That Was Us - That Was Us LIVE! At The Wiltern in Los Angeles

Episode Date: March 17, 2026

This week on That Was Us, we’re bringing you a very special episode recorded live at the historic Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. In front of an incredible audience of This Is Us fans! It was an unforgettable night of conversation and live music with Sterling K. Brown, Mandy Moore, and Chris Sullivan, as we celebrated one of the most powerful elements of This Is Us: the music. We talked about the songs that shaped some of the show’s most emotional moments, and were joined by the show’s composer, Siddhartha Khosla, as well as Creator of the show, Dan Fogelman, to hear how the score came to life. We also played a live round of Hot Takes with the audience and of course the night featured incredible live performances from guests like Taylor Goldsmith, Hannah Zeile, Blake Stadnik, and more, making it a truly special celebration of the music and community that made This Is Us…and That Was Us…so meaningful. That Was Us is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. ------------------------- Support Our Sponsors: - Right now, go to https://Quince.com/twu for free shipping and 365-day returns. That's a full year to wear it and love it. And you will. Now available in Canada, too. Don't keep settling for clothes that don't last. - http://Leesa.com for 20% off mattresses plus $50 off with promo code TWU - Discover how care in every detail transforms simple routines into moments of true comfort and ease. Head to https://cozyearth.com and use my code THATWASUS for up to 20% off. ------------------------- 🍋 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 Intro Executive Producers: Natalie Holysz and Rob Holysz Creative Producer: Sam Skelton Production Coordinator: Andrew Rowley Video Editor: Todd Hughlett Mix & Master: Jason Richards About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com. » SUBSCRIBE to Headgum: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeadGum?sub_confirmation=1 » FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/headgum » FOLLOW us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/headgum/ » FOLLOW us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headgum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the host of the hit podcast. That was us. starring Chris Sullivan. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Wiltern Theater. And the very first live episode of that was us. I feel like... This is cool, man. I feel like this is the dream we had, like, as we were starting the podcast.

We're like, we hadn't even really done an episode. We're like, let's do a live show. Yeah, we've been talking about it for such a long time. Like, wouldn't it be fun? Wouldn't it be so cool? If, like, we had people here and, like, they heard us talk and we did something interesting. And now people are here.

They're here. And the pressure is on. You guys, thank you so much for sharing the evening with us. We really appreciate it. Spending your Saturday with us. Yeah, if you're listening to the pod, you're going to get to hear us talk. It's a rewatch podcast, but we're not rewatching a specific episode tonight.

We are talking about the musical world that is This Is Us. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have some guests who are going to come out and talk to us. So should we? introduce our guests? Let's do it. First, we are going to bring out

the composer for This Is Us. Sid Hartha Kosla. Not only did he do the compositions for This Is Us, he did the compositions for pretty much, I mean, I think Dan Fogelman has been quoted that says, none of my stuff works without him. Yeah. Please welcome Sid Kosla.

I like hugs. Hugs are warm. Warm hugs. Olaf. We're hugging like we haven't been sound checking for four hours. just been hanging, exactly. We haven't all been like... Oh my God, you're here!

Hang it out. Who's next? Who should we bring on next? So the next gentleman that's going to join us today, I get to be the sole lady for the podcast panel. Look at you. This next gentleman is someone near and dear to me personally. Yeah.

He's the front man for a band called Dawes. Yeah, he is. I have three children with him. He's the most talented songwriter, singer. musician on the planet. In my estimation, Mr. Taylor Goldsmith. TG. Listen, last but not least, this, uh, me and this guy have three kids together. He is my work husband.

Pretty close. He's my work husband. We've worked together on two shows in a row. I love him dearly. He has the cutest cheeks in the whole wide world. Please welcome your friend and ours, the creator of this is us. Daniel Eric Vogelman. Come through.

Right there, big dog, right there. Oh, right between me and Sterling, where we like you. It's the hot seat. All right, guys. So we brought you all here tonight to discuss the musical... Season seven. No, I'm kidding. Season seven.

All of these people have signed a petition. They will accept a two-part movie. That's good. Like Downton Abbey. I like it. The musical environment of this is, became a world unto its own. Not just the compositions, not just the original songs that were written by these two men down here, not just the musical direction that was kind of fronted by

this man. But the totality of the soundtrack, I was listening to all of it as we were preparing for this. And it has a tone that is full of hope and full of joy and full of love. And it's the way that we can all continue to get together. Yeah. And catch up. Thanks, sir. Thank you for Right up.

