the best Scrubs episodes after or a total re-binge of the series, who knows?

There are plenty of stories about TV casts that didn’t gel behind the scenes once the cameras stopped rolling. Grey’s Anatomy, for example, made headlines for disagreements between its actors in the early years, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air famously recast Aunt Viv amid Will Smith’s (now-resolved) feud with Janet Hubert. As many other examples as there are, This Is Us is definitely not one of those shows. In fact, nearly two years after the Pearson saga came to an end, Justin Hartley said the cast still texts each other.

Justin Hartley and the rest of the cast of NBC’s heart-wrenching drama may have moved on to new projects, but the This Is Us actors certainly haven’t forgotten about the people who played their family members for six years. The Kevin Pearson portrayer relayed a great story about the still-active group chat when People asked who from the show he still kept in touch with. Hartley responded: 

Mandy Moore may be younger than Justin Hartley and Sterling K. Brown — who, along with Chrissy Metz, played the children of Moore’s character Rebecca — but somehow it’s not hard to picture her sending them maternal wisdom via text or making fun of them with some “ridiculous” video. 

Justin Hartley is now starring in Tracker on CBS, which critics called a hit for the Eye Network, but it’s obvious in the way he talks about his previous show that it had a huge impact on his life and career. In fact, the actor said he credits This Is Us for Tracker getting that sweet post-Super Bowl premiere slot. He’s also going to reunite with his TV stepfather Jon Huertas, who is reportedly directing an upcoming episode of Tracker, and Hartley said he’s looking forward to “spending a ton of time together.”

Even before This Is Us ended, it was obvious how much the cast members meant to each other. What other actors go viral for doing the Wobble during downtime on set? Sterling K. Brown also made an emotional plea for Mandy Moore to win an Emmy Award for her tough storyline in the final season, as Rebecca’s health deteriorated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Since the series finale, Chrissy Metz has said she “desperately” misses the show, reflecting on how life-changing it was for her and for its fans as well. The cast members have continued to celebrate each other’s personal and professional achievements, including Sterling K. Brown’s Academy Award nomination for his role in American Fiction. Justin Hartley always knew his Big Three brother was worthy of such recognition, though, as he told the magazine: 

We may not be getting any new stories from the timeline-jumping Pearson drama, but it still feels good to know the love is still there between the actors. You can relive all six seasons of This Is Us on streaming with a Netflix subscription or a Hulu subscription. 

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly two years since we bid farewell to the Pearson family on This Is Us. The NBC drama really sank its teeth into its fans with the talented ensemble cast, huge plot twists and sob-inducing storylines; however, there was one other thing that made the series unique — its timeline jumping. Over the course of six seasons we met several generations of Pearsons, with Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Sterling K. Brown and others spending hours in hair and makeup as their characters aged. It almost wasn’t that way, though, Mandy Moore said, and she had a really excellent choice for who could have nailed the role of Rebecca.

Mandy Moore likely spent the most time of anyone in the old-age makeup, as she played Rebecca Pearson, mother of the Big Three — Kevin, Kate and Randall — despite being younger than the three actors portraying them. Rebecca also survived into her 80s, which required a drastic transformation for the actress in her 30s. Moore talked to Jesse Tyler Ferguson on his Dinner’s on Me podcast about how surprised she was that they wanted Rebecca at all ages to be played by her. She recalled: 

It’s understandable why everyone might have been apprehensive about Mandy Moore portraying the character at so many different ages. Old-age makeup can look comical if not done well — she has said some of alternative looks were “terrifying” — and that would have been absolutely detrimental to This Is Us’ story. 

However, with so many characters to follow and viewers not always 100% sure how far into the future they were, adding in a new actress as Rebecca might have just added to the confusion. Unless, that is, they got the person Mandy Moore envisioned in the role. She continued:

First things first, they absolutely did nail it. Rebecca looked great at every age — to the point that co-star Griffin Dunne would forget she wasn’t really 70 — and Mandy Moore’s ability to capture the character in all of the different stages of her life was pure magic. However, if they would have ended up casting an older Rebecca, could there be a better choice than Sally Field?

Not only is there a pretty strong physical resemblance between the two, but I bet Sally Field would have been able to handle Rebecca’s heartbreaking story with such expertise, as the character succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease. I’m still happy that we got to see Mandy Moore handle it by herself, though. If you want to relive the Pearson saga, all six seasons are available to stream with a Netflix subscription or Hulu subscription. 

The 2024 Oscar nominations were announced this week and, while there were some notable snubs, there were also some extremely exciting developments. One is the fact that Sterling K. Brown received his first Academy Awards nod for his work in American Fiction. The star is more than deserving of the honor, which has honestly been a long time coming for him. Unsurprisingly, fans are incredibly excited and happy for him, and his former collaborators from This is Us are as well. A few of them sent some love but, amid that, we've learned that one of his kids hasn’t been all that impressed by certain aspects of his awards season run.

Like so many of his fellow nominees, the 47-year-old actor shared a reaction to his Oscar nomination. He shared a video to his Instagram, in which he recounted just how he discovered the news. That morning, as he was preparing to take his children to school, he realized that he had around 126 messages on his cell. The slew of texts are what ultimately alerted him to the fact that he was among the Academy’s honorees for Best Supporting Actor. From there, the A-lister discussed a funny anecdote involving his son and explained how it connects to his most recent accomplishment:

The people closest to us can definitely be our sharpest critics, in the funniest ways. A part of me kind of loves the fact that Sterling K. Brown – a three-time Primetime Emmy winner – still gets his chops busted by his son. (Maybe if Brown lands that Green Lantern role, his son will be impressed.) Based on the video the actor shared though, he finds the feedback delightful. You can check out his post, which also includes sentiments of gratitude over his momentous achievement:

A slew of celebrities reached out to the Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. star and, while all of the messages are sweet, the ones from the This is Us cast and crew are particularly sweet. Mandy Moore, Susan Kelechi Watson and Chrissy Metz reacted in the comments of the post, while series creator Dan Fogelman responded on X. Check out their sentiments below: 

• No one more deserving SKB. - Mandy Moore
• Yes SKKKK!!! I'm one of those 120 [messages] lol - Susan Kelechi Watson
• C’mon!!!!!🎉❤️🙏🎉❤️🙏 - Chrissy Metz
• Proof that I knew him when, and that I could always make him pretend laugh.  Congrats @SterlingKBrown on your OSCAR NOMINATION!  Wow! - Dan Fogelman

The TiU cast and crew have always seemed close, and those bonds don’t seem to have waned since the acclaimed family drama series finished its six-season run on NBC in 2022. They seem to have no problem sharing in joy, as is the case with this moment and sharing in sorrow as was the case when they paid tribute to Ron Cephas Jones after his passing months ago. All in all, it’s just lovely to see them show support to one of their own during this major moment.

Sterling K. Brown has received much praise for his performance as Cliff Ellison in American Fiction. In addition to the Oscar and SAG nominations, he also received a Critics’ Choice Awards nod for Best Supporting Actor. The star continues to solidify himself as a bonafide force in the realm of cinema, though his TV days aren’t behind him. Brown is reuniting with Dan Fogelman for a new thriller on Hulu, and the actor seems excited to be working on a show that’ll see him play a character far different from Randall Pearson. I’d like to think that Brown and Fogelman’s former colleagues will lend support amid that endeavor as well. Though he’ll have to wait and see whether the Brown’s son gives his seal of approval or playfully throws a bit of a shade.

As American Fiction continues to play in theaters, all six seasons of This is Us are streaming with a Netflix subscription. Those who are Hulu subscribers will also want to keep their eyes locked on the 2024 TV schedule so they’ll be aware of when Sterling K. Brown’s new show premieres.

Fame is a tricky thing, and sometimes the biggest stars in the world can lose it all. Personal problems, changing times, and other factors can lead to a once-promising career disappearing almost over night. These stars, however, reversed their trajectories and came out on top after enduring rough times, in this list of actors who made remarkable career comebacks. 

Robert Downey, Jr.

Robert Downey, Jr was one of the most promising young actors in Hollywood in the 1980s, starring in films like Less Than Zero, Chaplin, and Natural Born Killers. In the mid-90s his life went infamously went off the rails with substance abuse problems. When it looked like he'd thrown it all away, he cleaned up and his fame exploded as he became one of the highest-paid actors in the MCU.

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda has had a few ups and downs in her career. After breaking out as a star in the '60s, she was later shunned by many for her notorious trip to North Vietnam during the war. She rebounded and starred in hits like 9 to 5 and On Golden Pond. In 1991, Fonda married Ted Turner and completely stepped back from acting. She didn't appear in anything at all until after their divorce in 2001, but roared back to prominence in the 21st Century. 

Rob Lowe

As a member of the "Brat Pack" in the 1980s, Rob Lowe was on top of the world. That all came crashing down when a videotape of Lowe in a compromising situation was leaked. His hard partying had caught up to him, and though he got sober in 1992, he would spend much of the decade playing smaller roles or in direct-to-video movies. In 1999 he landed the role of Sam Seaborn in The West Wing and was once again on top, where he's stayed ever since. 

John Travolta

In the late '70s, there was no bigger star than John Travolta. From Welcome Back, Kotter to Grease and Saturday Night Fever, Travolta was in some of the biggest pop culture touchstones of all time. Then the '80s came and his career hit a serious lull. While he was in the hit Look Who's Talking and its sequels, it was 1994's Pulp Fiction that vaulted Travolta back to the top. 

Natasha Lyonne

In the late '90s, Natasha Lyonne was one of a group of budding stars in American Pie and other movies like Slums Of Beverly Hills before health and addiction problems derailed her career. Thankfully for all of us she came out of those those stronger and has since starred in fantastic shows like Orange is the New Black and Russian Doll. 

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser winning the Oscar for 2022 The Whale capped off one of the greatest comeback stories in Hollywood history. His work had all but completely dried up in the late '00s and 2010s, but his career has had the most incredible resurgence in the 2020s. 

Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder defined "movie star" for late Gen Xers in the '90s, but after her infamous arrest for shoplifting in 2001, her career nosedived and she didn't appear in a movie for about three years after. For the next decade or so, she worked steadily but didn't regain her star power from early in her career. That changed when she starred in Stranger Things, starting in 2016, and she once again became a huge star. 

Dave Chappelle

In 2003 Dave Chappelle debuted Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central and it became a massive hit. Despite the network throwing tens of millions of dollars at the comedian to keep the show going, he turned it down and walked away. Chappelle stayed away for most of the next decade before reviving his standup career, and while Chappelle continues to garner controversy, it's safe to say he's as big as ever. 

Betty White

When Betty White died in 2021 she was mourned by millions. The beloved actress had been a television star since the 1940s, but not all of those years were in the spotlight. After early success in the '50s in Life with Elizabeth and other sitcoms, White's career hit a lull for more than a decade. She returned to the big time with her role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the '70s, The Golden Girls in the '80s, and then later with Hot in Cleveland in the 2010s.

Ke Huy Quan

There is no more heartwarming story than that of Ke Huy Quan's resurgence. the actor, who first found fame as a child in The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, completely disappeared from Hollywood. For twenty years, he appeared in not one TV show or movie, before returning in 2021 with a role in Finding ʻOhana, and then winning an Oscar for his performance in 2022's Everything Everywhere All At Once. 

Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton was a controversial choice when he was cast as Batman in Tim Burton's Batman in 1989, but it shows just how famous he was at that time. After Batman Returns, Keaton's star faded and he starred in a run of films to mixed reviews. In 2014 Keaton starred in the very meta Birdman, as a former superhero star looking to regain his fame. It worked, at least for Keaton. 

Katharine Hepburn

Anyone with a career as long as Katharine Hepburn's is bound to have some slow periods. The most amazing fact of the legendary actress' career was the 34-year span between Best Actress Oscars. She won in 1934 for Morning Glory and then again in 1968 and 1969 for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and The Lion in Winter, respectively. She would win her fourth 13 years later in 1982 for On Golden Pond. 

