That Was Us - Crossroads | "Don’t Take My Sunshine Away" (316) with special guest Rob Morgan

Episode Date: August 26, 2025

This week on the podcast, we chat about Season 3, Episode 16: Don’t Take My Sunshine Away. If there’s one thing that’s clear, it’s that the Pearsons are struggling on all fronts right now. Kate and Toby try to grasp how it feels to have baby Jack in the NICU, Beth and Randall face one of the biggest confrontations to date, and Zoe and Kevin make a discovery about their relationship that could change their future. Sterling, Chris, and Mandy talk about gestures from exes (ala Kevin and Sophie), first kisses, what it’s like to have tough life conversations with your partner, and so much more. Plus, the one and only Rob Morgan, AKA Councilman Solomon Brown, joins the pod to talk about his time on the show! That Was Us is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. ------------------------- Support Our Sponsors: - Brought to you by Bombas, One Clothing Item Purchased = One Clothing Item Donated Head over to https://bombas.com/ and use code TWU for 20% off your first purchase. - BAU, Artist at War opens only in theaters, for a limited run beginning September 26th. Go to https://www.baumovie.com/ to watch the trailer, read about Josef’s real-life journey, and find showtimes near you. You can also sign your organization up for group screenings. - Try Zip Recruiter for free at https://www.ziprecruiter.com/TWU. ZipRecruiter. The smartest way to hire. - For a limited time only, get 60% off your first order, plus free shipping when you head to Smalls.com/TWU. ------------------------- 🍋 About the Show: The stars of This Is Us, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, and Chris Sullivan, dive back into the world of the Pearsons, reliving each episode and all the life lessons that came with it. Together, they dig in and dig deep, have the tough conversations, bring in very special and familiar guests, share never-before-heard behind-the-scenes moments, and feature listeners in highly anticipated fan segments. Join your favorite family back in the living room to examine our past, cherish our present, and look to the future with new episodes of That Was Us every Tuesday. ------------------------- 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:32 Discussion 00:59:33 Fan Segment 01:09:28 Outro 01:11:12 Credits Executive Producers: Natalie Holysz, Rob Holysz & Jeph Porter Creative Producer: Sam Skelton Video Editor: Todd Hughlett Mix & Master: Jason Richards #thisisus #thatwasus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of That Was Us, we are diving into season three, episode 16. Don't take my sunshine away. Kate and Toby stay by Baby Jack's side in the NICU. Beth and Randall struggle to get on the same page amidst opposite schedules. Zoe and Kevin make a discovery. about their relationship. Hello, hello, hello. What's going on, Banymore?

How are you doing, Chris Sullivan? Doing very, very well. Sterling K. Brown. Glad to hear it. Glad to be here with you beautiful people talking about episode 316. Two more episodes left in the season and we'll be at the halfway point.

It's ticking down. It's like an episode 24. Bink. Dink. Closer and closer to the end. So things heated up in 315. Yep. Right?

We see that Zoe has concerns with regards to Kevin's honesty, right? And whether or not that's going to be a continuing part of their path. Is she going to stay? Is she going to leave? Beth and Randall for the first time seemed like, people keep telling them, you guys are going to make it through this? You're going to be all right.

And like, everybody's sort of like, are they? Are they going to be all right? This is when my wife said to me, if Cookie and Lucius can make it together, y'all better get your stuff together. That's right. She said that to the writer's room, too, made a special trip. She may have got in the same thing. This episode was written by one of my favorite writers,

Vera Herbert. And I call her Black Vera. I call her Black Vera. She black guys? No, she is not. But she did win an NAACP Image Award for the episode that she wrote in season one. And since then, she's been Black Vera. How many

are non-black winners of an NDACP award? Do you think there are? There's a few. There'll be a few. Okay. I would say percentage-wise, it's probably around 10% of you. 10%? Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. Because I try to highlight, like, things. that are about the community and or other marginalized groups.

Yeah, that's what I was saying. So, but I also think because her name is Vera, they thought like, oh, this sister's boy. Yeah, yeah. They didn't know. They didn't know. They didn't know. They didn't even include her in the percentage.

You know what I mean? You know what I said? K.O. Yegun, don't be upset. Like, they didn't know. They should have known by the last name. Yeah. Come on. Kay is Nigerian. Strong, strong, strong.

Um, so now, so we're at 316. Yep. Um. We are in the. We're in the NICU. And this is something that I was highlighting. It was my first time seeing the doll that you guys were used for the baby. And like even it's just a doll. I want to say this too, because we'll have dolls from time to time for newborns, especially when COVID happened because we would have newborn babies and then it was like, oh, you can't bring a newborn

baby in the middle of COVID. But then these babies cost money. And this is just the full eight pounds, six pound, whatever. To see like the one, two pound version of it. And then it's, it is shocking. Yeah, with tubes and tape. Yeah. Yeah. The reality of the situation is that there's a small pump in the chest of the doll that that breathes it.

Yeah. That makes it. It's chest smooth. It's chest smooth. And then there was a single puppeteer who both arms were on these long sticks that came up through the bottom of the, the, the, the, the, incubator, incubator. That sounds right. I think so. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Still cooking.

And then, and then they had the ability to move the head a little bit back and forth. But the reality of the situation on an acting level, as we sit there and struggle with the health of our child, is that in our eye line, directly over the top of this puppet is a puppeteer. He's a man. Who has to, who has to see the puppet in order to make sure it's. doing what he wants it to do, which means his little face is just peeking up over the back of the incubator watching and checking out and doing his thing. Does that affect you're acting? And it was just real, I got to say, for me, I guess Bigger Chrissy, real complicated.

Yeah. Yeah. That is, I can't even imagine that. I've had to do some doll acting in my day, but I never had somebody there operating the puppet. Sorry, quick tangent, do tell. What kind of doll acting? on this very show. Where, tell me, what?

Tons of dolls. You did have a, you had a big monologue to a doll. Oh, you're talking about the baby. Yeah. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Yeah. She wasn't talking about my love. Oh, no, no, sorry.

No. I was talking about, baby dolls. Yeah, baby dolls that were like, meh. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I had to give an emotional monologue to one. You gave nurse to, like, a baby doll. I did. Yeah.

Excuse me what? I had to nurse. I remember Black Randall? He was right there. Oh, okay. Yeah. Black Brat is supposed to White Randall? It's to go with Black Vira.

I get it with Black, I get it with Black Vira. Young Randall's when I did this story. Baby Randall. He's young gifted in Black. Baby Randall. Baby Randall. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, oh, man.

Look at it. She's trying. She's really going for it. Yeah. Yeah, so that's happening. And I will say this. I don't know if it's in this scene or if it's like one scene later. Because maybe we just continue with like Kate, Toby.