So I would like to start with Dan if we could. Yeah. Yeah, woo. Woo. Woo it. It's my dad. Because your musical taste, your musical fingerprint is all over this show. Yeah.

Can you? Yeah. Can you please walk us through maybe the pilot, the first couple of episodes, musical moments or the artists that you wanted to include that you just knew, because I know that you had them in mind as you were writing. Well, because oftentimes, sorry to interrupt, but like stuff would be written into the scripts. Like, a music, like, this is the mic drop here, or the needle drop, rather. So it is interesting. Obviously, you're a deeply musical person. You're

a deep music fan, so I am curious to hear like where that started, where it comes from, and how you sort of infuse that in your work. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, ironically, I'm not sure I have great musical taste. My friends used to make fun of me growing up for my musical taste. Like, I remember when I was a kid, I would say, you know what the best song of all time is? Life is a highway. And my friends would always, my cool, you know, you're in high school.

You know, you're in high school and your friends are always like, want to be cool and different. And they would always make fun of me. And then I wrote the movie Cars and I got rascal. school flats covered life as the highlight and it became like the coolest I was like you see motherfuckers I know what I'm doing no but uh I think you know it's it's born out of a lot of things I think I learned a lot about music actually making the show and how you pick music for a show this they uh but uh I learned a lot about how you make me pick music I now make playlists on Spotify and send and keep making them in the course of year I send them to sit a lot

and to the editors but uh the Labby Sifre song that's at the end of the pilot. Yes. Watch me was one that the directors of the pilot, John and Glenn, had sent to me. They were like, oh, we were thinking about this as a vibe for the show. And I was like, that's going to be the ending when the guy starts smoking the cigarette in the hospital room. And I remember playing it while Milo was shooting that.

Like in the, I was sitting in the back, I was like, guys, because we cool listen. And Milo was doing a dialogue and I was playing it on my phone and everyone was like, the sound guys were like shushing me. But it wasn't because I was a genius. Like I heard that song. I was like, that's going to be at the end. And that actually, in a weird way for the needle drop that Mandy's referring to, kind of set the palate.

I was like, we're going to use timeless music that kind of could play today. It could play 100 years ago. It could play 100 years from now. And I just started compiling with our music supervisors, like giant banks of songs. And then Sid became the real secret sauce of it. And that was a much longer process for us. The primary mandate then was timelessness? Was there any overall?

overriding sort of objectives besides timelessness that you were thinking about in terms of what you picked for the show? Not really. I mean, my thing is like, I've never been able to work in theory a lot. You know what I mean?

Like, I want this type of thing or I want it. I just kind of know it when I hear it. Like, Sid is always sending me stuff. I'm like, that's it. But I don't know why. Like, I'm not good that way. I don't think, right?

Like, I don't... Like, you always... You're like, talk to me about what you're thinking. I'm like, I don't know. Like, I don't know. And then... And then he plays something.

I'm like, yeah, that's it. That's it. But I don't know how to describe it. Okay. Yeah, normally your direction is figure it out. Yeah. Yeah. I definitely don't like that.

It's the most daunting thing to hear, too. You're like, okay. He's like, yeah, he's like, just figure it out. Yeah. I'll know when I hear it. All right. So people who've listened to the podcast probably have heard a little bit of this story, but I'm curious for you guys to sort of like recount it because we got Sid's side.

But I'd love to hear. how you and Sid sort of came into each other's lives and then developed such a close working relationship because now you guys are sort of inseparable do everything together well i've known we were college roommates our freshman year basically we lived in the same hall of college yeah and then uh yeah and yeah what's your line you always say about like that it's cute about us I've known you longer than I haven't yeah yeah it's a very this is us line Yeah. Yeah.

It is. But Sid was like this floppy-haired Indian kid at my college that sang a cappella music in college, and he had a little electric keyboard in his dorm room. We were called Off the Beat. Yes. All right. I'm not mad at that. And but then we were...

And here are the rest of your members. Can you imagine? Oh, next time. And I mean, we lived with a bunch of, like, athletes, and it wasn't a fraternity, just a group of guys And I was like, guys, we have to go to Sid's Acapella show. And I was like, I don't want to, please don't make me go to Sid's Acapella Show. I was like, we're going. And like, we went.