Mickey Rourke

In the 1980s Mickey Rourke starred in a string of hits. Eventually, though, his reputation as being difficult to work with overshadowed his performances and he was left in the Hollywood wilderness until triumphantly returning to his past glory in 2008 with The Wrestler.

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier was one of the biggest stars of the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Then came the '80s, when he stepped away from acting and concentrated on directing, to mixed reviews. In 1988 he turned back to acting and had a wonderful late career resurgence with films like Shoot To Kill and Sneakers. 

Jason Bateman

In the 1980s it looked like Jason Bateman was a surefire bet to be a huge star. Then the '90s came and his career pretty much dried up. He had some guest spots on TV shows, but little else. He was all but forgotten. In 2003, Fox debut a show you may have heard of, Arrested Development, with Bateman as the star, and he's been huge ever since. 

Keanu Reeves

It's hard to remember a time when Keanu Reeves wasn't one of the biggest stars in the world, but after his success in the '90s and early '00s with The Matrix and Speed and more, he starred in a slew of commercial and critical failures. Thankfully for Reeves fans everywhere, John Wick came along and Reeves was back on top of the mountain, where he still is. 

Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore almost became a Hollywood child star casualty after her string of hits as a kid in the 1980s. She had a rough childhood that led to substance abuse problems as a teenager. Against the odds, she got through it all and became an even bigger star on the other end. 

Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris first got famous as a child prodigy playing a prodigy on Doogie Howser, MD. After the sitcom ended in 1993, he struggled to regain that popularity. That is, until he played a fictionalized version of himself in Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle in 2004. Soon after he landed the role he's best known for, Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother. 

Matthew McConaughey

Most of Matthew McConaughey's early career was made up of starring roles in rom-coms. In 2009 the Lincoln Lawyer star took a two-year acting hiatus to re-evaluate his career. He emerged in 2011 by taking on more serious roles and leaving his rom-com leading man reputation behind. Since the so-called "McConaissance," McConaughey's become on of the most acclaimed actors of the 21st century. 

Nicolas Cage

By 2009 Cage was one of the biggest action stars in Hollywood, and one of the highest-paid actors in the business, but it seems he couldn't curb his spending and ended up in debt to the IRS and other creditors. As a result, Cage seemingly took every job offered to him, and he put out an immense catalog of straight-to-video movies that few people have ever watched. Finally, in 2022, Cage revealed he was finally debt-free and started being more selective with his roles. this led to acclaimed roles in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and 2023's Dream Scenario.

Mandy Moore

Mandy Moore's career started like a comet as a singer in the late '90s which she parlayed into an acting career. That career slowed way down in the early 2010s, only to be revived in a massive way with her starring role on the NBC hit This Is Us. 

Christian Slater

With starring roles in Heathers, Pump Up The Volume, and Gleaming The Cube, Christian Slater became a Gen X icon. He scored a number of high-profile roles in big-budget movies in the '90s, before work started drying up in the early 2000s. He returned to Hollywood prominence with his award-winning role in Mr. Robot and has maintained it ever since. 

Luke Perry

Luke Perry was one of the biggest television stars of the 1990s as part of the cast of Beverly Hills, 90210. After the show ended though, his star faded some. That is, until he was cast in the CW's Riverdale and he was discovered by a whole new generation of fans. Tragically, Perry died in 2019 at age 52. 

Christina Ricci

Childhood success for Christina Ricci didn't immediately translate to success as an adult. She's always worked steadily, but her fame never quite reached the heights of her early career in The Addams Family. That changed in 2021 with Showtime's Yellowjackets. 

Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh first found international fame with her roles in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies and Crouch Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She maintained a level of success, but she exploded to new heights with her Oscar-winning turn in 2022's Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. 

Neve Campbell

Neve Campbell was huge in the '90s with her starring role in the show Party Of Five and movies like The Craft and Wild Things. In the early 2000s, she starred in the Scream franchise, but hit a lull after that. Recently, she's been back on top with roles in The Lincoln Lawyer and Twisted Metal. 

Channing Tatum

Fans might not think that Channing Tatum has never had a career lull, but he has actually had a couple. He's always had to fight the idea that he's all looks and little substance (which is far from accurate), and that has affected his career at different points. He's always rebounded with strong performances like the one in Foxcatcher, however. 

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence's career hasn't really had a financial downturn, her lull was completely her choice. After a couple of poorly reviewed films and becoming the most famous victim of the iPhone hacking scandal, Lawrence stepped away from acting for two years in 2019. She triumphantly returned in the great movie Don't Look Up in 2021. 

Patrick Dempsey

Patrick Dempsey was first famous for starring in teen comedies like Loverboy and Can't Buy Me Love. He bounced around for a few years after that, working steadily but hardly a star. That changed in a big way when he landed the role of Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in 2005 on Grey's Anatomy. 

Marlon Brando

The 1960s weren't kind to Marlon Brando. After establishing himself as a bonafide star and one of the finest actors of the 20th century in the '50s, his mercurial nature earned him a reputation as difficult to work with. A string of box office failures didn't help. Famously, he pushed hard to get the role of Vito Corleone in The Godfather, and wow, was that the right move! He won an Academy Award and reminded everyone how great an actor he was. 

David Carradine

Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to help revive a star's career like he did with John Travolta. David Carradine was huge in the 1970s as the star of Kung Fu, and while he always found work, it took until Kill Bill in 2003 that he found that same level of fame again. 

Kiefer Sutherland

After becoming one of the biggest teen idols of the '80s, Kiefer Sutherland spent most of the '90s in smaller, supporting roles. In 2001, however, he landed the role of Jack Bauer in 24 and it became the part he's most known for, becoming a television icon over the run of the show. 

Fame, as they say, is fleeting, and these actors prove there can always be a second act in Hollywood. 

This Is Us still remains beloved amongst fans almost two years after the heartwrenching series' ending. The NBC drama received much praise from fans and critics, despite never winning the biggest Emmy. Between the relatable characters, emotional storylines, and groundbreaking storytelling set between multiple timelines, This Is Us captured hearts around the globe, but that success wasn't a sure thing early on, and star Mandy Moore was evidently pretty superstitious while filming the pilot episode.

Pilot season remains one of the most nerve-wracking times in the television industry, and Moore's 2016 had her recurring in the short-lived CBS drama Red Band Society, but without much luck before that when it came to landing shows getting picked up for series orders. In an interview with AV Club, she admitted to falling into superstitious behavior when it came to This Is Us, as she was afraid it would just be another show that didn’t get to shine. In her words:

Luckily, of course, This Is Us was indeed picked up, and fans immediately fell in love with the characters even before the aforementioned plot twist. Mandy Moore and the rest of the cast got to properly tell their beloved characters’ stories and journeys over the course of six seasons and several in-story decades. (Which are all available to stream with a Hulu subscription.)

Moore opened up about how much she loved having the chance to essentially play Rebecca Pearson across her entire adult life, and how she owes it all to creator Dan Fogelman for giving her so many opportunities:

Even though Moore was unsure about This Is Us’ future during its early days, having been heartbroken one too many times, the well-crafted and superbly acted series was just what she needed to bring her luck back around. It’s hard to imagine anyone else bringing Rebecca Pearson to life than Moore, so it’s a good thing that the series went through and that she stuck around. This Is Us had quite an emotional roller coaster, but all of the tissues were worth it.

Mandy Moore’s luck has definitely turned around following This Is Us. While filming the drama, she also reprised her voice role as Rapunzel for Disney Channel’s animated series Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, which ran for three seasons from 2017 to 2020. She can currently be seen on Peacock’s Dr. Death, which is arguably one of the best true crime shows streaming. And she doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

While a return to This Is Us' universe may just be a dream for fans, at least we can all join Mandy Moore in looking back on her six years. It may have been heartbreaking for the actress to have a pilot fail, but there is a reason that This Is Us succeeded far beyond her imagination. Although who knows what would have happened if Red Band Society or one of her pilots had worked out better before the ensemble drama came around?

Grey’s Anatomy has featured a number of notable guest stars over the course of its 19 seasons (some that we’re sure you’ve forgotten about), and that includes Mandy Moore in a four-episode arc. Years before portraying matriarch Rebecca Pearson on This Is Us, Moore appeared in the final episodes of Season 6 — in which an active shooter injured and killed a number of the Seattle doctors. Moore talked about her experience on Grey’s Anatomy, recalling how everybody was “walking on eggshells” amidst the serious subject matter.

The two-part Season 6 finale, “Sanctuary” and “Death and All His Friends,” are two of Grey’s Anatomy’s best episodes, and Mandy Moore didn’t just witness that moment in TV history — she was a part of it. Moore played Mary Portman, who was a patient under Miranda Bailey’s (Chandra Wilson) care at the time of the shooting, and Moore told AV Club what it was like to be offered a role for that iconic storyline: 

Mandy Moore’s character was part of a particularly intense story, where she plays dead when the shooter — Michael O'Neill’s Gary Clark — enters her hospital room. Gary finds Charles Percy hiding in the bathroom and shoots him in the stomach. Mary tries to help Bailey save Percy, but they are unable to, leading to one of Grey’s Anatomy’s most shocking deaths. 

Despite the somber tone on set for that finale — and the fact that she would be killed off early in Season 7 — the A Walk to Remember star has good memories of her time on Grey’s and can’t believe how memorable that episode remains all these years later. She said: 

It has been over a decade since Mandy Moore’s guest-starring role, but Grey’s Anatomy is indeed still going strong as it heads into its 20th season. The upcoming 10-episode order will include at least a couple of appearances from Ellen Pompeo, who stepped away as a series regular during Season 19. Meredith Grey is even featured in the Season 20 trailer. 

While we wait for the March 14 season premiere, the first 19 seasons can be streamed with a Netflix subscription, and if you don’t have time to rewatch all 420 episodes, we’ve got some good starting off points to relive your favorite Grey’s Anatomy eras. Also be sure to check out our 2024 TV schedule to see when your other favorite shows are returning. 

Mandy Moore has always had a lovely girl-next-door relatability about her, and her completely understandable reaction to working with teen heartthrob Shane West in 2002's A Walk to Remember is even more proof. 

The actress-singer -- who, fun fact about A Walk To Remember, turned 17 during the production of the romantic movie -- detailed working opposite her hunky, then-23-year-old, co-star during a wide-ranging interview with USA Today. She revealed that she was "madly in love" with West while making the film, saying: 

Though the "Candy" crooner had already appeared in supporting film roles, including her iconically bitchy performance as bully Lana in The Princess Diaries, A Walk to Remember marked Moore's first leading role on the big screen. 

She revealed to the outlet how she turned to her more experienced co-star for support during filming, because she was "such a newbie in every sense":

Despite any nerves she might have had while making the movie, the performer is more than pleased with the response the romance has had in the decades since. 

When told that A Walk to Remember is still one of the top five search queries you get if you Google the star all these years later, Moore said she was "flattered" by how the film has endured with fans: 

And she's not opposed to the fan-favorite film being remade. Moore previously dream-casted fellow pop icon Olivia Rodrigo to take up her role as good-girl Jamie Sullivan should an updated version of A Walk to Remember ever get made. 

In the two decades since the romance film came out, Moore said she's become more confident in her acting abilities. The actress would go on to receive a Golden Globe nomination and an Emmy nomination (though it should have been more) for her performance as Rebecca Pearson in the NBC family drama, This Is Us, and got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019. 

She told USA Today: 

Moore is returning to television in her first post-This Is Us lead role in the second season of Dr. Death, which you can stream with a Peacock subscription. Mandy stars as news producer Benita Alexander, opposite Edgar Ramírez's thoracic surgeon, Paolo Macchiarini. 

In terms of her future career, Moore says she's simply looking for "longevity," and she wants to prove to her kids that "Mom did some cool things with her life," telling the outlet: 

Given how swoon-worthy her onscreen romance with Shane West is still considered all of these years later, we'd say she's already got the longevity thing down pat!