And that whole storyline, right? I think you come back again, and now it's time to get like a blood and urine sample. Yeah, from the baby, right? So they got to get a vein for blood. And then to get the urine sample, they have to use a catheter to insert in the urethra. Now, anytime you say catheter and urethra to a grown-ass man, everything shuts down. Yeah. Like, I was like, there's like, what Toby is feeling is.

correct. This is a one way thing where urine comes from and or once you reach age 10.11. We know what comes out of it, Sterling. Got it. Just wanted to be clear that I understand that it has a couple of functions. Yes. Sterling.

In case anyone was worried. Inserting anything the other way is a no-go for the show. And the baby is a pound and half. I know. It's really brutal. It sounded like your request was like, can't we just put something on and wait yeah like do you excusing yourself i was like please i don't want to see

this yeah i don't want to see this i don't want to think about it yeah and it does maybe it's because like you guys so you wind up having a conversation after you leave and it's eddie um eddie k thomas eddie k thomas very good friend of mine this was this was my one uh uh call to dan during the show when gavin came up i was like you know who'd be great for this is my buddy eddie he was great He was absolutely one of my very good friends. And it was so lovely to see you be able to commune with someone where you're feeling very isolated and alone in this feeling of like, how come I'm not getting it together?

My wife is getting it together. I see her singing to the baby. She's like so nurturing and caring what now. All I see is tubes and everything that's wrong. And he's so small. And that's true. Right? Like it's not an invalid thing that you're thinking.

thinking of feeling. But you're like, how do I get to where she is? Because ultimately, like, I feel like I'm leaving her out kind of high and dry. Yeah. He says moms are just better at it than us. Yeah. It's like, yeah. Yeah. That was just sort of his, like, his answer to the equation. Like, we can't know how to do it and they just do. You know how to do it. And is that just the bottom line? Do you guys think? It's for, yeah, for certain things, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I, look, not not to like, you know, I can't, I can't, well, no, I can't, I can't, I can't begin to understand everyone's situation, but I think for the most part, and in, and this situation that we're speaking of, like, this, this, like, instinct just kicks in, you, some, it does for some women, it doesn't for other women, no judgment, like, it's just what happens. And I think in this particular case, like, it, it's, does kick in for Kate. She's immediately like, yeah, I know that there are tubes and I know that he is struggling and I, like, I want him to be okay, but like, but it's still, I see us. Like,

I see our baby. I see you. I see me. I see the dimple and this and that like. I had a little smaller. Yeah. Like, and I think that's just like, you have to understand like mom has had all of this time with this being. Totally. The dad hasn't. Right. You're, you guys are handicapped in that sense. Like, we know this baby's essence, this energy, we feel it, we're living with it, we're dreaming about them, they're with us on every bit of this journey, right, for 10 months. And so it's improbable that dad would ever be able to, like, come close to understanding that like tether, that they are bound by mom and baby. For that exact inverse reason is why when Bear needed, cracked open his eye and needed stitches on his face, I go to the hospital

with him and not Rachel. Yeah. Not Rachel. Yes. Rachel stays with Ifa. I hear you. Because that tether is so strong, I was like, and I kind of knew it, but after experiencing it, I was like, it's a really good thing you weren't there.

Sure. This is, it was, it took me a while to get over, like, what we had to put him through to get him stitches on its face. but yeah it's the the connection is is intrinsic it's just there it exists exactly exactly so it's like there's no fault of dad in that situation but i can understand feeling even more isolated and alone like i don't i can't find a way into connecting with this situation yet because this is not what i imagined at all and so i'm wrapping my head around that and wrapping my head around the ramifications of like, is this ever going to feel normal and what is normal and where do

we go from here and you're just like surviving minute by minute. So yeah, it's, it's not easy at all. I mean, the same thing happened, or not the same thing. Ifa got, when she was 10 days old, got RSV. Oh, that's right. From bear. And she had to go to the hospital. And she was admitted to a children's hospital here in LA for 10 days. Oh, God. Terrifying. It was, it was all right because she never got an infection in her lungs or anything, but she was just stuffed up and a 10-day-old baby can't clear their nose. And so she couldn't eat. And so she had to be suctioned every three hours in order to breastfeed.

And so Rachel, and obviously Rachel is breastfeeding. And they had that connection. So she had to be there. But it would also, if that wasn't the case, Rachel'd be the one staying there. Yeah. Like, one of us has to stay. And it wasn't even like a conversation.

Yeah. Just like, so we get Rachel set up, you know, and to watch even a 10-day-old baby who was not premature get her nasal, you know, every three hours. It was just like, brutal. I can't imagine. It was brutal. I feel like Taylor is just in the last, like, couple months started to get to know, Lou. Really? Well, just because it's like she's been mine.

Not that he didn't help, but it's sort of like we have two toddlers. And he's also like taking care of the boys. Exactly. He's with the boys and I got the baby and like the baby needed me. And now that I'm not nursing anymore, baby doesn't need me in the same way. So like he can give her a bottle. He can put her down. Like it's, so I remember saying to him at some point.

But then he goes out of town for two weeks. How dare he. Place his little guitar. His guitar and I'm here by myself. He's over there, Tweedl-l-l-de-l-le-in all over the country. But I just remember being like, you're going to love your daughter. Like, she's so cool. But I just like, as a mom, it's like you have this front row seat to like this little person that the world isn't really clued into in quite the same way yet.

Yeah. That they will be when they're like not so, like don't need you so much. So anyway, not to go off on a tangent. But yeah, it's interesting. That's no tangent. There's sort of, I'm curious if mine dealt for one more second. if we're getting back to the show. Yeah.

This is the show, baby. Is this the show? Well, I meant this is us. But that was us is the show and it's part of the show, right? But like that intuitive feeling or whatnot, I'm curious. In terms of like what you're sensing internally and what you experience externally, is there anything about your children that surprised you in terms of like how they wound up manifesting? We're still in such like the early days.

But, God, we were just talking about this yesterday. And I wonder if you guys feel the same way. Like, the essence of who they are, they are immediately. And I'm like, oh, I know exactly who Gus was, exactly who Ozzy was, and Lou. And it's like, it's only grown stronger as they've gotten older. I'm like, yeah, I knew, yes, you were this as a baby Gus. You were, like, it's crazy. And it's even hard to, like, qualify exactly what that is.

It's just little glimpses of their personality. or I don't, that I'm like, yeah, I knew you, you were, like, it just, yes, like who they were when they were right out of the gate. It was like, yeah, that's, I see shades of that now as they get older. Do you feel that way about your kids? What's surprising to you? Well, I can remember one time we were going to get pictures for Amari when he was a baby. And I remember he'd always just be going and gone or whatnot. And the photographer goes, oh, he's a talker. I was like, really? She's like, oh, he didn't stop talking. I was like, how can you tell us? He's like, because I'm around babies all the time. This kid is talking. What he's doing right now, he's talking.