And I remember thinking like, oh, that's the most talented person I've ever met. Like, like, I remember very vividly at this Acapellas show. I mean, he also thought life is a highway with the best song he'd ever heard. I don't know. It's true. When you first said that I thought human life is a fast lane, life in the fast lane. So I was like, oh, yeah, life in the fast lane. And then when you mentioned Rascal Flats, like, oh, oh, that's true.

Life is a highway. Difference of it. Tom Cochran. Tom Cochran. One of the greats. You had me, you lost me. Yeah, but I mean, yeah. So, I mean, we, and then I just was always be so tickled by listening to Sid performed.

Because, I mean, his voice, you guys will hear it later. He's, I mean, it's incredible. And then I was the guy when Sid had a really cool band out here in L.A. That was like a KCRW kind of darling. I was the guy going to the Mint with like four other people to every one of Sid shows watching him. And I was like, how are people not here? This is the most talented man in the world. Did you guys both come to L.A. at the same time or who came first?

I definitely came first. You were first. And how far behind were you? A year later. Like a year later. Okay. Okay. But Sid was in a rock band.

He was a lead singer and like kind of writer for a band. A band called Gold Spot. Gold Spot. Is that the one that was happening then? Guys, gold spot. No. You see it? Yeah.

You're going to hear a Gold Spot selection later. It's one of my favorite songs It's one of our family's favorite songs Cold Spock They're gonna get into it. They were actually They were really awesome They were big on R&B charts

I know a lot about Coles And so that's So for a long time I was like trying to figure my way through writing And Sid was figuring his way through music out in L.A. We were just like young guys trying to figure out how to do it in different fields to us It was still a cappella

And you're like you've got to learn an instrument There has to be an instrumental back We need a guitar, we need a piano, something Yeah We'll be right back With more, that was us. There's always that moment for a trip when you're trying to wrap everything up, work, family stuff, packing.

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There's always that moment for a trip when you're trying to wrap everything up, work, family stuff, packing. It's a lot, right? Like, when I'm packing for a trip, what I generally do is I lay everything out on the bed and then remove about 25% of the stuff. I start packing like a good week before.

A week! Sorry. Especially if it's like a whole family trip. Oh, well, because moms, moms have got the different piles, different kids. Oh, yeah, yeah. Rachel's got a whole system. I have a whole system too. I have like a whole mental checklist.

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But you had that. I remember you saying this to us before, you had this vision. It's like, when I do shows, like, I'm going to have him do to music. And I remember you something that said, like, I've never done this thing before. And so you just kind of threw it at you, like, talk to us a little bit about that. You just believed, like you knew that he could do it. He needed a job. I mean...

Buddy, we all did when this show started. We always need a job. Yes, sir. That's real. I don't remember how it started, honestly. I was in, so I was in Gold Spot. Oh, Gold Spot, not Cold Spot. Gold Play?

No, no, no. No. No. No. in Colplay actually. And the band sort of like, you know, it was like it never got super successful. It sort of hit like a, it hit a ceiling. And it was around that time where Dan called me and was like, hey, you want to come in and score the second season of my TV show.

It was a TV show called The Neighbors on ABC. Right on. And I remember being like, I think you got like the wrong person. Like I can't do this. Like I didn't study this. I, you know, I was a singer-songwriter in a band. And that was like this orchestral score. And I was like, I wouldn't even know how to begin.

And he's like, no, I think you can do it. He's like, you'll figure it out, you know, the way he talks. And I remember just like in a complete panic for like just the entire year scoring that show. I just didn't know what the hell I was doing. And I just turned and stuff and you seem to like it. First two tracks were Acapella though. And he was like, get an instrument. Yeah.

I was like, yeah, the whole time. And then, like, should I score that show for that year? And then the show got canceled after that second season. Yeah, but it's not because of your music. Like, Dan is still learning around. Absolutely. Or you're writing. You're given this opportunity and you feel like a fish out of water.

But clearly, what kind of notes were you getting? You were doing something right. Like people weren't saying this is crap. I think what it was was like since Dan had seen me, Dan was like one of five people that would come to see my band play. But he would come to these shows and I think he just noticed that like, you know, he always liked like my melodic writing or like my melodies. And I think he was like if I connect to that in my, my interpretation of it is that if I'm Dan, if I connect to your songs, I think other people will also connect to your melodies in my shows and films. those shows. But, you know.