Spoilers for Season 2 of Dr. Death are ahead! If you haven’t streamed the true crime show on the 2023 TV schedule, you can watch all eight episodes now with a Peacock subscription. 

Following the success of the Joshua Jackson-led Dr. Death Season 1, one of the best true crime series is back for another installment, this time telling the story of Dr. Paolo Macchiarini (Édgar Ramírez) and the lies surrounding him and his work on biosynthetic tracheas. The season stars Mandy Moore as Benita Alexander, the journalist who falls in love with him, along with Luke Kirby, Ashley Madekwe and Gustaf Hammarsten as the three doctors who exposed him. It takes all four to take down Dr. Death. However, they’re all only in the same room once. So, when I got the chance to chat with the cast and creatives, I had to ask about this one moment.

In the final episode of Dr. Death’s second season, Benita and the three doctors gather at a Swedish police station to hear the results of the investigation into Macchiarini. It’s a harrowing and climactic moment, and while the characters don’t directly interact, seeing them in the same room is quite powerful. And that’s exactly what showrunner Ashley Michel Hoban wanted, as she told CinemaBlend:

She also explained that the greater theme of the show was to demonstrate how powerful individual voices can be. This scene was a way to illustrate how it took all four of them to get Macchiarini’s wrongdoings brought to light. It was a moving moment to watch, and it turns out, it was an emotional point to shoot too. 

Up until this point Kirby, Madekwe and Hammarsten hadn’t had a scene with Moore yet. During our interview, Hammarsten, who plays Dr. Svensson, explained the power of being together just once while they were shooting:

Ashley Michel Hoban was also on set that day, and she told me what it was like to watch these four actors perform together in this short, yet mighty, scene. She said:

When you have powerhouse actors like Mandy Moore from the This Is Us cast and Luke Kirby from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, you know you’re in for a treat when they all work together. And that’s what this scene was. After a whole season of waiting to see Macchiarini’s personal and professional wrongdoings addressed, this was a subtle, yet perfect way to do it. 

To see the scene in question as well as the lead-up to it, you can stream Dr. Death on Peacock. 

Bringing a popular character to life on a movie screen is likely a humbling experience, but seeing that character brought into the physical world, like at a theme park, has to be something else entirely. The only thing more humbling has to be when your kid is unimpressed that you’re a Disney Princess. Just ask Mandy Moore.

Moore, who's the voice of Disney’s Rapunzel in Tangled, recently visited Disneyland Resort with her son Gus. One has to assume that Moore was excited to introduce her son to the character that she played in the movies, but when Moore posted the picture of herself and her son with Rapunzel and Flynn, it came with the reveal that apparently the kid isn’t impressed with mom’s Rapunzel connection. She said… 

Honestly, as a lover of Tangled who has done Flynn Rider Disneybounding before, I can’t imagine somebody not being entirely impressed when standing in a photo with Mandy Moore and Rapunzel, but I guess this kid is pretty young and just doesn’t realize how awesome his mom is. Maybe if she gets a cameo in the rumored live-action Tangled movie, he'll be more impressed.

Still, it sounds like they both had an epic Disneyland trip. Hopefully, they made it over to Disney California Adventure so Gus could experience Cars Land. To be fair, Radiator Springs Racers is one best attractions at Disney California Adventure. And while Gus may have been largely unimpressed by this picture, there was at least one person who was. Mandy Moore’s Tangled cast co-star Zachary Levi, who voiced Flynn Rider, responded to the post with the perfect song lyric, even if it wasn’t from a Disney song. Levi said… 

Maybe Gus would be more impressed if there was an actual Tangled attraction and not just a meet-and-greet opportunity. There’s a chance that may happen. Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival, a boat-based dark ride, is set to open in the new Fantasy Springs area of Tokyo DisneySea at Tokyo Disney Resort next year. Disney has indicated that elements from Fantasy Springs may become part of the planned Disneyland expansion called DisneylandForward. 

Even if Mandy Moore’s kid isn’t as impressed with the fact she and Rapunzel are friends, there are certainly a lot of fans who love this picture. And it does sound like the family enjoyed their day at Disneyland Resort. Disneyland at Christmas is extra special  

Music and the movies are two worlds that cross over often, and to great effect. Sometimes the greatest overlap between those segments of entertainment comes from performances through figures we primarily know for carrying a tune over a scene. But believe it or not, these 32 movies featuring professional musicians are noteworthy for providing talent that can do both. 

Janelle Monáe - Hidden Figures

Playing Mary Jackson, an African-American mathematician crucial to the early days of NASA’s space race, Janelle Monáe showed off her dramatic chops in the historical drama Hidden Figures. One of the earliest cinematic roles in her career, Monáe would go on to become a more prolific actor and singer, adding films like Glass Onion: a Knives Out mystery to her resume along the way. 

David Bowie - The Prestige

As he continues to build amazing ensemble casts to carry out his cinematic visions, director Christopher Nolan has a knack for choosing talent. Which leads to that time Nolan begged David Bowie to be in The Prestige, as the helmer felt that the actor/singer would be a perfect Nicola Tesla. That instinct was as well played as the film it served to bolster.

Lady Gaga - A Star Is Born

Lady Gaga is such a natural entertainer that when she was announced as a lead in Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born remake, it didn’t feel like that much of a surprise. With previous films and shows to her acting credit, this role could be considered her cinematic breakout, as it landed her many raves, awards and nominations during the 2018-2019 awards cycle.

Frank Sinatra - The Manchurian Candidate

By the time Frank Sinatra made The Manchurian Candidate, his career had seen him make musicals, comedies, and intense dramas alike. The 1962 neo-noir thriller became one of his best received films, as Sinatra’s Captain Bennett Marco and his quest to prevent a clandestine assassination attempt distinguished itself as a contemporary hit, as well as an all-time classic. 

Queen Latifah - Set It Off

A landmark ‘90s drama that’s still fondly remembered to this day, Set It Off told a story of four women looking to live better lives through thievery. Queen Latifah’s Cleo Sims made up a part of that team, offering a complex performance that was both tragic and empowering. 

Gene Simmons - Runaway

Kiss frontman Gene Simmons knew what it was like to surprise the world when he and his bandmates took off their makeup for a period between the ‘80s and ‘90s. That was as good a time as any for Simmons to break into acting, as the villainous Dr. Charles Luther in Michael Crichton’s Runaway. 

Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard

If The Bodyguard had been made when it was first written, we might have seen Ryan O’Neal and Diana Ross playing the leads. But, as anyone in Hollywood could tell you, delays can sometimes gum up the works. Which is how, by time the ‘90s rolled around, Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston landed the iconic leads in this romantic-drama; with Houston making her historic cinematic debut.

Tim McGraw - The Blind Side

A year after Tim McGraw starred in Four Christmases, the country singer experienced two life changing moments. Not only did McGraw’s weight loss journey start to take off, but his acting career saw him co-starring with Sandra Bullock in the sports drama The Blind Side.

Beyoncé - Dreamgirls

2006 was a banner year for Beyoncé’s film acting resume, thanks to Deena Jones, part of the central trio in the musical drama Dreamgirls. The Renaissance woman helped boost director Bill Condon’s musical to awards glory, alongside co-stars Anika Noni Rose and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson. 

Lenny Kravitz - The Hunger Games

Lenny Kravitz jumped into the acting game in a pretty big way, after playing himself in several film appearances. Perhaps his most iconic role yet is that of portrayal of Cinna, stylist to Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in The Hunger Games. Inspiring everyone’s favorite tribute into subtle acts of rebellion, Kravitz’s warmth helps solidify the guidance that helped turn Katniss into a hero for the ages. 

Cher - Moonstruck

“Snap out of it!” With four words, Cher became a romantic-comedy legend, as she tried to deal with Nicolas Cage’s amorous advances in Moonstruck. Not only did that impress audiences overall, it landed her the award for Best Actress at 1988’s Academy Awards as well.

Flea - The Big Lebowski

If you thought “Nihilist #2” in The Coen Bros’ legendary comedy The Big Lebowski looked or sounded familiar, you have a good ear. Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Flea is the actor credited for that role, providing some comedic menace in Jeff Bridges’ neo-noir classic about blackmail, death, and bowling. 

Dolly Parton - 9 To 5

With a balance of commanding wisdom and unlimited sweetness, Dolly Parton is a country star that will always be an icon. However, watching 9 to 5 just might shock you, as the dark comedy shows her teaming with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda to teach Dabney Coleman how to treat a woman in the workplace. Let’s just say that lesson goes beyond a catchy theme song.

Dean Martin - The Sons Of Katie Elder

Rat Pack icon of cool Dean Martin is mostly known for either his comedies alongside musical pals Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., or his long running partnership with Jerry Lewis. But outside of either of those canons is Martin’s parts in westerns like The Sons of Katie Elder, which saw the crooner playing brother to genre legend John Wayne. So you can see how this was a pretty big deal back in 1965. 

Madonna - A League of Their Own

A League of Their Own's Mae Mordabito is quite possibly Madonna's most memorable part. As center fielder for the Rockland Peaches, she plays the entire cast with comedic precision with her free spirited character. 

Eminem - 8 Mile

Playing a fictionalized version of your own experiences isn’t a guaranteed success. And yet, Eminem took 8 Mile’s aspiring rapper Jimmy “B-Rabbit” Smith and made believers of fans and critics with his acting abilities. It was enough of a success that, decades after he has yet to take on another major film role, people are still curious if Marshall Mathers will ever lose himself in a movie again. 

Mandy Moore - A Walk To Remember

Pro-tip: if you’re a pop star that wants to become an actor, a Nicholas Sparks movie just might be the surest way to test those waters. Mandy Moore can attest to that fact, as her role in 2002’s A Walk To Remember was probably a good warm up for her future success as part of NBC’s drama series This Is Us. If you’re a fan of that meteoric network hit, and you haven’t watched this movie, you owe yourself a moment to correct that. 

Isaac Hayes - Escape From New York

A certain generation of Isaac Hayes fans will know him best as a soulful singer, while others would recall his velvety pipes from the romantically obscene Chef from South Park. And right in between those groups are the die hard fans of the best action movies ever who would remember Hayes as the menacing Duke in John Carpenter’s Escape from New York. 

Brandy - Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Everyone has their favorite Cinderella, and for Disney growing up in the ‘90s, Brandy is a prime candidate for those honors. Which is totally valid, as the singer’s leading portrayal in Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella is a magical glass slipper that ties the entire cast of notables together. To imagine this movie without her is, quite frankly, impossible.

Sammy Davis Jr. - The Cannonball Run

The entire Rat Pack of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. were all actors, as well as singers, at the height of their powers. One of Davis’ best gigs, besides the original Ocean’s 11, came out of The Cannonball Run, which reunited him with fellow pally Martin for two films of vehicular madness. 

Janet Jackson - Poetic Justice

Writer/director John Singleton’s Poetic Justice could very easily be counted as an acting win for either Tupac Shakur or Janet Jackson. However, Ms. Jackson wins out no question, as her dynamic performance as Justice anchors both the dramatic, and the romantic halves of this picture. Not to mention, this project marking Janet’s debut as a feature film actor is still a powerful statement felt by her fans.

Andre Benjamin - Four Brothers

While Four Brothers isn’t an exact, on-brand remake of the western The Sons of Katie Elder, it’s pretty close. The similarities between the two Paramount movies are even eerier when you think about how Dean Martin’s acting career was enriched by the 1965 western, and Andre “3000” Benjamin saw the same sort of fortune come from his part in the 2005 action-drama.

Diana Ross - Lady Sings The Blues

Upon its release in 1972, Lady Sings The Blues sparked critical debate over how good of a biopic it really was. What wasn’t up for question was the excellence of Diana Ross’ performance as Billie Holiday; a feat that not only won her raves from critics, but also scored her a Best Actress nomination at 1973’s Academy Awards.