Wow. And Amari is a talker. Is a talker. See? It's like, that's who he was? That's who he was from the beginning. From the get-go. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And Andrew's always been sort of like a little more rough and tumble. I was looking at this old video of him just like biting my face before he had gums, you know, just crawling over the top of me and just biting my face and just And that's kind of like who he is now, too. Yeah. Yeah. But it hurts more now.

A little bit. Now that he gets teeth. I still need them choose, though. Yeah. Still need them to get a little chew. What do you think about your kids? Yeah, I think, I think the same. I mean, they've, they've identified, they've separated themselves from each other very

early on as far as like, no, I'm going to do this. Yeah, you go ahead. You go ahead and do that. I'll be over here. Yep. So different. Yeah, very, very different. Very different.

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He's like, we've been here for six days already. My man Eddie, who plays, what's the character's name? Gavin. Who plays Gavin's like, dude, I've been here for six weeks. And you see, you see Toby go like, oh. Oh, so somebody has a, you're having a tough time. And then Gavin tells him about. Somebody else.

People that's been there for six months. A couple or whatnot. And then they just received the news from the doctor that you were more than likely. You won't be taking your baby home. You're going to lose a baby. And then Gav says, like, and the only way that you could do it is to somebody else who's in a similar situation to you. And maybe not as bad of a situation. It's like, I can't help but feel a little good about, like, maybe my situation's not that bad.

And I could be a little bit better. And I think it's in these moments. And you help me as an actor tell me in your experience, brother, where you're like, all right, I got to get my shit together. Like, it's bad, but I've just had a couple more examples of like, maybe it's not that bad. Yeah, perspective. There's very specific moments in life where you seek a similar perspective. Yeah. That's what Taylor's and I lunches, just on dad perspective.

Yeah? You know what I mean? Like, hey, have you noticed this? Yes, yes, I have noticed that. Just kind of bouncing things off each other and mirroring back. Maybe like your patient's worth in with blah, blah, blah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

These kids, they're hard. They got to go, right? Yeah, man, we've got to get them out of here. No, but just you can, because you're in a similar situation, you can. You have to find community and to be able to, exactly. You could say the thing and just be honest. And it's like me with Rachel, like, hey, you mind if, like we were saying on the break, I was like, can you mind if I give you the monologue I want to give this other person?

Sure. So I don't have to give it to them. There you go. Yeah, great. There you go. Yeah, you got to have a safe space. Yeah. For sure, especially with parenting.

So shout out to you, boy. but he did a great job on the show. Eddie's door. Yeah, he's fantastic. I think at that time, he had just had his first kid, like very recently, I think. Okay. If I'm remembering correctly, and now he has three. Okay.

And they were all born at home. Really? Yeah. Okay. You and Eddie. Yeah, man. Got that in common. Beautiful family.

I love it. But yeah. And as I'm sitting here, I'm trying to remember because at that time, we lived close to each other here in L.A. And I should ask him, and maybe we can. put it up if he'll let me. I think I helped him go on tape for the role. Are you serious? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think for his audition, I went and read the scene with him. American Pie didn't get a straight offer? What are we talking about you? I mean, I think there was like one or two guys who Dan was talking to. But if he went on tape, I'll have to ask him. I'll have to ask

him. I would love to see that. So to follow it up and close it out, you go back and you see your wife and you see your baby boy and you're like, listen, I know I haven't been doing my fair share or whatnot. I kind of need you to tell me that I haven't been doing my fair share. And how are you doing this? Like, why is this easy for you? And it's not happening for me. And she talks about the things that she sees. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She sees the baby. Like you talk about the tubes and everything we were talking about the 10 months together. She does admit like she feels like she's been doing it alone. Yes. And that's okay. Yeah. She knows it's hard. But yeah, she talks about everything she sees in the baby.

Acknowledges like he's not wrong, but I also see us. And that's what's most important. And it's beautiful. And the end of the episode, we see you guys holding the baby. Yeah. Essentially, she says, you know, the only thing to do is do it. Right. So she leaves him to.

Yep. She's like, I got a shower. You stay here. Yeah. And it'll be fine. Yeah. That's that storyline. Kevin and Zoe.

Let's do it. Why do Kevin and Zoe? They're in there. They got a black female therapist. I love how Kev just makes himself comfortable. You know, it looks like a flower, maybe a little bit like a vagina. She's like, my daughter made that. She's seven.

He's like, well, she's got potential. I see what you're doing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he's been four days sober, and he's there because he wants to make this relationship right. It's important to him. You know, and then Zoe's sort of clocks that the doctor's sort of charmed. Like, I see you want to smile at him or everything. He's a very charming guy, but I don't want to just look like an idiot because I get charmed,

and then ultimately he winds up falling back into, you know, destructive patterns, right? And that therapy meeting is like, I can see it all with you, right? I can see family, the family, the kids, the living in the burbs. Well, maybe not the burbs, but you know what I'm saying. I just see it all with you, right? So it gets back from an AA meeting, and there's a bit of a bombshell that's dropped on where it's always, like, in a very sober and cool way. Like, listen, man, I'm going to ride with you, right?

I've made my decision. We can make this work. But you said you want kids. And kids are not a part of my future. Right? And he's like, really? He's like, she's like, I thought we were on the same page. And he's like, well, you know, I just thought of something eventually what people do.

Do. Yeah. Right? And she's like, not for me. Like, I like to travel. I like this where my life is set up. and I need you to think long and hard, man. And if you do, you decide that you want kids, that's cool.

If you decide you want me, that's cool. But you need to take a moment and think about it. And it's such an interesting thing, too, because the last time Kev talked about kids when they came up was with Sophie. And he said it was a nightmare. A nightmare. And we saw it.

We had a visual depiction on screen of, like, crying kids and him just being like, what is going on? And so now he's made a 180, right? He's only four days sober, too. But, like, he sees something that he wants for his life. Just part of the course for somebody who's four days. Is this true? Okay.

I appreciate you. I can see it all. Everything looks in the future looks so bright. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So there they are. Kev's going to another meeting. They're in New York. He's, I think, around the corner from,

I can't remember exactly what part of New York he's in. but he winds up outside of Sophie's place. Yeah. And it's raining and everything. He's just sort of looking at the door, like off the heels of finding out that, you know, Zoe doesn't want children. As an audience member, it's like, I'm standing in front of this place of the last person that told me they wanted to have my kids, you know what I'm saying,

what's happening even though he can't, he's not saying that out loud. And she says, he's like, would you like to grab a coffee or something? By the way, is that a better way of saying it, the way that he's saying it, the way that he said it to Sophie? Yes. I do think so. But still, to an engaged, she told him immediately. She's like, I'm engaged.

And then he said it's so it's totally safe. Totally safe to have some coffee, right? His name is Grant. He goes, you guys going to have kids? He's like, sorry. Like, I'm just joking. Yeah. This is what's on my line right now.