He didn't let you do the films. He didn't let you do the film. He only let you do shows. No, yeah, no folks. By the way, when I talk about the five person, I mean, Sid was playing sold-out arena as an opening for Death Cab for Cudy and like charting in different countries. Like the band was right was right there.

But I think what it was was his music always made me like really deeply feel something emotional. And even when it was just like a kind of pop song, you felt something. And I think that's what the magic sauce of This Is Us became. It was such a big part of it with his music makes you feel emotion you didn't want people to feel that in Fred Claus like less than in Fred Claus Okay, yeah I got he wrote Fred Claus. Thank you sir. You're welcome and at what stage in the in the process did Taylor come in as a as a partner? What was the first song that you guys wrote for the show? So we were at it was after this there was a season one Party right there was like a it was like an FYC event or for your consideration event season one where this our band sort of performed some of the music from the show season one and um and afterwards i just

like i went up to the bar and taylor was there with mandy right and you were and i was like and you and we i went up to you because i was like the biggest fan of his band dawes um and yeah and um and i just loved loved loved love that band so much and um just in our conversation And we just hit it off. We started talking about music and the show. And I think we just left that conversation saying, like, hey, maybe, like, one day we'll write something together. And that's how we left it.

And then what was the first thing we wrote together? I think the first thing was Invisible Inc. Invisible Inc. Yeah. When Rebecca's going and trying out for that record exec or venue owner, I kind of forget which. It was a record. Yeah, it was a record.

When she went out to L.A. And it was like, you don't have it. Yeah, the L.A. trip. I'm Pittsburgh good. And, um, oh, it was in Pittsburgh? No, no. From Pittsburgh. That was the critique.

I was Pittsburgh good. Right, right, right. Yeah, you were Pittsburgh good. That was that, yeah. Um, and it was, I was so thrilled because it was like, I'm watching her build this character along with, you know, the whole operation with you and with the cast and watching her explore these emotions. And then, and then to be asked by you, like, let's get into the mind of a young, struggling

songwriter Rebecca. And what would she be writing about? What would she be singing about? So to be any small part of the subconsciousness of what I'm watching you bring to life was like, what a cool opportunity. I feel like, and I felt like, yeah, like I'm psyched for this because I do feel like I have this unique insight into the way that this character is growing because I'm watching it in front of me.

Not that I feel like I brought anything particularly. special in that level, but I thought, but I mean, even like, I, yeah, I was, I remember when we wrote it, I was, I thought like, I'm, I think we sat down. You had this musical idea and, and we, and I think we texted about like certain lyrics, like, what's the first lyric? What's the title?

And, you know, one thing I never knew is, is your involvement, Dan, for this stuff? Like, I would always be dealing with, with Sid. And then, not with that song, but later songs. There was a couple of times where I was like, like Dan's not sure about that word. I'm like, okay, so Dan is a part of this process. He is hearing this.

He weighs in from afar. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it says, I love it. I love everything you do. It's Dan. Dan is not feeling this way. He did not like it. He went like this and made a fart sound.

Every once in a while, I come up. Thumbs down emoji. I come up with like some black shit for the show. I was like, Dan, what you think about putting this on? He's like, nah, that ain't going on. Like, you barked it. That's so nice. But that's an interesting, that's an interesting,

Right. To be in a songwriting team with people, two guys who've essentially just met, right, is one thing. But then to have to be writing for a third entity, which is, this is us, which we can say Dan Fogelman is, this is us. Right? That's an interesting, that's an interesting feedback to have to take into your songwriting process. What was that like? And also, like, there's that feedback, but there's also like, well, we know that this has to be Pittsburgh good. So we want to write the best. a song we can, but we also have to make it track from what she's about to experience. No slate against Pittsburgh. Come on, we love Pittsburgh. I didn't write the line. But for me, though, like, and I'm now remembering, like, the call I made to you, because see, like, the music on This Is Us, the songs that were used, like, the things that,

like, I had nothing to do with, like, the Labby Safreys or Jackson Brown or Paul Simon or these artists that were being used in the show, like, the level of the music and the songwriting was like up here. And so I called you because I I've said this to Dan for years too. I was like I think that Taylor's like one of the best songwriters like on the planet, period. Second that. What's that? He's incredible. And his lyric writing and music, all of it is just like it's so elevated and like and if you've not, you don't listen to Dawes, go listen to Dawes because it's poetry. It's poetry set to beautiful music. And it just like, it just breaks you in like the most perfect way.