Usher - Light It Up

Not long after Usher made his movie debut in Robert Rodriguez's The Faculty, he graduated to being a lead player in the ensemble for writer/director Craig Bolotin's Light It Up. Going back to high school with Rosario Dawson and Sara Gilbert as classmates, Usher took part in a teenage rebellion with a cause more serious than any alien invasion.

Alicia Keys - Smokin’ Aces

The words “professional assassin” aren’t exactly what come to mind when talking about singer/songwriter Alicia Keys. That perception is part of how 2006’s Smokin’ Aces was such an explosive surprise upon its initial theatrical release. Keys and Taraji P. Henson’s double act as hired killers with a job to do helped keep this ensemble action dramedy spinning with chemistry to spare.

John Legend - La La Land

Is John Legend’s La La Land character a villain? It depends on who you ask, with his part in splitting up Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling’s on-screen romance acting as a defining factor. Unsurprisingly, the piano man’s charm and musical prowess added some extra star power to Damian Chazelle’s colorful musical.

Mariah Carey - Precious

People like Mariah Carey and Charlize Theron “deglamming” for performances in powerful dramas only helped amplify their performances. In Theron’s case, that led to her first Academy Award nomination in Monster. Meanwhile for Carey, director Lee Daniels’ heartbreaker provided her with a credit that wowed the critics to an impressive degree.

Alice Cooper - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Decades before Across the Universe turned the Beatles songbook into a jukebox musical, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band used that premise to a campier extent. This is, after all, the movie where you can see Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees “fighting” villains like Aerosmith and Steve Martin. And a part of that collection of baddies is an equally creepy and intriguing Alice Cooper, playing the role of cult leader Father Sun. 

Björk - Dancer In The Dark

Writer/director Lars Von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark was only singer Bjòrk’s second motion picture. You’d never know it, as this beautiful but tragic mashup of drama and music saw the Icelandic singer-songwriter land a heartbreaking blow with her character Selma. Trust us, you need the right headspace, and a lot of tissues, to take on this experience.

Common - Run All Night

While Common eventually got to hunt down Keanu Reeves’ titular assassin in John Wick: Chapter 2, he practiced his killer skills with another action vet: Liam Neeson. Run All Night pitted the rapping/acting talent against Mr. Neeson, and the war waged between the two men is something truly impressive to behold. 

Britney Spears - Crossroads

Not a girl, not yet a woman, and because of Britney Spears’ intense “method acting” in Crossroads, there was one more thing she wasn’t at the time: an actor. Though she’d eventually play a couple other roles here and there, preparing to star in this teenage drama road trip was enough to make Spears question how much she really wanted to act. 

Prince - Purple Rain

The world knows the many sides of Prince through his mythic career as a guitar god and musical boundary pusher. Purple Rain made that image all the stronger, as the man is basically playing himself, with some dramatic and comedic embellishment. The result is a movie that was a white hot success, and a powerful calling card in Prince's future endeavors on both sides of this fence.

While it’s not for everyone, actor/musician crossovers are always interesting to keep an eye out for. Both commanding successes and curious one-off scenarios are equally intriguing, as one never knows where the next success story will come from. Aspiring singers and actors alike take note: these cases we’ve just discussed are good studies to keep in mind when plotting your own course to stardom! 

As soon as news of actor Ron Cephas Jones’ death at the age of 66 reached social media, fans began to share their sadness over his passing. It didn’t take long for those who knew him personally, including former showrunners and actors, to also jump online and share their memories of the beloved star. Mandy Moore and Sterling K. Jones were just two of the co-stars who opened up about how much Ron Cephas Jones meant to them – and everyone who has spoken up so far has had similar things to say about the This Is Us alum and the impact he had on their lives. 

To most, Ron Cephas Jones is best known for his unforgettable portrayal of William Hill in NBC’s beloved drama This Is Us, for which he won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. After news of Jones’ passing, the series’ resident matriarch, Mandy Moore, reflected on Jones’ irreplaceable contributions to not only the series, but also to her own life journey. On Instagram, she shared a still from the penultimate episode of the hit show, in which William guides Moore’s character Rebecca through a metaphorical train that leads her to the end of her life. The photo was accompanied by a lengthy message about the legacy Jones left behind: 

It was sweet of the actress to send her love to her friend and colleague's beloved daughter, Jasmine Cephas Jones. The pair shared more than just a talent for performing and a love of the arts – they even made history in 2020, becoming the first father-daughter duo to take home Emmys during the same presentation – the elder for This Is Us, and the younger for #FreeRayshawn. 

While the Hamilton and Blindspotting actress has, understandably, not made any public statements about her father's death, several of her father's other This is Us co-stars have come online to share their grief at his passing. Sterling K. Brown, who played William Hunt’s biological son Randall, posted a beautiful Instagram tribute to the actor he also called a friend: 

It seems that so many people who knew and worked with Ron Cephas Jones were struck by not only his undeniable talent as an actor but also by his kindness and spirit. That was also the case for This Is Us’ Chrissy Metz, who shared her own memories of the actor on Instagram and thanked him for the impact he had on her life: 

On X, This Is Us showrunner Dan Fogelman also shared a heartfelt ode to the actor and reminisced about what an honor it was to work with him. Here’s what he had to say about what it was like to know the Luke Cage alum both in front of and behind the screen: 

Dan Fogelman really said it all -- Ron Cephas Jones had the kind of talent you don't come across every day. Prior to his death, he completed work on the upcoming Genius: MLK/X, in which he portrays real-life Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, which will be available to Disney+ subscribers upon release. While Jones’ performance in This Is Us will be the one that so many of us remember best, he had an incredible career that spanned the stage and screen. Perhaps more importantly, he touched the lives of so many people who knew him, loved him, and will so clearly miss him. 

The actors joined the writers on the picket lines this week as SAG-AFTRA called a strike for its members. Movie and television stars have used their high profile voices to call attention to the strike, and the demands that are not being met by the studios. One of these issues is residuals, and the lack of them in the age of streaming. Now, after Mandy Moore talked about her own tiny streaming residual checks from This Is Us, Ellen Pompeo called Netflix out for their own failings. 

Moore was seen on the picket lines, striking with her fellow SAG-AFTRA members for a better contract when the union failed to reach a deal with the studios. She talked about her own tiny residual checks from streaming on her show This Is Us, drawing attention to the lack of compensation for streaming, even if you’re in a lead role on a hit show. She told The Hollywood Reporter that she sometimes saw payments that were "very tiny, like 81-cent checks." Her business manager had also seen some checks for only pennies, even though the show is popular amongst Hulu subscribers, as the actress explained:

Following these comments, Pompeo called out a TikTok from Netflix that used photos of the actress in Grey’s Anatomy to promote the show being available with a Netflix subscription. It references three notable Meredith Grey moments, highlighting that some scenes in the show were more emotional than others. Pompeo clapped back at the studio, screenshotting the TikTok, turning it on its head. Instead of it referencing a Grey’s Anatomy sequence, the actress’s post made it address the actors strike, and the absence of significant residuals the streamer gives its creatives. You can see her Instagram story post below:

For context, residuals are pay that creatives get after their work is watched and its been completed. Back in the days before streaming, creatives would get paid when their shows continued to air in syndication after its run was completed. Therefore, many people were able to make a living as their shows continued to be aired on network television. For example, The Big Bang Theory cast continues to profit just from re-runs. This has radically changed due to streaming, and residual pay from streaming is significantly less. Now, SAG wants a contract that gives creatives larger residuals from streaming. This is also one of the big issues surrounding the writers strike.

This Is Us and Grey’s Anatomy are both extremely popular shows that would’ve likely been syndication darlings back in the days when network television reigned supreme. Now, both series are available on streaming services. While actors like the This Is Us and Grey's Anatomy stars likely received large upfront pay for their work on their series, and continue to work due to their high profiles, this isn’t the case for many of the smaller actors on the show, who may not have the same job security as Moore and Pompeo. The Emmy nominees aren’t the only ones using their platform to draw attention to the issue either, as George Clooney also spoke out in favor of a better contract. Many actors are also making their voices heard on the picket lines. 

We will continue to see the effects of the ongoing situation within the entertainment industry, and actors like these two will likely continue to draw attention to key negotiation issues until a deal is reached. One can't say when the contract will be resolved but, in the meantime, it seems Mandy Moore and Ellen Pompeo are standing with their fellow actors and creative minds picketing in the SAG and WGA Writers strike.

Hulu’s cancellation of its meta comedy Reboot after just one eight-episode season was baffling for many viewers, given the series' positive reception and knockout cast of comedy veterans. The show centered around a 2000s-era sitcom receiving a revival with its original cast, and it combined the laughs with self-deprecating and pointed commentary on how comedy has evolved over the past few decades. It wasn’t just fans who were surprised to see the excellent series from Steve Levitan get axed, either, and after Johnny Knoxville expressed his frustration with Hulu, his Reboot co-star Rachel Bloom had a message of her own.

Rachel Bloom’s Reboot character Hannah worked behind the scenes of the fictional sitcom Step Right Up, serving as the revival’s co-showrunner alongside the original series’ creator, Gordon (Paul Reiser), who was also her estranged father. Their scenes in the writers’ room were arguably some of the funniest and most introspective, and her disappointment at the series’ cancellation was palpable in an Instagram post that read: 

Rachel Bloom seems to be really stretching to reach for that high road, and instead of sharing her “vitriol” over Reboot’s end, she chose to thank her castmates for the short time they had together. 

Johnny Knoxville was not as worried about how his message came off, as he called out Hulu for the “unbelievable” decision to cancel a show that had great reviews, an ensemble cast to die for, and had been nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best Comedy Series. He said that as they shop Reboot around for a new network that he hopes they find a home “with a studio who believes in and knows how to properly support a new show as it continues to grow.” 

Just as the Jackass alum garnered reactions from fellow celebrities like John Stamos and Whitney Cummings, Rachel Bloom’s “classy” response also attracted support from her cohorts in Hollywood: 

• Quinta Brunson: Absolute bummer
• Mandy Moore: Oh man- I LOVED this show. Hope it finds another home!!
• Questlove: Reboot Again
• Lance Bass: Such a great show! This will find another home for sure.

Johnny Knoxville also hit the comments section on Rachel Bloom’s post, saying: 

It looks like the show still has a lot of support, so there’s hope yet that it will find another home to continue to build on its stories. While we wait to see if there will indeed be a future for Reboot, you can stream the first season with a Hulu subscription, and be sure to check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what other premieres are coming soon. 

Fans of This Is Us bid a tearful farewell to the Pearson family this spring, but as big a loss as that was for our TV schedules, it might have been even more emotional for the actors who became accustomed to slipping into those beloved characters. As with all big losses in life, the grief comes in waves, and the six-season NBC drama was a phenomenon worth grieving, especially for Mandy Moore. Her character of Rebecca Pearson battled Alzheimer’s and ultimately reunited with her late husband Jack in the afterlife. 

The reality of This Is Us actually being over hit Mandy Moore again recently, she told THR, since this is typically the time of year when the ensemble cast would be gathering to start work on a new season. The realization that that wasn’t happening again was a “such a bummer,” the actress said:

Downtime is something Mandy Moore definitely deserves, and she’s likely getting more of it than she expected. The end of This Is Us came right as the singer released her new studio album In Real Life and set out on tour for the first time in years. However, life on the road proved to be a bit too demanding, given that she’s also expecting her second child with husband Taylor Goldsmith, and Moore was forced to cancel her remaining tour dates.

While the past six years afforded the actress the comfort of job security, it also took time away from her family, and now that she’s not on tour or returning to the Paramount lot for filming, Mandy Moore said she’s finally free to “turn off” and enjoy her home life. She continued:

While there may not be a show to film anymore, the This Is Us cast had hoped to be celebrating again at the Emmy Awards this fall. But despite Sterling K. Brown’s tearful plea for Mandy Moore to garner an Emmy nod for her performance in the series’ final chapter, she was not among the nominees. Moore was classy in defeat, however, as she’ll still be able to support her husband: Taylor Goldsmith and Siddhartha Khosla were nominated for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for their work on This Is Us.