All this is a bit dysfunction. I mean, it's like, come on. And she says something to the. And she says something to the. point of like, you're not used to doing it. And in doing it, he means like he has a decision to make in terms of whether he wants Zoe or whether he wants kids. And she says, well, you're not used to doing it. And that means making choices. Yeah. So you get everything. Just by being who you are, everything just sort of falls in the place for you, right? And I think we've had that

echoed a few times towards Kev where he has to sort of like hear it now. I think Randall may have said it in a certain way. Somebody else may have said it. But I think hearing it from Sophie sort of makes him go like, okay, there's credence to this thing that's been echoed back to me a couple of times. It goes back to the crib. He sees Zoe and he's like, I choose you. I choose you. And here's a question for you guys.

Before we get any deeper, if your partner told you they didn't want kids, would you have stayed with your partner or would you have been, and I'll start, I'll start this one. I'll start this one. You just did. Because Ryan and I had reached a point in our relationship. We were four years married or whatnot. And we had a plan to wait a couple of years before having kids.

And she was like, I'm not ready yet. And I was like, all right. And then we waited another year. I was like, what about now? She's like, no, not ready. Not where I want to be. And we got to that fourth year. I was like, listen, this is getting tough for me.

And I know I'm getting older and I know what it is that I want in life. And I love you. And before anything becomes like problematic or something, like, let me know. And we could say, adios lovingly, I need children. Yeah. Now, you guys, that's putting you on the spot. You don't have to answer. But it was a real, it was a real thing that I went through.

Yeah. And, like, for Kevin. Was it not something you talked about before? We had talked, but before we had, we talked about the plan to have two children. Yeah. And to spend two years just enjoying being married before we began our family. Got it. So that was what was talked about before.

So you're like, okay, now we've gotten to double that. Right. And what's the plan? Yeah. That's a good question. I mean, I think I had been in a previous marriage where I... Oh, you had. Do tell.

Where I knew I did not want to have a family with that person. Gotcha. And I'm grateful that was the way it all worked out. But I think I knew with Taylor, like, very immediately. I was like, oh, this is the person. Like, I always wanted to have a family. and was just hopeful that was in the cards for me. Right.

And then meeting Taylor, I was like, this is, this is, this is it. This is who I was waiting for. So I don't think I would have, I think I wanted a family, but I wanted a family with him. So they all went together. Yeah. I got you. Yeah. I got you.

Yeah, I think, I think the same. Like, I think, Rachel and I, when we first met, we both knew that we both wanted kids. Okay. But it was, yeah, just a matter of time. No time, table. No, no, we never, yeah. Okay. Yeah, we moved to New York and just enjoyed life too much.

I love that. I love that for you. Yeah. That's it. That was my part on that. So he's made a firm decision. He's made his choice. Chooses Zoe.

Is that the end of? Well, yeah, that. And he sends Sophie, Billy Joel tickets, which I was like, that's a classy move. It is a classy move. The whole, but the whole interaction, the whole, you see. Oh, it made you feel a little. Just get out of, just leave the person alone. Alone. That's how I thought. Just sleep her alone. Sure. The coffee was already too much.

Well, I mean. Coffee, yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. I guess the romantic in me is like they're meant to be. Yeah. Well, that's what we're hoping, right? So we're meant to be. So we as an audience, we let it go. I thought it was classy sending the tickets. Yeah, get out of here. Get out of here. And the fiance can get her ticket. I felt a little. Cuddy. Could he? Get her front row, Billy Joel tickets. That MSG? The idea that you can do that for somebody and that their fiancé can't also has... It's a real power move. Yeah, for sure.

Fiancee sit in their front row of Billy Joel with ex-boyfriend's tickets. Ex-husband. Ex-husband's... Okay, okay, okay, you're right. Oh, no, no, yeah, I love it. She's got away about her. You're right, you're right. I'm wrong.

I am wrong. You're not wrong or right. It's just too differing. Well, you're right. It is a move of like, don't forget about me. Yeah, that's what it felt like. I'm like, that's right. That's right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is what I bring to your life. Yeah. And she even smiles a little bit like. Like, it's so Kevin. So Kevin. So Kevin. Yeah.

But if, if I was her fiancé back, I'm not going to a Billy Joel concert. Yeah. Take your girlfriend. Or are you going to a Billy Joel concert? Randall and councilman mode? Yeah, okay. Oh, boy. Oh, boy.

So it's even, even the way they start this. off is Randall and Beth there figuring out the schedules together, what not, then they both jump into life. And they play the song that they wind up replaying again at the end of the episode, the calm before the storm, right? And it's like, oh, man, it's like, it's ominous from jump. Yeah. You know what I'm saying?

Like, there's so many things that you're trying to balance and then Beth's hitting them up, like, you know, so-and-so needs a story read, you got to check on this project, what have you, make sure you make it to my dancer's side of this time. J-Wan is hitting him up and saying, like, yo, we got to go to this meeting, we got to go to that. He's got a lot of stuff. He killed a lot of trees, man. Got to go through all this stuff, sign it, et cetera.

And, like, the sense of overwhelmed that I felt was, like, Lord. On his behalf, yeah. Because, like, it's like, I feel like I'm living that right now. Yeah. Like, right now. Like, if you promote a show and you shoot a show and you pitch a show and you work on the podcast and you're like, are you doing pre-production for another podcast?

And then, like, every night, Marry's like, hey, Dad, can we read? And then I was like, you always try to make time to read. And then sometimes I'm like, man, I got to watch some This Is Us. Do you want to sit and watch some This Is Us with Dad? And he's like, nope. I was like, I got to finish watching the episode so I can talk about it, man. He's like, okay. Thankfully, the 14-year-old doesn't really care.

He'll be like, hey, Dad, how you doing? And I'm like, I'm good, man. How you doing? Fine. I had this today. And this is a conversation happening, full disclosure. on the commode, on the commode, right? And he's like, and then after a sudden, you know,

there's a little toot from the commode. He's like, I'll leave you alone now. And I'm like, I'm in the bathroom. You don't want to bust it in here. I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. I didn't realize you were the one. I thought it was Andrew on the commode. Oh, wow.

That's the real twist in this story. It was me. It was me. There you go. So that sense of like there's the balls in the air. You kind of say it's good news that your bowels are still moving. Thank you very much. I already talked about the Crackling.

You know what I mean? You need a whole box. So, yeah, like, the montage ends with Beth coming home and be like, hey, babe, how's your day? And my man is knocked out with just papers laid out on the thing, right? So next part of this is there's a phone call. Recitals first. The recitals first. She's looking out into the audience to see if he's there yet.

If he's there, and she's like, you can see a little, you know, frustration is happening. But before the recital starts, as she's being introduced by her, you know, teacher or the owner of the studio, he sees him slip into it, sit down, et cetera, right? Next cut to after the show, he brought some flowers. Flowers are lovely. She says, like, you know, you missed a really lovely intro with regards to what my, you know, boss said about me. I got to give it to him. He's like, give me the play about play right now. What does she have to say?