And so it worked out perfectly because Taylor was like a dream person to collaborate with. And then we could also elevate the stuff to where it needed to be, you know. So that's, I appreciate hearing that. But that song, even when the, I remember thinking about that song, the last line of the chorus is, turns out all the ink is invisible if you give it enough time. And when we wrote that, we had no. idea what Rebecca was going to go through. And I remember when the show ended, I was like, oh, wow, like that line, even though we definitely weren't thinking about it because it wasn't

something we could have possibly known, that line had a new dimension to it. And I thought, like, wow, it's so cool how the whole show's like talking to each other, talking to itself in ways that are just pure accidents, but it felt really beautiful. There's also something so meta about the fact that, like, you're at home with her, right? And you're helping. right stuff for her character. It was just so cool. Like you understood her character, because you saw her develop that character at home probably. You guys talk through that stuff together, or does he just kind of do his thing and then you wait and see? I mean, it's pretty separate. I feel like I get a sneak peek of like, ooh, that's beautiful. I love that melody. But like, yeah, most of it's kept pretty,

you guys know how to do your job. You don't need me weighing. But I see, I see how Taylor is, how he's just walking around with the guitar, just constantly playing. Like, is he doing that with the, like Rebecca's songs as well, like around the house and you just sort of listen in a little bit. Yeah, he kind of can't help himself. Sure, sure, sure. I dig that. The music flows from him.

It's like, babe, the kids need to eat. You need to put it down now. Grill cheese. Wow. You guys are feeding the beasts. There's going to be more. The first musical moment. So where did your musical taste start?

Do you guys remember? is it your parents who turned you on to certain things? What were the first artists that you remember? First concerts, first songs you remember hearing growing up? I'll tell you mine, but I'm not the musical people. No, we should all jump in. Mine was the Victory Tour. Oh.

That's Michael Jackson, the Jackson's. Okay. Because Randy was alive. There's six of them. And we went to Nottesville, Tennessee. I was five years old, and I took my mom and my son. sister with me and it was pretty freaking awesome. Get in the car, guys. We're going.

That was my first. You took them. Yeah, I took them. Yeah, I took them. I was like, come on, guys. Go to see the Jackson's. My first concert was, I remember very vividly living in, I lived out here for one and a half two years in Irvine and Kay, Casey, thank you. Shut up to Irvine in the house. I lived here in third and fourth grade, I believe.

Wait, I never knew this. Just for a year and a half, third and a half. Fourth and half of fifth grade. Fourth and half of fifth grade. Really? How old are you then? Ten. Ten.

So it was like 1996. And Casey Clapping back across the street. Come on, Casey Clapping, Brad. We used to perform the entire Born in the USA album. Casey would be clapping it back. And his parents got tickets to go to Dodger Stadium. I was 10 years old. And I remember I have a very vivid memory of two guys were sitting next to us.

They must have been college age kids. And you couldn't see anything. And I didn't understand when he would sing like Thunder Road. I was like, where are the songs? Like, what's, I only knew born in the USA had no, no conception of any other song. But they put us on their shoulders the entire concert. No way. I just remember that.

And then I remember getting stuck in Dodger Stadium parking lot and looking at the clock. 19 year olds are heavy too. Dude, yeah. And like, and I remember just looking at the clock and being like, this is the best day of my life and this is the latest I've ever been awake because it was like 2 o'clock in the morning in the parking lot. And I have a very vivid memory. This explains a lot too because I remember you went to New York to see like the bosses show

And you were like, this Sterling, it's like the best thing I've ever seen. So there was a full circle moment. That's great, that's awesome. Wow, that's a great first thing. Shout out to the boss, no doubt. You guys? Yeah. For me, it was just I lived in India when I was little.

No one clapping for that. I know. India in the house. So I'm talking about. So I grew up listening to music that like my grandparents would play in India, like old Hindi songs. That's cool. Was there a concert? Was there a concert there that you went to?

No. Okay. Just your grandparents. Still never been to a concert. Never been to. Tonight's your nights. But Sid grew up like singing Hindi music and like you hear it very much in the music of this. Oh, for sure.