Mandy Moore may be taking time to enjoy life after This Is Us, but we certainly don’t have to. You can relive all of the Pearson drama over and over, as all six seasons are available for streaming with a Hulu subscription. And be sure to check out our 2022 TV schedule to find your next primetime tearjerker!

The 2022 Primetime Emmy Award nominations have been announced, and a plethora of shows were recognized in prestigious categories. Of course, some shows weren't able to land as many nods as they would've liked, including NBC’s heart-wrenching drama This Is Us. The critically acclaimed show ended its run earlier this year with a well-received final season. Considering the positive reactions it got from critics and fans, the snubs are disappointing. Though series star Mandy Moore took it in stride, and her character -- Rebecca Pearson -- would be proud. 

Shortly after Emmy nominations were revealed, Mandy Moore took to her Instagram stories to speak out about the light awards love in a very classy way. She praised the work of director Ken Olin, writer/creator Dan Fogelman and the rest of the cast and crew for an outstanding season that not only meant a lot to the fans but to their team as well. Needless to say, this message gives all sorts of Rebecca Pearson vibes:

It’s definitely disappointing that the show didn’t get the recognition it deserved, especially since the finale provided plenty of great little moments and gave hints at what's next for "the big three." Despite that, the actress still made sure to recognize the one nomination the family drama did receive, which was for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics:

Earlier this year, the cast seemed confident about their chances of getting nominated. Even the 3-year-old Jack actor was hyped up for consideration. Three-time Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown even made a passionate plea for his TV mom to get a nomination. Said spiel following the airing of the episode “Day of the Wedding,” in which viewers not only got to see Kate and Philip’s marriage but were also able to see more of Rebecca’s Alzheimer’s battle.

Mandy Moore’s TV daughter, Chrissy Metz, also took to Instagram stories (via Yahoo! Entertainment) to respond to the Emmy snubs. Just like Moore, Metz did it in a very dignified manner that her character's mother would've definitely appreciated:

I guess, at the very least, the stars can appreciate the one nomination, as some shows were shut out entirely. ABC comedy black-ish, which also ended its run earlier this year, is one of them. Series lead Anthony Anderson spoke on the Emmy snubs while guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Though his response was a lot jokier compared to the TiU alums.

But like it or not, snubs do happen, and they're not always easy pills for creatives or their fans to swallow. I still say that Mandy Moore certainly deserved the gold this year. Rebecca's emotional scene with the big three alone is proof of that. Still, it's good that the cast is taking things well and seemingly not harping on the limited love from the Television Academy. If it's any consolation, though. Mandy Moore, Chrissy Metz and co. are all Emmy winners in my book.

To see why This Is Us deserved Emmy nominations this year and in previous years, stream all six seasons using a Hulu subscription!

While This is Us viewers were heartbroken about the show wrapping up at NBC, many were no doubt excited to learn that the Pearson matriarch Mandy Moore was heading out on her first concert tour in years. After announcing the tour, the actress made another surprising announcement by revealing she was pregnant with her second child, and both announcements were welcomed after the heartbreaking series finale. Alas, the mood has been dampened again, though just a bit, as Moore announcedthe rest of her post-This is Us concert tour dates have been canceled. While disappointing all around, at least the reason the cancelation news wasn't anything to complain about.

The Tangled actress was on the road for a month, going from city to city and performing both her new and classic tracks. Unfortunately, Moore couldn’t continue with the remaining tour dates, and she broke the unexpected news on her Instagram, saying that she was heartbroken to have things play out this way after enjoying her time on the road so far. But I doubt anyone would argue with her reasoning:

Making a cross-country trek performing nightly is already hard for musicians under the best of circumstances. But being pregnant while doing so is even more taxing. As Moore mentioned, singing and traveling weren’t the best fit for a pregnant woman, especially with bus travel as opposed to flying. 

Of course, Mandy Moore didn’t know she was going to get pregnant when the tour dates were booked to promote her new album In Real Life. The This is Us alum went on to clarify her stance on the health of her and her baby.

Of course, Moore thanked her fans for respecting and understanding her decision. She promised to return to the road soon and refund concertgoers for the remaining shows, which is a nice silver lining, even though I'm sure fans would rather just wait and see a make-up show in the future. You can see the entertainer’s full sweet and sad announcement by looking over her Instagram post below.

While touring might be fun, nothing compares to the health and safety of Moore and her unborn child. Hopefully, she will be back singing songs again once she feels comfortable after the baby is born. Maybe fans will be able to hear new arrangements of classic songs like “Candy” and “I Wanna Be with You”  or Rebecca's wedding song in the future. Or, quite possibly, she may soon be writing songs about her journey as a mother.

Right now, Moore is focusing on her second pregnancy. There haven’t been any announcements about new film or television projects coming up as the performer revealed to ET that she is currently taking a break from acting. If you want to relive any heartfelt  Pearson family moments, you can stream all six seasons of This is Us by getting a Peacock subscription. In the meantime, there are new and returning shows you watch to feel the Big 3 void.

This Is Us just left its fans wrecked after a final chapter that closed the book on the beloved Pearson family. While its sixth and final season tugged at our heartstrings because we knew the end was near, the NBC drama has really been toying with our emotions since 2016, making us cry both happy and sad tears as Jack, Rebecca, Kevin, Kate and Randall navigated life in a nonlinear story that jumped back and forth across different decades. It seems This Is Us could have been a wildly different show, however, as creator Dan Fogelman actually wrote the pilot for a different platform, and the original script included multiple F-bombs.

When Dan Fogelman first started writing the Pearsons’ story, which was fully conceptualized years before its sixth season aired, he didn’t have network television in mind. HIs story reportedly contained nudity and violence, as well as a profanity-laden pilot that had to be reworked when This Is Us landed not with a cable or streaming service, but rather on NBC. In fact, Fogelman revealed to Variety just how many “fucks” he had to get rid of from the original script:

This Is Us has often been criticized for being overly sentimental (a criticism Dan Fogelman highly objects to), but it seems like the family drama would have had a completely different vibe if the Pearsons would have been able to throw out a good “WTF?” during some of those tense moments. We know Mandy Moore’s got it in her, after her reaction last year to being harassed by a paparazzo. 

Kevin and Randall would definitely have let some good "fucks" fly during their intense Season 4 argument, where Kevin (Justin Hartley) told Randall (Sterling K. Brown) that the worst day of his life was when Jack and Rebecca brought Randall home from the hospital. 

It’s impossible to think about the first episode that we saw on NBC six years ago and not wonder where the seven F-bombs were. Being the pilot, its main purpose was obviously to introduce us to the core Pearsons whose lives we would be hopelessly devoted to for six years (oh, and blow our minds with that first timeline misdirect). We saw Rebecca giving birth to her and Jack’s babies, while the Big Three celebrated their 36th birthdays by having existential crises. 

In the original version of the script, did Kevin throw profanities when he blew up on set of The Manny and quit? Did Kate get frustrated with the fat-shaming sticky notes she’d left on all the food in her refrigerator? Did Randall go off even harder on William when he finally tracked down his birth father after 36 years? 

We may never know all the ways that Dan Fogelman tweaked that original story for more family-friendly viewing on NBC, but that’s probably for the best. Fans certainly can't argue with the product that we got, which kept us captivated for six years, and when it ended, only left some of us complaining that it didn’t continue for more seasons and there was no spinoff in the works. 

You can relive all six seasons of This Is Us on streaming with a Hulu subscription, and be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what premieres are coming soon to television and streaming.

The ending of one thing can spark the beginning of something beautiful. Mandy Moore just closed a big chapter in her life and career, with This Is Us coming to an end after six seasons with the death of her character Rebecca Pearson. But as Randall would say, it’s the dichotomy of it all, and the actress’ real-life family is about to embark on a new journey, as Moore just revealed that she and husband Taylor Goldsmith are expecting their second son.

It was actually the couple’s 1-year-old son Gus who announced the upcoming addition to the Goldsmith family, as Mandy Moore shared an Instagram photo of him boasting his new — and oh-so-important — role as “Big Brother!” Check out the adorable post:

In the weeks leading up to This Is Us’ final episode, Mandy Moore released her seventh studio album, In Real Life, and is set to kick off a promotional tour in Atlanta on June 10. Life on the road may look a little bit different now, as the singer noted in her pregnancy announcement, but she sounds excited about tackling this next stage in her life and the evolution of her family.

Some of her This Is Us co-stars were among those who congratulated her on her post, with her TV daughter-in-law Alexandra Breckenridge (who played Kevin’s wife Sophie on the show) leaving multiple applause emojis. Chrissy Metz, meanwhile, couldn’t help but fawn over Gus’ big brother status:

Her announcement also got a “like” from Griffin Dunne, who played her brother-in-law Nicky on the emotional NBC drama. Dunne only acted with Mandy Moore when she played an older version of Rebecca, and he’s hilariously admitted that he forgets that the actress is not, in fact, a 70-year-old woman. That would make this pregnancy announcement newsworthy for wholly different reasons!

Rebecca Pearson may go down as one of the most beloved television matriarch’s, but Mandy Moore didn’t actually experience motherhood herself until later in the show’s run. She said welcoming Gus into her life made her rethink how she played Rebecca in This Is Us’s first seasons, and she wished she could go back and reshoot all of those scenes. (Cue the shot-for-shot remake series!)

It’s likely that fierce and loving mama bear spirit was there all along, though, as she didn’t hold back against a photographer who had harassed her family multiple times, telling him via social media to “kindly fuck off.” Don’t mess with this mom and her growing brood.

Mandy Moore gave birth to Gus early in 2021. He was the first child of her and Taylor Goldsmith, who have been married since 2018. It may have been Moore in front of the camera on This Is Us, but Goldsmith made a pretty meaningful contribution to the show in its final season. When Kate married Phillip in Season 6, Rebecca performed a song at the reception, and viewers likely immediately recognized the tune as This Is Us’ theme song. Moore revealed after the episode that the lyrics she sang were written by her husband.

We’re so happy for Mandy Moore and her family as they grow their family and begin new stages of their lives, even as we continue to be in disbelief that This Is Us is over. I guess we should consult the 2022 TV Schedule to see what premieres are coming up soon to take its place.

Every so often a show comes along that insists you grab a box of tissues before you start watching. Parenthood, which ran on NBC from 2010 to 2016, was one. Before that, HBO’s Six Feet Under was certainly known to destroy a few viewers. Recently, however, This Is Us has cornered the market as our weekly sobfest. The Pearsons – with their time-honored traditions and prophetic monologues – are an emotion-forward family, to be sure. But creator Dan Fogelman seems to take issue with the show being categorized as overly sentimental.

This Is Us brought its final chapter to a close, with the Big Three saying goodbye to their mother, Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and sending her to the afterlife to reunite with Jack (Milo Ventimiglia), as Kevin, Kate and Randall revealed what was next in their respective lives. Season 6 saw some pretty heavy storylines, including Rebecca’s Alzheimer’s, Kate and Toby’s divorce, and Jack’s mom dying. The plots allowed the Pearsons to do what the do best: talk about their feelings. That’s something the show’s been criticized for, and it doesn’t sit right with Dan Fogelman, who told Entertainment Weekly:

It’s an interesting observation. Why don’t more series show characters holding up their parents as examples to aspire to? Why don’t more TV spouses speak to the trauma of divorce or give big speeches about the overwhelming love for their children? Is Dan Fogelman right? Rather than This Is Us being unrealistically sentimental, do other shows shy away from showing realistic emotion? 

This Is Us was at least self-aware, whether it was Randall’s daughters rolling their eyes at an impending Randall speech or Sophie cutting Kevin off because it was her turn for a monologue. The wonder that is Beth Pearson also gave a voice to those who felt the Pearsons were overly prone to feeling their feelings, as she sometimes struggled to stay patient with her in-laws.