Yeah, it was a good response. Yeah, it was. It was real good because I was like, that's better than Brown. Yeah. Because, like, Brown may have taken the bait and be like, woman, you know I've been running. But, like, he's just like, you know what? Yeah. Let me hear what she had to say.

Yeah. And the damn right, she said that because they like you to have you. You know what I'm saying? That's a man who just recently told his wife to put a pin in it. That's basically it. I got to be on best behavior. Then he says, listen, there is a dinner tomorrow night. invited by this councilman.

He's a big muck-de-muck. There's going to be a few other people there. I'm sort of just trying to show off the most impressive parts about me, and you tend to make the most impressive impression of all. And she's like, look, I'm working until five. He's like, this great. Dinner's at eight, right? And she's like, okay, I can make it.

And he's like, thank you. Right? So next day at work, he's counseling living away. She's like, dude, something great happened for me. Some folks are going out from work today. It's going to be an incredible opportunity for us to discuss, like, future involvement and programming, et cetera, et cetera. So I think I got to stay. He's like, wait a minute.

I already told this councilman that you're going to come. She's like, yeah, but like my job is important. And like, you know, my job is just as important as yours, where I want to press the pause in this thing. And you're like, has that ever happened for you guys? Like this sort of like weighing of like, this is what I do. This is what you do. And like what you do is no more important than what. I do, that conversation, how's it tend to go?

A little bit. A lot of people like to think that because I enjoy my job. Yeah. That my job is easy. Come on, bro. And, and, well, that's it. Come on, bro. I know you.

Oh, oh. And it's not just a conversation of having my part. her but it's also like our relationship to work rachel has a different relationship to work yes that that she goes she goes away when she's working like she's gone and so it's something that we work on as far as like balance not just for our sake yeah for her like she she works on it for her own sake like she has a pretty uh i mean for lack of about addictive uh relationship with work, like the idea of being productive and working and succeeding in those things. I understand.

So, yeah, we've definitely had those conversations. Yeah, what about you? I mean, I've never told her to put a pen in it. Yeah, it's never felt quite as contentious as what Beth and Randall are kind of dealing with. But certainly, I think, like, two people who have, like, who love what they do and drive a lot of passion and, like, their identity from their jobs, it's, it's still. definitely come up, but I think we're pretty deft at, like, navigating the like, okay, now it's your turn, now it's my turn, now it's your turn, now it's my turn. And that not, like, I understand

that his, he has to do what he does. Sure. Like, that's what he was born to do. And like, he has to nurture that and he deserves to do that in the same way that I do, you know? So it's like we were, I both, I think we're both pretty good at trying to figure out that balance. Okay, that's good. You guys? There's so much of our, what? You and, you and, you and, you and Ryan? Me and Brian Michelle Beth A. Don't even worry about it. What about her? Got it, got it.

Point taken. There's a podcast called We Don't Always Agree. You can listen to it. You can tune in. But so, so Randall and Beth, he goes, look, Beth, I know it may not seem like it, or you can't see everything that I've been doing. I feel like I've been burning the candle at like 12 ends, and I'm sort of just barely keeping it together.

But I'm surprised he actually didn't call marriage. That's what I was waiting for him to do, because that's, It's something that Randall and Beth had done before in previous times. But he's just basically like, this is something that I need from you. Yeah. Right. Can you give me this, please? And she's like, okay.

Well, again, the writers have painted you guys perfectly into the same corner because you can't call marriage because what she is also claiming is marriage. Yeah. It's like it's not like not part of the fam- like, you know what I mean? Like it's a different, you guys are in. a different spot now, which is why it seems so impossible. Well, it's a different spot, too, because it's like, it's not just a job for her. This is her passion that she's foundly refound. Yes. Right? So you can't make light of that. Yeah, you can't negate that. She also

asked him at one point in time to drop out, and he's like, but I didn't. And you said you would. I am. It's, um, oh, it's precarious. It's precarious. It's precarious. But she agrees to come. And I was, And, you know, for what we're, I was, we're going to get to it. I'm not going to get to it just yet. Yes, sir. But like, you talked about, we talked a lot about you, you know, him saying put a pin in it. Yeah. And that has nothing on what gets said in this episode.

Yeah. In that voicemail? Okay. Let's get to it. Okay. So Randall is waiting in his car outside of the councilman's. Dinner, their house. Yeah.

Quick flash. back. Give it to me. The end of the conversation about how important it is to you, very good writing. Yeah. Because what Beth says to Randall is, you've made your desires clear. That is correct. Or whatever, something like that.

She doesn't say, I'll be there. She doesn't say a very good writing because it's made clear that she understands you. Yep, yep, yep, yep. But she does not. Commit. Confirm. Yeah. Or deny.

Correct. Whether or not she'll be at this dinner. It's assumed. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And then Randall is sitting in his car. Waiting. Waiting outside this person's house.

It's time to go. Yeah, I hear you. You made it clear what you won't. That was that. So, okay. So now he's... Sorry. It's so bad.

He's in the car. It's the worst. It's like 20 minutes past what time the dinner starts, right? He's already called a few times sent text, and he's getting no response. I forgot about this. Her phone goes to voicemail. He's getting no response back. So he finally calls, and in leaving a message, he says,

he says, if you had told me something was this important to you, heaven and earth couldn't have stopped me from being there. But maybe that's the difference between us. I hope it was worth it. I hope you're off having fun talking about how to teach board housewives, how to twirl better. Oh, no. Grow the hell.

up by me why have we been even talking about put a pin in it yeah put a pin in it yeah is a love letter yeah yeah compared yeah to this voicemail yeah definitely a love letter yeah it it was um oh last night when i was watching stuff i was like oh man yep what the wait i was like do they get divorced in this show Yeah. I don't know if they make it. I don't think they make it. That may have been to death now. Yeah. We'll be right back with more. That was us.

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Mitsubishi Motors drive your ambition. He goes in, and he's trying to be his charming self, and he's talking to the councilman, talking to his wife, right? Eating the dinner, he's talking about recipes and everything. And before he, they think there's over in... Ding dong. And you can see this look on Randall's face, like, oh, she decided to come. And in the middle of the same thing, she's like, yeah, there's this awful accident, traffic was backed up, it was at a standstill. My phone died.

My phone died, and you see Randall go, like... Oh, God. Oh, good. It is. My favorite part of her arriving is Randall standing up and his voice going up three octaves. Hey, Beth. You made it. Hi.

Hi. I'm so glad you're here. Like, here, I see. And it caught him off guard. And then, but like he, the hope is in the phone being dead. So he's like, oh, okay. She didn't get any of that. Or did she?