Which is interesting to me because I feel like, I mean, I love all the work that you've done on different shows. But I feel like I feel the Hindi influence and this is us more than the other shows that you've, worked on. Is there, it was that a conscious decision? Well, there was, I remember in season one as I was trying to figure out like what I was going to do on the show and I was just like trying to figure it out. There was one episode that sort of unlocked everything for me. And that was episode, was that one 13? The one, the, um, three sentences. Right. So that was the episode where, that was the episode where, um, Kate is in that weight loss. camp and she starts and she starts drumming and and as she's hitting like the sticks in this

class all of a sudden she sort of freaks out and has this memory of Jack's funeral and I remember seeing that footage all of a sudden and and this is sort of why like Dan our relationship sort of comes into play in the show is that at that moment I was like oh and Dan and I hope you don't mind him to say it, but like, I was like, oh, this show is like, in a way it's about Dan's mom that he lost. And I remember that moment, like, thinking, oh, this is like about something much deeper than what we're seeing on the screen. And it's about something, it's about the guy that, like, wrote this and why he wrote this show. And so it became this, like, very meta moment for me. And in that moment, I did that Jack's theme.

the whoa whoa I came up with that melody there and I remember just like in my studio jamming on it and playing it and all of a sudden like I started singing like an Indian ah that kind of thing over it and and I was like why am I doing this and I was just I chant for some reason I channeled my own family history and I brought it into the show in that moment and I remember Dan calling me after he heard that score and that scene and he was like, dude, like, what was, that was great. And I was like, is it too Indian for you? And he was like, he was like, no. I was like, he's like, just keep, now you keep going with this thing. And so that, you opened the door for that to happen. So that's why there's that influence in the music. I don't know that. Wow. Yeah. I remember you telling us that story on the podcast too. And it, it struck me in such a sincere way that there was an

instinct prior possibly to erase part of yourself or like maybe I don't bring that part of myself to this job, but in bringing your full self to it, he was able to hear something that goes like, oh, that connects with me. Like even though it was very much culturally rooted in what you grew up with listening to from your grandparents, like this Jewish cat over here who spent like a year and a half in Irvine before you like went back, Hitchburg was like, oh. that shit pops. And I feel like it's such an interesting thing because sometimes we feel like

in order to connect with other people, we have to erase a part of ourselves. Or not show our fullest. The fullest version, yeah, yeah. But like, the answer is like, no, no, no, no. Like, you're enough. Like, when you bring that shit that is inherent within you, people will see and recognize something that's like, ah,

I mean, I know exactly that thing, but I feel you on that. Yeah. In fairness. Yeah. Yeah. The next piece he sent me, I was like, that's too Indian. Yeah.

Yeah. That's too Indian. Too much. Period. Nothing else in the email. I don't want your full self on that one. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Lord of mercy.

Taylor, you've been playing music since about 18 months old, yeah? Yeah. So what was your early musical inspirations that was present in your life? It was really all my dad. I mean, he was a singer his whole life. Your dad is a bad man. Yeah. He actually had a concert yesterday in his, he lives in like a facility for like,

for like older folks. He plays at 2.30. And he just rocks out. Are you sitting there? You can't just leave it at facility. He lives in a facility. They have a curfew. It's max for security.

And, but yeah. And they've had noise complaints. They're like, he's too loud. He rocks out too hard. He's in his wheelchair and he's ripping it. It's amazing. He can rip. Yeah.

You can't contain the funk? It's awesome. But like when I was young, he would be playing like the baked potato here in L.A. Or he'd be playing at like an AA picnic or something like that because he was like big in the program, like which was great for him. And, but it was I would just grow up being around all of his these musician friends of his, some of which were home from bigger. tours, like the organ player was always out with Bonnie Raid and the bass player was out with CSNY and this was the band that they would play in when they were home and my dad would let me stay up and go see them I'll play. And then my dad would be like, you're going to come up and play

guitar tonight and I could barely play guitar. And barely walk. And his bandmates would be like, Lenny, don't do that. We're like, like, your kid's nice, but like, that's not what we're doing here. How old would you be when he did this? This was like, Like, yeah, like, I guess for guitar, for singing with my dad, it was like from five or six. But playing guitar, it was like 11 or 12. Okay, gotcha. And they all came around and we all became friends. But it was like sometimes like, oh, here comes the kid.

So those were my first concerts. But in terms of me developing my own taste, like, our dad had us on such a beautiful, perfect diet of like, here's Otis, here's James Brown, here's the Stones, here's the Beatles. And I'm like, dad, here's Matchbox 20. Here. And I still love that stuff. Third-Eblind. Yeah, third-eyed blind. Matchbox 20, semi-soning, vertical horizon.