One thing isn’t up for debate, though: the show wouldn’t make viewers so emotional if we didn’t care about the characters. Whether we’re crying happy tears or sad tears, we came to care about the Pearsons and their feelings over the course of six dramatic seasons, and Dan Fogelman is the man to thank for that.

This Is Us may have come to an end, but be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what shows are premiering soon.

SPOILER ALERT: We're about to get into major spoilers from the series finale of This is Us. 

This Is Us’ series finale opened with Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) saying, “Hey,” to each other in a flashback scene from a lazy Saturday for the young parents. That mirroring of the husband and wife’s afterlife reunion was the first of many beautiful moments we got from This Is Us’ ending. As the Big Three honored their mother at her funeral, fans got a hint of what the future held for the Pearson family and how the seemingly insignificant moments can become the most enduring. 

The NBC drama had audiences hooked back in 2016 when it pulled its first timeline misdirect in the series premiere. As Rebecca gave birth to triplets, 36-year-old Kevin, Randall and Kate’s stories each played out simultaneously, and it wasn’t until the end of This Is Us’ pilot that we realized they were actually the children born to Rebecca and Jack in 1980, setting us up for six seasons of traveling back and forth in time to stitch together the Pearson family saga. Let’s take a look at where the series finale left the Big Three, and those wonderful little moments from the episode “Us.”

What’s Next For The Big Three?

Back at Kevin’s house following Rebecca’s funeral, the grown Pearson children revealed their plans for their next steps. Kate (Chrissy Metz) revealed that she was going to continue opening music schools for the blind, as she apparently had gone international with her passion. 

Kevin (Justin Hartley) took most of the series to grow into himself and finally reunite with Sophie, who had been The One all along. He told his brother and sister that he was going to focus on his Big Three Homes nonprofit and spend time with his wife and kids.

Randall (Sterling K. Brown) seemed to be making some big moves, as he and Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) had been weighing the pros and cons of his attending the Iowa State Fair with the Democratic National Committee to “shake some hands and eat some deep-fried Oreos,” hinting that there might be a big advancement in his political career…

Randall Pearson For President?

It’s just the beginning of a hint of a possibility that Randall Pearson will run for president. If he does — and if he wins — is a secret Dan Fogelman is playing close to the vest. The creator told TVLine:

In a scene from Randall’s episode of the Big Three Trilogy, he told a police officer he might be president one day, and he also told Rebecca that if he ran for Senate, he’d win. But if Dan Fogelman insists this is a Sopranos ending, I guess we’ll leave it at that.

The Little Moments Are Everything

We’ve seen it time and again over the course of the show’s six seasons, but those little moments — especially the unplanned ones or the mundane — end up being the strongest memories that get passed down. The series finale showed Rebecca and Jack making an impulse buy of a Pin the Tail on the Donkey game because the kids on the box resembled their own family. That game continued to be played after Rebecca’s funeral, and Kate’s childhood strategy — “As long as I know where you are, I always know where I’m going.” — speaks volumes about the siblings’ relationship.

The final episode also showed the Big Three’s children playing Foursquare, just as Randall, Kate and Kevin had done on that lazy Saturday afternoon, and Jack and Rebecca’s flashback conversation about how they were doing as parents was a nod to a similar conversation in Season 1, when Jack gifted Rebecca a moon necklace — the same one she was wearing when she reunited with Jack on “The Train.”

Kate And Toby’s Love Will Endure

KaToby fans can rest easy. Even though Kate and Toby’s marriage didn’t last, Toby assured Kate at Rebecca’s funeral that he loves her. Fans are safe to assume they remain close, as a previous flash forward showed the former couple with their new partners together at one of Jack Damon’s shows. 

Kevin Gets One Last Good Moment With Uncle Nicky 

Nicky Pearson (Griffin Dunne) brought the comic relief when he was promoted to a series regular in Season 4. Curmudgeonly as ever in the final episode, he sarcastically railed on Kevin for reuniting him with his brother’s family, thus causing him the pain he felt at losing Rebecca. He said his parents would be ashamed if they knew what he did to a “sweet and sensitive old man like me.” It was fun to see Nicky end the series the way he started it — pissed at Kevin.

Beth Crushes Final ‘Worst Case Scenario’ Game

Speaking of comic relief, Susan Kelechi Watson often got the show’s best moments as Beth. The series finale featured one last round of the couple’s trademark “Worst Case Scenario” game, where Beth vocalized her concern for what would happen to Randall now that his parents were all gone: 

It’s a dark game, but it sure made a grouchy Randall smile and made fans very happy.

The Series’ Final Words, And That Beautiful Last Shot

The series’ final shot — young Randall looking at Jack as the Pearson patriarch looks on lovingly at his family — followed a similarly touching exchange between adult Randall and his own adopted child, Deja, who was carrying his first grandchild — a boy! That, as well as the final dialogue spoken, were planned years in advance, Dan Fogelman told EW:

That’s it, This Is Us fans! Dan Fogelman really considered what fans would want to see before the final chapter was closed on the Pearsons’ story. He gave us some great moments between the characters and a glimpse at what the future might hold for the Big Three. Once you’ve cleaned up all tissues, be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what premieres are coming soon.

Spoiler alert! This story contains spoilers for the series finale of This Is Us, so make sure you’re caught up before you continue.

After six seasons of jumping from the present to the past to the future, gasping at some shocking plot twists and listening to countless Pearson monologues, This Is Us concluded its final chapter with the series finale, “Us.” The episode was seemingly simple, mirroring two timelines — a lazy Saturday afternoon spent with Jack and Rebecca when the Big Three were young opposite the future timeline where the expanding Pearson family said their final goodbyes to the late, great matriarch at her funeral. Though Kate sang, and Kevin and Randall each gave eulogies, their words were inaudible, but creator Dan Fogelman thankfully provided some insight behind what we viewers didn’t hear. 

Randall commented multiple times in the penultimate episode “The Train” on “the dichotomy of it all,” with sadness and joy coming at the same time. The finale continued the exploration of how he balanced losing his mother with the revelation that Deja was pregnant with his first grandchild. (Credit to Sterling K. Brown for that amazing reaction when he found out she was expecting a boy!) But in his struggles, his mind wasn’t fully present at the funeral, hence the haze viewers heard when the Big Three gave their eulogies. 

So what was said (and sung)? Dan Fogelman told EW that Chrissy Metz was caught off-guard by the concept of singing to honor her ficitonal mother:

Not only was that an appropriate song for the character — as it’s made a few appearances on the show during its six seasons — but the lyrics are absolutely perfect for the moment and the relationship that Kate and her mother had. 

Sterling K. Brown and Justin Hartley, meanwhile, were asked to improvise and write their own eulogies, knowing that nothing they said would be heard when the episode aired. Brown and Randall must have some similarities between them, as the actor seemed to channel his character pretty realistically for the assignment, Dan Fogelman said:

His affinity for grand speeches isn’t where the similarities end between Sterling K. Brown and his character. They both have great love for Mandy Moore (or, in Randall’s case, Rebecca), and Brown made an emotional plea this season for the actress who, at eight years younger than him, plays his mother to win an Emmy Award for her stunning portrayal of a woman living with Alzheimer’s. 

For his part Justin Hartley may have tapped into some of that Kevin-Randall sibling rivalry when delivering his eulogy. For being asked to do something pretty somber, it sounds like the actors dealt with like true brothers would. The creator recalled: 

It was a pretty simple way for This Is Us to go out, in that it didn't introduce a crazy twist ending or spliter off into a larger variety of timelines, but there were quite a few treats for loyal fans. Beth and Randall got in one last round of “Worst Case Scenario,” we learned the origin of the oft-played Pin the Tail on the Donkey game, Toby’s love for his ex-wife reassured us that KaToby actually is forever, and Nicky expressed his appreciation for Kevin bringing him back into the family with his signature crankiness. What more could we really ask for? Besides another season down the road when all the main actors are older, of course. 

Now that This Is Us has come to an end, be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what premieres are coming soon, or relive the entire six-season run of NBC's hit drama with a Hulu subscription.

The second-to-last episode of This Is Us saw Rebecca taking a walk through a train en route to join her husband Jack in the afterlife. Along the way she had powerful conversations with people she’d encountered along the way, including Randall’s birth father William Hill and Dr. K, who delivered her babies. It was an emotional episode for Mandy Moore, who opened up about the scene that made her actually throw up when she read the script. The series finale, however, didn’t have the same effect on the actress. In fact, she doesn’t even remember filming most of the finale scenes.

There’s a reason for that, though. Mandy Moore took viewers on quite a journey as Rebecca (which is worth an Emmy Award, if you ask Sterling K. Brown) in Season 6. The premiere featured the matriarch starting to struggle with Alzheimer’s when she couldn’t remember the word “caboose.” Her story came full circle when she reached the end of the train in the penultimate episode and peacefully passed away, surrounded by her children. The actress explained to Deadline why she doesn’t have much memory about what happens next:

So not only is the hard part for Mandy Moore done since Rebecca died in “The Train,” but some of her scenes for the last episode were shot years ago, causing her to forget the details about the material for the finale, called “Us.” 

We know that creator Dan Fogelman has been planning the series finale for years, but it’s interesting to learn that they’ve actually been shooting for it in past seasons as well. With as much timeline jumping as This Is Us does, these actors are no strangers to the makeup chair. I’m intrigued about which finale scenes would have had to be filmed alongside scenes from other seasons, rather than putting the actors back in whatever age makeup the finale required.

Will we dive deeper into some experiences we’ve already been through, or see past scenes expanded in some way? That was certainly the case in “The Train,” where we re-experienced the night Jack died with the added context of Marcus Brooks and his family being in the hospital then too. 

A couple of the cast members have dropped some clues about what to expect. Justin Hartley said the finale will show viewers 10 to 12 years into the future, as well as conversations about what’s coming next for the Big Three. Chris Geere, meanwhile, said their last day’s production schedules had “everyone in the last scene.” 

I’m excited to find out what that means, even though I’m not at all ready for the series to be over. Don’t miss This Is Us’ final episode, airing at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 24 on NBC. As other shows are wrapping up their spring seasons, be sure to check out our 2022 TV schedule to see what new and returning series are premiering soon.

Spoiler alert! This story contains major spoilers for This Is Us’ Season 6 episode “The Train.” Be sure you’re caught up before you proceed!

This Is Us fans, we’ve made it through the inevitable milestone that the series has been leading us to for years. Are we all okay? In “The Train,” the second-to-last episode of the NBC drama, we all said goodbye to Rebecca Pearson. We expected it to be a crusher, especially given the extreme reaction that Mandy Moore had after reading the script. Now that we’ve seen the episode, the actress revealed what it was that affected her to the point that she threw up.

“The Train” was a gorgeous episode that showed Rebecca as a young woman on a train — one of her favorite places as a child — that served as the threshold between this life and what comes next. Randall’s birth father, William Hill (Ron Cephus Jones) led her past her children (three of the actors who played Randall and Kevin at their different ages all interacted with each other, and it was stunning), and she spoke to different loved ones (though Miguel kind of got short-changed) as she made her way to the caboose. Mandy Moore told EW what it was about the episode really struck a chord:

Dr. K (Gerald MacRaney) made a guest appearance in the penultimate episode as the train’s bartender, brilliantly polishing glasses with a Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towel and making her a vesper martini. He confided in her that the day her babies were born, he’d been afraid that she was going to die, confirming what Rebecca had always thought. Mandy Moore got emotional again, remembering their conversation on the train:

Wow, Dan Fogelman really went in for the kill in this episode, didn’t he? Mandy Moore has discussed how becoming a mother in real life changed her perspective on the role (to the point where she wanted to reshoot the earlier seasons), and her character getting that validation from someone she respected so much really touched the actress.