And she was like, sorry, can I use the bathroom? And do you have like a phone charger? Yeah, he's like, I got one. I got one. And she's like, no, you got one. It's all good. Do this. So the next time you see they're sitting next to each other, they're eating like some sort of.

She's also being kind of cold. Little this thing. You're like, but she's there. I mean, also not like, not outwardly though. Not obviously. You know, to us, we're like, there's something going on. There's one. Yeah.

You want any coffee? She's like, I'm fine. Yeah. Or is she just tired? There's that. It's so well played because you're like, does she not know? It became a little clear when like they're like talking about the recipe of the pumpkin pie cheesecake or whatever it is, sweet potato cheesecake.

And then he goes and just holds her hand because he's thankful that she's there. And she just takes the hand and slips it out. Not like a jerk. Yeah. Not a thing. You know what I'm saying? It's just like. But that could have been because he asked her to miss the thing.

Who knows? So nobody knows The writers know The writers know So the dinner's over And they leave And they're taking a piece Of the sweet potato

Cheesecake Whatever it is I can't remember Pumpkin No purple Purple sweet potato cheesecake And he's like Look

When I thought you weren't coming I left you a message On the phone And I'm saying like Maybe if you just like Just delete it died Do me a favorite Like you don't need that

And she's like Oh you mean the one Where you told me to grow the hell out And then you're just like, oh, it's not good. She heard the whole time. And she kept it, she sat on that. She kept it close to the back. And came anyway.

And she's like, you got that cot at the office. I want to make sure there's anything else. She's like, why don't you take you. She didn't say this, but like internally, and if it was on Peacock instead of NBC, why don't you take your black ass to that cot? Yeah. Yeah. But then my favorite part is said, take that weird, weird purple cheesecake with you.

I didn't like that. No. Cheesecake. Yeah. Also, it made me endure a three-hour dinner. Yeah, and coffee. Sure, I'll have another refill of coffee. Yeah.

So then, and this is interesting, because Randall's not a confrontational dude with his wife, for the most part, I would say. Because you expect in the montage to see, like, the pillow. at the cot and sort of be like, you know, da-da-da-da. Yeah. And he's like, I ain't staying on no cot.

Yeah. And I don't know what makes you think you can tell me you're going to stay on the car. And she's like, you want to do this? Fine. Close the door. Let's do it. And that's where we leave the episode.

Yeah. Right? And that's storyline. But now we've got to go back and talk about it. And you're like, ooh, it's percolating. It's percolating. And it is legitimately uncomfortable.

But what I appreciate as the writers, this is, as an actor, I don't know how you guys feel about this. If you were ever given an opportunity to dig a hole, you're like, all right, how big of a hole can I dig and still get out of it? Yeah. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I don't want it to be smooth sailing the whole time. Like, I like the hole. Sure. And then I'm like, now I've got to get out of this motherfucker.

You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah. How long do you have to get out of the hole, too? More importantly, the writers have to make the audience allow you to get out of the hole. This is true. Yeah. This is true.

Because I guess you could say for the Cotobi storyline, did you get out of the hole once the hole came up? I mean, which one? I'm talking about. Survived that heart attack. You survived the heart attack. That was a hole. Good for you. It fell right in that hole.

Good for you. I think the holes in the future are working in San Francisco. Yeah. Buying the house without talking to your wife. Yeah. And then sort of like how they go. Directed by Mandy Moore, you may say that. Don't try to deflect my holes with your holes.

Anyway, sorry. No, we're focused on my holes right now. Look, your hole is a big hole. My holes are future holes. Future holes. To be discussed. I have present holes for us to get into. To fill.

Right now. No, to get out of. Listen, we're all in your hole. And now we're going to see how we get out. Aye, aye, aye. Mandy's done with this episode. We'll talk about the dance. Did we talk about the dance at all?

No, we could talk about the dance real quick. Because the dance is actually kind of sweet. Kev's got on a bowtie. He's excited. He's already told his parents, which I would never tell my parents. Like, I'm going to get my first kiss tonight. He's confident. Confident.

He shoots, he scores. I mean, that's Kevin Pearson's life. He's like, you know, I made up my mind and make it happen. They're going to chaperone at the dance. Randall got invited by a friend of Kate's Jessica to go. But he's sort of focused on mitochondria because there's a dude in this class who's got by like a point something. He's got a 97-something.

Competitive. He's got to get ahead of it, right? Got to get ahead. So everybody's going to the dance together. Kate's date's not mentioned in this particular case. Okay. So they get to the dance. Turns out Jack's never really been to a dance.

Had a chance to go to his homecoming, I believe. But then Stanley went Stanley. Stanley being Daddy Pearson, getting drunk and just taking the car and making the whole thing go away, right? So Rebecca's like, oh, well, you know, let's dance, let's enjoy ourselves, et cetera. And like, you know, one of the best parts of dances is like sneaking off so we can do

our own thing while, you know, the adults are doing their thing. So they go to the library. They're about to like, like getting hot and heavy. He's like, what do you guys doing? And it's Randall. There's Randall studying for his test. Studying. Eiviquid. It's just showing up.

When you least want him to be there, like, Hey, man, mom had to be like, a young lady invited you to something. And you over here looking at Q cards and anything, put the cards down and go be a gentleman. That's your obligation. That is your obligation. That is correct. And you are absolutely right. So there goes.

And they have a couple of other conversations. Oh, Kev, this was really interesting because it sort of echoes the present day storyline. A buddy comes up to him while he's slow dancing with this girl. And she's dreaming. She's having the best time. He's like, yo, we're going to go TP this office later on you. And he's like, heck yeah, man. And she's like,

What? Am I not? Am I not standing here with you right now? So that you see Kev go to the place that everybody's got the toilet paper everywhere. And he's like, come on, Sylvia, let's do this. And Sophie's like, hey, bro, I was dancing with my man. Yeah. I was having a good time.

You know what I'm saying? And this is sort of echoing that thing is like, you never had to choose. Everything just happened. Too charming. It happened, right? For you. He comes back. He starts wrapping her in toilet paper and everything.

It's really kind of. That's a bold. move. I was like, I should try that sometimes. This kid's got a lot of game. He does. Robin in toilet paper and he's like, what are you doing? She's like, I'm keeping you here. And then he plants the kiss. It's the sweetest kiss, too, by the way. Like, it was, it was the appropriate kiss for these two kids to have. And I was like, all right, that's pretty sweet. And was his first kiss, right? That was his first kiss. Yeah, yeah. That's the first kiss. No, that was Parker's first kiss. Parker's first kiss. That's what I mean. Yeah. That's right. I remember him

talking about that. That's crazy. That's so cool. I love that stuff. Documented on camera. And so what was cool, like, how it finishes is you see Randall dancing with Jessica and Kev's back dancing with Sophie or whatnot. And there's the question. Who asks who? Was it Jack asking you or are you asking Jack? Like, if we knew each other. It was Jack. If we knew each other in elementary school? I think it's Rebecca asking her.

No, him asking me because I was like the girl with the hair bows and the guy who got in his first fist fight when he was like, Eight years old. I'm not sure. The mental note that I took to myself, it was like one other example of Mandy Moore not playing Rebecca. Like, she had to go real young because she did go to 16. Yes. I couldn't go to eight.

That was the rare occurrence where a different actor. Stretch woman. You could have done it. If you on your knees, with your shoes on your knees. My shoes on my knees. Just like looking up at the camera. If they'd given me the chance. They're giving her a chance.

Oversized lollipop. Bigger furniture to make you look small. Totally. But you're like, you know what? I think I may have been too much of a goody two shoes for you. And he's like, you know what I thought? Like, as soon as I saw you. And like I say, I love the kid who plays young Jack.

And the little girl who played young, he was just adorable. So cute. Ridiculously adorable. And the light sort of glowing behind the two of them just seeing each other. I was like, man, that man loved you. Like, he loved you in such a way as, like, if I would have loved you at whatever point in time, we met each other, and it would have been on like that. And then there's this thing where he wanted to thank you for sort of like, I didn't get a chance to experience these things.

Like, I didn't know what childhood dances were and anything. And, like, you made sure that they were a part of our kids' experience. Like, there's this normalcy that you've been able to gift them. And I think that they're going to be okay because you've been able to give them all this stuff. And then we hear the song again, the calm before the storm plays again. And you see that everybody, like, as much as we want to as parents make the rough part smooth, we can't. No. Everybody's got to go through something.

Yep. Yeah. Rachel and I were just talking about this, obviously not about the same exact thing, but we're talking about our parenting styles as they get older and as, as we want to protect them from everything. Yeah. Obviously, you don't want to see your child hurt, embarrassed, scared, you know, whatever the thing is.

But I've come to realize, like, in my growing up, it was not the trauma, what a big, big T or little T, that was harmful, it was those moments where I felt like I had no one to talk to about it. Yeah. You know, you know what I mean? And so we've decided, we've decided, we're trying to give our children the leeway to challenge themselves emotionally and physically, spiritually, whatever that means. But provide a relationship where they can talk to us about it. Yeah. Okay, yeah, you did that thing and it was scary. Maybe it was too scary. Maybe it was too soon for you to watch something like that or somebody taught you a word or like,

but what I don't want them to feel is afraid to talk to us. Yeah. Yeah. Well done. You know what I mean? Yeah, absolutely. And it's just, it feels like that's one of the things I've, I've, the show helped me learn. That's one of the best gifts you can give. It's not necessarily fixing it, but it's being a sounding board for them to share what they're going through so they don't feel alone as they're going through. Right. Yeah. I feel you. Because we need those experiences. Absolutely. They're formative. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There is. there is no growth without resistance. Like the things that you think that we're supposed to avoid are actually the things that you have to go through

to grow through. That's right. You lift in weights, you're like tearing muscles apart so that they can come back together. Say it again. Say it again. That was good.

Say it again. You're lifting weights, you tear muscles apart so that they can grow stronger. So you stuff you have to go through to grow through. To grow through. Yeah.

Thank you. Thank you. So this is my note or this is my thought. This concludes episode 316. But in terms of 314, 315, and 316, which we've done over the past few weeks, I don't think I cried. You know what I'm saying in terms of what people say about the show. I cried when Kate talked to her dad with baby Jack.

Yeah, I did do. Okay. It got me. Yeah, it got me. I was like, oh, that got me for a hot second. And then there's also a part of Brown that takes notes that misses emotional moments. Like, I'm trying to clock into the thing we're taking notes. But for the most part, for me, I'd say not as much, but there's a great feeling of consternation and just sort of like, where are we going, everybody?

I think maybe for Beth and Randall specifically, I was just like, I know how it all works out. Oh, going through it is like, it's a journey. Back in it. Right back in it. It is also 315, the beginnings of seeing my mother's sort of cognizant. ignition decline, is sort of like, hints of that, sure. Lord have mercy.

It's Kev through his relapse and just sort of like, I need him to get it together. And also, I want him to be happy. I want things to work out with this woman. Are they going to work out? I know the answer, but like, I want it. You know what I'm saying? Like, I think there's more things that just sort of have me feeling like. You want baby Jack to be okay.

I know there's like, there's a tremendous amount of like our breath is being held. Right? Yeah. That's the feeling over these few episodes. Yeah. So we'll see over the next two. Yeah. Exactly how it goes down.

We do have a very special guest. We got a guest we're going to be talking to councilman Saul Brown himself. Mr. Rob Morgan, stick around. We'll have more of that was us. We are back with our favorite segment. the fan segment, and today we are joined by a very, very special guest whose performance left a lasting impact on us throughout a handful of very powerful episodes.

You're going to recognize him as Councilman Saul Brown from the campaign storyline on, uh, what trail? This is us. That's it. As Randall takes on the new position of city councilmen, we thought this would be a great time to chat about Saul Brown's character. So let's give a warm welcome to the incredible Rod. Morgan. What up?

Hello, sir. What's happening? Thank you for having. How are you, man? Hey, man, God is great. I can't complain. I'm in North Carolina laying low. Oh, nice.

Is that where you are full-time? Yeah, yeah. Pandemic got me out of Brooklyn. And I came down here so I could be closer to my mother and make more memories instead of moments. Oh, I love that. Yeah, since I'm out, when I'm not working, I wanted to spend time with her.

Sure. You also look like you Benjamin Button, bro. What's you bathing in the river of, like, you know, eternal youth? What's going on? Hey, man, just drinking my water and minding my business. There you go. That's like you out there getting it. So, you know, I got to stay getting it too.

Folks, let that be a lesson to you. Mind your business. You look good when you do. You look good when you do. Brooklyn is where Rob and I met. This Is Us is actually the third show. that we did together. Are you serious?

Really? Tell us that history. We met on the Nick. Yep. Then we were both on, I think you, I think, I think you stood over my dead body on Stranger Things. Stranger Things. Yep. And then here we are and this is us.

Wow, guys. That's quite a trajectory. It is. Jeez. You're associated with Sally like that. He's good. I'm following you around. I'm following you, bro.

You're going to say so good. No, go for it. Saul Brown. I was just going to ask, in terms of, like, what you remember about the whole story arc, the role that you played in it or what have you, what did you know about the show beforehand? How did it come to you? And what was your experience like doing it? Oh, man, I knew it was a groundbreaking, just iconic show, had a great market. Definitely was doing some good things on TV. And I happened to be at an event. and Dan Fogelman, who I didn't know who he was at the time. He comes up to me and he's like, look, man, you know, me and my wife appreciate your work. I'd love to have you on my show. And I was like, oh, really?