Elsewhere in the episode we were introduced to a father (Dulé Hill) whose family had been in a car accident (and wow, The West Wing veterans really need to stay off the road on this show). He crossed paths with Jack at the hospital on the night the Pearsons’ house burned down, and Jack’s wise words (actually, Dr. K’s wise words from the series premiere) stuck with the father, whose son Marcus Brooks grew up to make breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s research. We also learned that the father of Deja’s baby is Malik (was there ever any doubt?). 

Deep breath, guys, because next week we will bid farewell to the Pearsons for good. This Is Us’ series finale, “Us,” will air at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, May 24, on NBC. Be sure to check out our 2022 TV schedule to see what shows are premiering soon, and our spring finale schedule for what shows will soon end.

Only two episodes remain of NBC’s hit drama This Is Us, and fans are holding their collective breath as they inevitably get to the long-expected moment of Rebecca’s death. While the series always seemed to be building to this heartbreaking event, we’ve seen some flashes that go even further into the future to show Kate and Toby’s son Jack Damon as an adult. Just how far will fans get to go in these last two episodes? Justin Hartley — who plays the adult version of Kevin — gave an idea of what to expect in the finale.

It speaks to Dan Fogelman’s vision and the talent of the writers that there are still so many mysteries leading into This Is Us’ penultimate episode. Chris Geere, who plays Kate’s second husband Phillip, gave us more to question when he teased that according to their filming schedule, “the last day will be everyone in the last scene.” But just because the series has been leading up to Rebecca’s death doesn’t mean that’s how it will end when the final episode — titled “Us” — airs on May 24. Justin Hartley told THR what he thought when he read the final script:  

If the show is not ending on a sad note, as the Kevin actor says, I think we can safely rule out Rebecca’s death being the last major event that we get to witness. What’s more, Justin Hartley gave a pretty specific span of time that viewers can expect to see the Pearsons in for the finale:

So there is a future after This Is Us, and hopefully someday fans will see that in a spinoff! Now that we know when not to expect to see Rebecca’s passing, should fans have loads of tissues ready to go for the upcoming episode, “The Train”? It definitely seems possible. 

The episode title might be a reference to the Season 6 premiere, when Rebecca gave us a taste of the tough road she was going to travel this season with her fight with Alzheimer’s by not being able to remember the word “caboose.” And the previous episode, “Family Meeting,” showed Kevin making the call to Randall to rally the troops, because Rebecca didn’t have long. We also know that reading the second-to-last script caused Mandy Moore to throw up, and Chrissy Metz said she couldn’t breathe, which would make sense if those reactions were caused by the death of our beloved matriarch.

The series may not end on a wholly sad note, but we certainly have some tears left to shed before we get to that point. This Is Us returns on Tuesday, May 17 at 9 p.m. ET for “The Train” on NBC, to be followed by the series finale on May 24. Be sure to check out our 2022 TV schedule to see what shows are premiering soon.

This story contains spoilers for This Is Us’ Season 6 episode “Family Meeting.” 

Rebecca Pearson had a plan in place for what was to happen when the time came for the Big Three to make decisions regarding her well-being. In a classic This Is Us Thanksgiving speech, the matriarch told her three children that they were not to make their lives smaller for her, and if Miguel was not around, the responsibility would fall to Kate to make the choices. We sadly said goodbye to Miguel last week, so “Family Meeting” put Kevin, Kate, and Randall in the painful position of deciding what’s next. In the end, Kate did make a decision, but the circumstances had actress Chrissy Metz “pissed” on her character’s behalf.

When the Big Three gathered to talk about how to care for Rebecca after Miguel’s passing, of course they didn’t agree. Randall wanted to move his mother to Philadelphia. Kevin wanted to keep her in the house he’d built and have them all take turns visiting. Kate’s decision was to move Rebecca to Los Angeles to live with her and Phillip; however, Kevin called an audible, saying that he, Sophie, Madison, and Elijah would all move to the East Coast so their mom could stay in her house and be cared for full time by family. Chrissy Metz told People how she felt about Kate being outshined by her brother — again: 

With Kevin’s entire wing of the family being willing to relocate, and with Nicky, Edie, Randall, and Beth already being on the East Coast, Kevin’s idea really does seem like what is best for Rebecca. It was still frustrating to see Kate finally find her voice with her brothers, just to be overruled. Chrissy Metz said her character just had to remember that it was about doing right by Kate's beloved mother, not her pride.

Speaking to Kate’s pride, however, it was nice to see the support she had from the other men in her life — Phillip and Toby. Her ex-husband gave her some straight talk (in the most loving way) about how she acted around Kevin and Randall, while “Big Phil” stood up to Beth and Sophie for making light of the Big Three’s melodrama. 

Next week brings fans to the series' penultimate episode, with the script that caused Mandy Moore to throw up after reading it. Are we ready for this? I don’t think we’re ready for this. This Is Us returns with “The Train” at 9 p.m. ET next Tuesday, May 17, on NBC. See our full spring finale schedule here, and be sure to check out our 2022 TV schedule to see what new and returning shows are premiering soon.

Audiences have had the pleasure of watching This Is Us’ Pearsons grow over the course of six seasons — in some cases from infancy to old age. But in the years since the Big Three came into our lives, it hasn’t just been the characters’ lives that have changed, but the actors’ too. Last year something happened for Mandy Moore that altered her entire perspective on the character of Rebecca Pearson: she became a mother herself.

That’s right, the actress who plays Pearson matriarch Rebecca — the elderly woman whose grown children are gathering around her deathbed — is experiencing real-life parenthood for the first time. Mandy Moore has portrayed Rebecca at many ages, from young adulthood to a woman in her 80s suffering from Alzheimer’s, but she told Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on Today that becoming a mother makes her want to change everything about This Is Us’ earlier seasons:

Mandy Moore may be questioning the acting choices she made from 2016 until last year, but she clearly doesn’t give herself enough credit. You don’t become one of television’s most beloved mothers by merely “faking it.” Rebecca has carried some of the series’ most emotional storylines, with her husband Jack’s death (and now also the passing of her second husband, Miguel), and the steady worsening of her dementia.  

One person who has not underestimated Mandy Moore’s talent is Sterling K. Brown. The Randall actor has been singing the praises of his TV mom, and he hopes people are listening, as he made a tearful plea for his TV mother to be recognized with an Emmy Award. 

While she may not have been able to draw on real-life experience until recently, It's possible that playing Rebecca has taught Mandy Moore a thing or two about motherhood. The mama bear sure came out in the actress late last year when a photographer started following her and her infant son on one of their walks. She took to social media to tell him he could “kindly fuck off,” and while I’ve never heard Rebecca Pearson drop an F-bomb, I’d think twice before crossing any one of the Big Three.

As the sixth season proceeds steadily to the series finale, Mandy Moore isn’t the only one with regrets. Creator Dan Fogelman said he wishes he’d adjusted the timeline earlier in the series so that there was less jumping into the future. Milo Ventimiglia, as well, had a heart-wrenching regret about Jack never being able to patch things up with his brother Nicky. 

Just like Mandy Moore’s double-guessing herself, I’m going to say that those things aren’t as much of a concern for This Is Us fans as a whole. My biggest complaint is that we have to say goodbye at all. The final episodes of This Is Us will air at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesdays on NBC. See our full spring finale schedule, and check out our 2022 TV schedule to see what premieres are coming up soon.

Only three episodes remain before the book is shut on the Pearson family saga, and as the This Is Us cast wobbles toward the series finale, some of the actors are looking to hang onto a piece of television history. It’s pretty common for the stars of a successful show to keep something from set as a memento from that particular era of their careers, and after six years together, a few members of the cast had their eyes on some pretty meaningful — and sometimes sizable — props from the NBC drama’s set. 

Sterling K. Brown, a.k.a. Senator Randall Pearson, hasn’t been shy about the emotional impact that the series’ conclusion has had on him, as he made a tearful plea for Mandy Moore to be recognized for her portrayal of Rebecca amid the character's worsening Alzheimer’s. Chrissy Metz and Chris Sullivan have been a huge part of Season 6, as we witnessed not just the end of Kate and Toby’s marriage, but their time-lapsed journeys to finding new love. After such a long and emotional experience, what were the items that the actors wanted to keep as their own?

Sterling K. Brown Wanted A Special Keepsake To Go To Susan Kelechi Watson

One of television’s greatest couples, Randall and Beth supported each other to the end, and when Sterling K. Brown thought about the trinkets that represented his time on the show, he told People about the item he wanted for his TV wife:

I love the idea of the doll dancing around Randall and Beth’s kitchen — and I’ll definitely have my eye out for her in my inevitable rewatch of the series — but I love even more that the actor said Susan Kelechi Watson deserved it more than he did. Beth proved she was the Pearson MVP time and again, always there to give Randall whatever support he needed, and often being just far enough outside the Pearson family drama to see situations with a clearer perspective. 

That doesn't mean Sterling K. Brown has to leave Paramount Studio empty-handed, however. The actor also admitted he wouldn’t mind taking the Pilgrim Rick hat and starting his own Brown Thanksgiving traditions. Just don’t forget the Police Academy 3!

Chrissy Metz And Mandy Moore Both Called Dibs On A Musical Memento

Season 6 has seen Kate learn to stand up for herself and make choices for her own happiness, and it sounds like some of that strength came through when she laid claim to a prominent and meaningful item she told People she wanted to keep:

If it sounds like Chrissy Metz is fighting hard to prove the piano is hers, that's because she may have some competition. Mandy Moore said on Jimmy Kimmel Live that she also wanted to take home the prop that was such a big part of her character’s life:

Mandy Moore — who is actually three years younger than the actress who plays her daughter — acknowledged that Chrissy Metz had already called dibs, but she joked that she was willing to play a little dirty and “slip the props master like a hundred dollar bill.” 

After Rebecca’s emotional performance of the This Is Us theme song at Kate and Phillip’s wedding, it seems like it would be hard to deny the Pearson matriarch the piano. Chrissy Metz said there were two floating around the family’s homes throughout the decades, and there was definitely one from the music school where Kate and Phillip met. Hopefully there are enough to go around without causing a big mother/daughter fight!

Chris Sullivan Wants To Drive Off The Lot In A Big Piece Of Pearson History

Go big or go home, right? Chris Sullivan’s character may not have gone the distance with Kate, but Toby will get the last laugh if he gets to drive off the lot in Jack Pearson’s Grand Wagoneer. Of course, he knows asking for a car is a little different than hoping to keep some of Toby’s wardrobe (the Hawaiian shirts!), and Sullivan’s a reasonable man. He told People:

It sounds like Chris Sullivan’s relationship with this car might last longer than Katoby’s marriage! It might be a long shot, but wouldn’t it be cool to see Chris Sullivan rolling up to the set of his new comedy pilot The Son in Law in that classic piece of machinery?

It’s heart-warming to think that This Is Us meant as much to the actors as it does to the fans. The meaningful props that the cast members hoped to take away from the set shows how important the past six years have been. 

Only a few episodes remain until we say goodbye to This Is Us forever (or until one of the characters’ stories becomes a spinoff). Tune in at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesdays on NBC. Lots of shows are wrapping up their seasons, so check out our spring finale schedule to make sure you’re not missing anything, and also take a look at our 2022 TV schedule to see what premieres are coming soon.

Spoiler alert! This story contains major spoilers for This Is Us’ Season 6 episode “Miguel.”

After multiple weeks focused on and around Kate marrying her second husband Phillip, the latest episode of This Is Us shined the spotlight on another second husband, and one who has been silently integral to the Pearson family for the whole of the series: Miguel Rivas. The episode, appropriately titled “Miguel,” solved the mystery of Rebecca’s husband’s whereabouts when the family was gathering around her deathbed, and unfortunately it was the answer we were all afraid of: Miguel had already passed away. Even with just three episodes remaining, the questions being answered still lead to more questions, and “Miguel” left us with a pretty big one about Rebecca.