What show is that? He said, oh, shit. Okay. He was like, yeah. And I was like, cool. So I hit my team up. And literally like five months later, man, I was councilman, saw, Browns doing our thing, you know. And I was working on a film called Bull and Just Mercy

at the time. So I literally did all three projects in the same week. Wow. Wow. Wow. Yeah, it was crazy. Going from Texas to Los Angeles to Atlanta back to Texas, back to Los Angeles. But we had a good time. That is nice. I enjoyed it. Because it was like at that time it made me say, man, you know what, this is, this is it. We really doing it. I love it. I feel good playing with you all. What was it like for you? I'll talk a little bit from my perspective, like sort of these two brothers who were allowed to have differing perspectives and have somewhat of a frenemy sort of relationship with each other. Like, I think it's something that you don't see a whole lot of on network television, you know, that goes out to the masses.

And it was interesting because there's parts of me that was like, oh, man, like, do I want to show us not getting along or whatnot? And then I was like, you know what, but they're both entitled, no one is wrong in any situation, you know what I'm saying? Like, they both have valid differing opinion. So I'm curious, like, what was your take on sort of playing that out for folks? My take was I thought it was a beautiful dynamic to see two chocolate. brothers on screen doing our thing.

And then I felt it got cut short. I mean, you won. Out of nowhere, they called me and say, all right, Rob, that was it. And I was like, that was it. We was just warming up. No, this is us. That's not it.

Yeah, I was like, what happened? What happened to us? I really enjoyed, like, you know, just working with you, man. I was impressed with your preparation and, you know, how you really came and delivered. So it was like iron sharpening iron. Yes, sir. And I really enjoyed it, definitely, from what I remember.

It goes both ways, man. Like, there was something so delightful about how you smiled your way through so much. Yeah. And I was like, I was like, the inner monologue for Randall Pearson was like, I want to wipe that mother can smile all this about. But it was my hood, man. You know, that was my charm, you know, from my people, and you still came and stole the vote,

which I'm still baffled at how you could do that. But, yeah. Recount. Recount. I'm him. No. The recount, yeah, I think he stole it. There was, there was the whole, the debate that we had with each other.

I'm curious, like, what you remember about it, because the audience or, like, the extras who played the audience, gave such energy, right? Like, there'd be times I was like, oh, man, he's kicking my ass, and they just whooping and hollering, and I'm like, oh, I'm losing it, man. Yeah, you could feel it.

It was palpable. It was there. How did you feel it from up on stage? Oh, man, the time when we played you mispronouncing the reporter's name, and then it was trying to say, this cat ain't even from here. The writing was so on point that I guess, And you just reminded me, man,

it was an auditorium full of folk and it felt like every take they were just feeding us. Yeah, they were really into it, which made it fun for us and made it even more, you know, believable to play. It was a blast.

Did you have people come up to you during that time, like off the street that wanted to talk to you about the show or talk about your character or had thoughts about anything because people don't keep their comments to themselves? I mean, we've had that experience of like people want to let you know

how they feel about, your character. If you've done something, they don't agree with. Totally. If anything, they just told me they voted for them. Oh, hey, I voted for you. See, this is confusing. I don't know what happened. I voted for you. Yeah, this is confusing. I don't know either. This is him walking around in Brooklyn. That's his neighborhood. He didn't go anywhere else.

Yeah. I love that. You know, people seem to appreciate what we brought to the table, and that was fun. It was great. It was such an intricate and subtle and well-crafted dynamic. between the two of you, that it really made it a genuine surprise when you won. It did. Because it didn't look like it was going as well. It was not clear until the words came out of your mouth. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was a good time. Not to like, I'm not trying to belabor anything. I don't know if there's anything else that I really want to say about the show, except thank you for gracing us with your presence on it.

You class to join up, like always. And everything that you. you do, bro. Like, anytime you see Big Rob doing his thing, he's 10 toes down, man. The brother does not play around, and we were very happy to have you to be a part of the show. Is there anything that you got going on right now or that people can see you in presently or in the near future? I mean, I just finished the project in the UK called Frank and Lewis opposite Kingsley Benadier. Okay. We, you know, play some brothers in prison that rely on each other.

It's a beautiful relationship. My character happens to have on-set Alzheimer's. Oh, wow. So it's like a very intimate, beautiful relationship rooted through humanity in a toxic environment that, you know, I had a good time playing. Petrovolpe, writer, director, Swiss-German filmmaker. So, yeah, that's it, man. And other than that, I did finish that in May.

And I've been here in North Carolina, relaxing ever since. Nice. Are you and mom under the same roof or are you just close by? How you doing? I got her something where she built, where she grew up at. And that's like 25 minutes for me. So I just get up and go over to work out, trying to get her body mobility and stuff back. So I can look out with it.

She's my warm up. Yeah, I love that. We've talked about, you know, just the, what it takes to be a caretaker and whatnot. And I hope in the midst of being a caretaker, you are also feeding yourself so that you can feed her everything that you're there to do in the first place.

So blessings to you in this journey, sir. Remind them, my brother, definitely. You got it. You got it. Anybody else got anything to say to Mr. Brown? No, thank you so much for joining us, man. It's good to see your face. Hey, that's all. Thank you for reaching out, my brother. Yes.

I hope our paths cross again soon. No doubt, no doubt. All right, guys, I think that concludes this episode, 316. Yeah. It was a good one. It was good talking to Rob. Nice catching up with him, for sure. It was good going through these episodes again.

Like, they are the feeling of anxiety that I'm feeling as an audience member is strong. Yeah. Strong. Yeah. Same. Need that baby strong. Need this relationship between Beth and Randall's strong. I need Kev to be okay.

Like, Mom, what's going on cognitively? Like, there's a lot happening. Sewing, we've planted lots of seeds. Yes. And now we're just waiting to see what comes of it. Yeah, that's it. So, guys, if you... Yep, that's my agreement sound.

If you guys want to connect with us, like share stories, feedback, et cetera, et cetera. We would love to hear from you. You can hit us at that was us pod at gmail.com. Or you could call us at the emotional hotline. And it's really just like, you know, that was us. Phone number, et cetera. you guys know the number? Wait, Mandy, don't look. 412. Uh-huh.

501. Yes? 3028. You just looked right before that. She's too good. That's an ails right there. You know it? For sure, for sure.

Wait, don't wait. The count from 20 backwards. Counting 20 backwards. What? Just count from 20 backwards right now. 2019, 18, 17, 17, 17, 17, 12, 11, 11, 11, 10, 19, 11, 10, 7, 7,000, 5, 4, 3,2,1. Say the number. 412, 301.

Nope. 5,028. No. You're so close. Very good. You close. It's 412. 412.

501. 501 3028. Hit us on that line. Could you do it? No. Okay. Okay. That was...

That was us as filmed at Rabbit Grin Studios and produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. That was us