So now we know where Miguel is, but what’s less clear is when Miguel actually died. At the end of the episode we see Randall, Kate and Amber (Miguel’s daughter) scattering some of his ashes under the tree he and Rebecca planted at their house. We also see Kevin and Miguel’s son Andy doing the same on the baseball field in Puerto Rico where Miguel played as a child. Rebecca’s absence for this sad moment led THR to ask Jon Huertas if there were possibly two people’s ashes being scattered in those scenes. The actor gave an intriguing response: 

Is it possible that the scenes we witnessed in the latest episode — with Miguel arm in arm with Rebecca in one frame of the montage and then gone in the next, presumably from heart failure — were happening in the future timeline (circa 2034) that we’ve been leading up to? Were Rebecca’s ashes being spread beneath the tree as well? How much longer was Rebecca able to survive after she lost the most consistent presence in her life?

“Miguel” gave viewers not only more context to his life and upbringing, but also showed just how far he was willing to go — or rather how far he insisted on going — for his wife. Inspired by his mother, who served as her sister’s caretaker for decades after she suffered a stroke in her 20s, Miguel seemed to live by the words she said to him about it being a thankless job: “There is no thankless. Love is giving your heart without expectation.”

Many This Is Us fans were skeptical about Miguel after he married Rebecca following Jack’s death, but hopefully this episode gave them the context they needed to finally see the beauty in their relationship.

We’re in the final stretch now. Just three episodes remain in This Is Us’ final chapter, and whatever Dan Fogelman has in store for us is definitely going to pack an emotional punch, given the extreme reactions the cast had to reading the script. The NBC drama returns at 9 p.m. ET next Thursday, May 10. Lots of shows are wrapping up their seasons, so check out our spring finale schedule to make sure you’re not missing anything, and also take a look at our 2022 TV schedule to see what premieres are coming soon.

Sterling K. Brown warned us that the ugly crying was coming. The actor experienced what the rest of us fans went last week when he watched the April 19 episode, “Day of the Wedding,” a few days after it aired. As the story jumped a few years into the future for Kate and Philip’s wedding, this was the first time we’d gotten to see Mandy Moore playing Rebecca in the further stages of her Alzheimer’s. Brown was inspired by the performance, so much so that he posted a nearly 7-minute video with a tearful, passionate plea for his TV mother to win an Emmy Award.

The man who plays Randall Pearson could win an award himself for that outpouring of emotions, as he marveled at the woman portraying his fictional mother. In the episode, Rebecca had been thrown off by the travel to the wedding and being out of her daily routine. She didn’t always remember Philip’s name, and she regularly confused Kevin for Jack, whom she thought was still alive. (I mean, Jack and Rebecca are marriage goals, even in death and dementia.) When she performed a special song at the reception, everyone was in tears — Sterling K. Brown included. Check out his unbridled praise for Mandy Moore on Instagram: 

It’s probably a good thing I don’t get a say in the Emmy Award winners, because that speech convinced me! Honestly, though, Sterling K. Brown could say the butter on his morning toast deserved an award, and I’d probably feel compelled to email someone about it. Can we get this man to run for president? 

Of course, it’s not like I needed SKB’s endorsement to be convinced of Mandy Moore’s talent. In the Season 6 premiere she was already crushing it, proving that the final chapter was really going to bring the feels, and she continued to show that in an emotional speech to her children in “Taboo” to set up the final Big Three Trilogy. Sterling K. Brown had to let it be known in his post how in awe he is of her:

Tears welled up in the actor’s eyes a number of times during the video, and he got so excited that he seemed to struggle not to raise his voice. I get it, because it is pretty wild to see Mandy Moore on screen playing the mother of three actors who are all younger than her. Sterling K. Brown said that’s one of the things that makes her amazing, because he said she just feels like his mom on the set:

The Randall actor seems to be able to completely forget Mandy Moore's real age when they're on set, and he’s not the only one. Griffin Dunne, who plays Rebecca’s brother-in-law Nicky, has said he keeps forgetting she’s not really 70 years old, and he was shocked to learn how young she really was when they saw each other at a press event.

While we’re talking award consideration, I don’t know if there’s a Group Dance category anywhere to be found, but I’d like to submit the video of the This Is Us cast doing “the wobble” between scenes while filming “Day of the Wedding.” That post was truly amazing enough to make me momentarily forget that there are only a few episodes remaining before we say a final goodbye to the Pearsons. 

New episodes of This Is Us air at 9 p.m. ET Tuesdays on NBC. Find out when all of your shows are ending on our spring finale calendar, and be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what’s coming soon.

Only a handful of episodes remain before viewers say goodbye to the Pearsons, and creator Dan Fogelman has made sure This Is Us’ final chapter is one we won’t forget. Season 6 has jumped forward in time to show the progression of Rebecca’s Alzheimer’s and the end of Kate and Toby’s marriage. We’ve gone into the past to see Jack’s mother die, and we’ve seen Deja suffer her first heartbreak. But put those tissues away, This Is Us fans, because members of the cast have shared a BTS video of the cast doing the Wobble, and it’s so much fun, you’ll forget all about the family’s on-screen woes.

Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Philip (Chris Geere) tied the knot in the latest episode, “Day of the Wedding,” and what’s a wedding without some dancing? During a break between scenes, the cast — in full wedding attire, of course — broke it down like the reception had an open bar. Check out the video Sterling K. Brown shared to Instagram:

The whole group seemed to be having an absolute blast, with Chrissy Metz doing like any good bride, and hiking up that wedding dress so it didn’t slow her down. During the episode, Rebecca brought everyone to tears with an emotional rendition of This Is Us’ theme song after the Big Three had questioned whether their ailing mother would even be able to perform. There was no question about Mandy Moore’s dance skills, however, as she wobbled like the 38-year-old she is, even as she was in full age makeup to portray Rebecca in her 70s. 

Justin Hartley was the only one not to hit the dance floor. Maybe he wanted to stay in full “surly Kevin” mode between scenes, or maybe he didn’t want to tip his hat to which of the three ladies his character had a wedding weekend hookup with. Because along with super sleuths Madison (Caitlin Thompson) and Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson), the three “suspects” — Cassidy (Jennifer Morrison), Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge) and the wedding singer (Katie Lowes in her This Is Us debut) all joined in the line dance. Either way, he did make sure to get some of the dance on video.

Every actor out there is giving it their all — and you better believe I’ve watched the video enough times to know. Jon Huertas and Griffin Dunne proved that This Is Us does not let Miguel and Uncle Nicky out of the house often enough. Even the cast’s relative newcomers Chris Geere and Adam Korson (who plays Madison’s husband Elijah) held their own amongst the tough-to-crack group of Pearsons. While Sterling K. Brown and Susan Kelechi Watson were perfection as always, the Beth actress shared another behind-the-scenes video that Senator Pearson might want to make himself aware of:

The final five episodes are upon us, and while I wouldn’t argue with just full hours of Pearson flash mobs, I suppose it’s more important to wrap up the characters’ stories and get answers to those future timeline questions! Possibly the next mystery to be solved will be that of Kevin’s wife, as the next episode, “The Night Before the Wedding,” promises to explain at least some of Madison and Beth’s findings from their wedding day snooping.

This Is Us returns at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, April 26, on NBC, with the series finale set for May 24. As multiple shows are wrapping up their seasons, check out a full list of finale dates, and head to our 2022 TV Schedule to see what shows are coming in to replace them!

Spoiler alert! This story contains spoilers for the Season 6 episode of This Is Us, “Day of the Wedding.”

Kate’s (second) wedding day has finally arrived! After being shocked out of our socks in This Is Us’ Season 5 finale, when we learned that Kate was getting remarried — to Phillip of all people — and after the previous episode showed us how they got there, “Day of the Wedding” finally saw the Pearsons live that fateful day. Kate and Phillip did say, “I do,” but the even bigger talking point of the episode was Rebecca’s declining health. When she took the stage to sing at the reception, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house (mine included), and Mandy Moore explained why the song was even more meaningful than fans might have realized.

It wasn’t a given that Rebecca was even going to be able to perform the song she’d practiced with Phillip for a year prior. Traveling to the wedding and being taken out of her daily routine proved to worsen the effects of Rebecca’s Alzheimer’s, and she slipped in and out of lucidity, consistently confusing Kevin for her late husband Jack. When she started to play, however, and found her key, the tune was surprisingly familiar! The special song Kate had teased the whole episode turned out to be the show’s closing theme music, and Mandy Moore told People that was, of course, always the showrunner’s plan:

It’s not really surprising that Dan Fogelman continues to have surprises up his sleeve, even with just a handful of episodes remaining in the series. Listening to the lyrics – which included sentiments like, “They say time will tell, but I think it likes to keep secrets; So we’ll wait and see; But it’s just as well, the years can be counted in seconds” – I had to wonder: was the song sad because the lyrics were sad, or was it sad because we typically associate that music with what’s playing as we’re sobbing into our pillows at the end of each episode? I’m thinking both. 

The familiar melody wasn’t where the song’s special meaning ended, though. Mandy Moore had an especially personal connection, and Rebecca’s ability to perform it spoke to what the actress said she's learned about dementia and Alzheimer’s in researching for her performance:

It was a great moment, as Mandy Moore continues to blow us away this season. I was, however, just a little disappointed we didn’t get to see Phillip go full Titanic with “My Heart Will Go On” — which had been his plan to distract the partygoers if Rebecca started to struggle on stage. Maybe that could still come to fruition, as in next week’s episode we’ll dive deeper into Kevin’s wedding weekend dalliances. Madison and Beth were on the case in “Day of the Wedding” to find out if Kevin had slept with Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge), Cassidy (Jennifer Morrison), or the wedding singer (Katie Lowes of Scandal and Inventing Anna, whose character was introduced in this episode). 

The countdown is officially on, with five episodes remaining. This Is Us’ final chapter continues at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 26 on NBC. As this one wraps up, check out our 2022 TV schedule to see what shows are premiering soon.

This Is Us is always an emotional affair. In Season 6 alone, we’ve watched Rebecca tackle the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, Jack lose his mother, and — specifically in the last few episodes — the dissolution of Kate and Toby’s marriage. As the story in the most recent episode focused on KaToby, and how the Green Egg Smoker played into their eventual divorce, there was one delightfully bright spot in the otherwise tense hour: The performance of 3-year-old Johnny Kincaid as Jack Damon. His co-stars thought so too, and they gushed about the adorable little man during a recent interview.

Johnny Kincaid made his acting debut as Kate and Toby’s son Jack Jr. at the beginning of This Is Us’ final chapter, but “Saturday in the Park” really put the focus on him. Johnny, like his character, is visually impaired, and some of the episode was shown through Jack’s perspective, with extremely fuzzy visuals. Johnny executed quite a bit of dialog as Jack showed Rebecca his shoes and talked about his parents fighting. Twitter went wild over the young actor, and his co-stars were equally enamored when they spoke with Glamour, with Susan Kelechi Watson gushing:

Johnny has albinism, according to a post on the Instagram page that he shares with his mother, Marisol Kincaid. Albinism is a different visual impairment than the one Jack Jr. has, but Marisol said she was excited about the opportunity Johnny has to represent the low vision community:

The love and respect seems mutual, as Chrissy Metz described her TV son as “so special,” and Mandy Moore opened up about her scenes with Johnny, who she called a “lovebug.” From his acting to his fun personality, Moore couldn’t find enough good things to say about the little guy:

Whether it’s the family’s involvement or the acting coach or just Johnny’s natural-born ability, this toddler has something special, and I can’t wait to see more of him as Season 6 continues — even though that obviously means putting the last nail in the coffin of Kate and Toby. 

This Is Us continues at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 12, on NBC with the next episode called “KaToby,” so unfortunately I think we all know what to expect. Hopefully Jack Jr. will get us through! In the meantime, be sure to check out our 2022 TV schedule to see when new and returning shows are premiering. If you want to revisit earlier days of This Is Us when Kate and Toby were happy together, you can stream the full series with a Hulu subscription!