I was just like very much. Get that nickel back, baby. Do it. I was very much 12 years old at 1997. Come on. And so those were those concerts that I wanted to go to. And my dad, to his credit, was always like, cool, we'll do that. We'll go.

And again, I don't want to sound like I'm disparaging those bands. I still listened to a lot of those records. But it was just definitely not what he had in mind. But yeah, he was so supportive of that. And then of course, finally I found my way to the more bedrock stuff. But it took me a little while, but like finding Joni and Leonard and Dylan and Paul Simon and all that stuff. Where I was like, oh, now what a song can do not just to my musical taste, but to my heart and to my sense. of self, like kind of was busted wide open.

But yeah, he was, he kind of facilitated that whole journey. I love that. Hold on. Before Sully, you ask another question, I want to turn it on you, big dog. First concert, musical influence. First concert that I can remember was the Beach Boys. That's good. That's a great first concert.

My parents took me too. First artists, like I got a solid, steady stream of Paul Simon from my mom. and I got a solid steady stream of John Prine from my dad which if you listen to John Prine it's not for five-year-olds it's grown-up music but it sounds like it might be four five-year-olds but it's not be is John Prime like does he do like baby-making music or like what kind of thing?

No he wrote all of songs about the Vietnam War not baby making about heroin addiction Yeah, maybe make it. Okay, I understand. No, no. There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes. Wow. Yeah.

Yeah, that was in dad's car. When mom found out about that. It was a surprise. But John Prine is incredible nonetheless, and it actually has a tie to this show. Yeah. If you can speak to that. Because he contacted John Prine in his

older age, contacted the show and loved the show so much. So cool. I'm honestly trying to remember the story. I remember hearing secondhand that he and his wife loved watching the show on like Tuesday nights or something like that.

And then I'd always listen to John Prine and then I was always, and then we found a couple of spots we used the music in, I'm trying to remember exactly where. It's all a blur, but I remember then you meeting him, right? How did that all transfer? I mean, through the show.

Through the show. We reached out, and my dad and I, and my whole family went to a show of his here in L.A., and my dad and I got a chance to go backstage and meet him. When you guys started writing, when did you write your first song? You asking me? Yeah, you. Yeah, Sterling. Grill, cheese.

No, you're not asking. Asking these two jokes down here. I was probably, 15 or 16. It was like, it was probably one of the, it was probably, it was so awful whatever I wrote. It was, it was for like, it was my girlfriend for my girlfriend. It was so bad. It was great.

And you? I was, I remember all I wanted to, the only reason I wanted to learn guitar was to write a song. So I learned a G chord, a D7 chord and an A7 chord. because they're not the same as just A and D chords. Like it's played a little different, it was a little bit easier. And once I knew those three chords, like, there's got to be some combination that works that I could write a song. Did you learn other people's music before you started writing your own? Like, were you playing other people's songs?

What was the first song you learned on the guitar? Life is a highway. Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean, I think I wrote it. Like, once I knew three chords, I wrote a song, and it was horrible. And I'd barely remember what it was even called. But I tried to start writing immediately.

But then when I started learning more chords than it was about just those beetle cheat books and stuff that you could see what chords go together. And that taught me a lot. Just kind of seeing how other songs functioned or listening to records and trying to figure out how third I blinded it. You know it would have been great if you were like,

well, Taylor and said, we found those first songs. And you pulled it up. It's even better. There's a guitar right there. We'd like to hear them. We could do that. More, that was us, after this short break. These days, I'm all about quality over quantity,

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Book your seat at westjet.com or call your travel agent. WestJet, where your story takes off. No, but if, if you gentlemen would be, kind if there's if there's something from your past that you love maybe an early song that you wrote maybe the most recent thing you wrote maybe it's a song you never wrote maybe it's life as a highway um would you guys treat us sure to some music sure come on you can't do you first rock paper scissors i'll open for you i'd prefer that all right do you remember the song of your girlfriend oh it was so bad that she like cheated on me after it oh don't play it

Don't play it. So I won't play that. F, that is. Wow. I don't even remember it. Boo. You want to call her out on the podcast? Do you want to say her name?

Do you want to say her name? Guys, she wasn't real. I'm just saying no. Stop. Stop. Stop. Shame on you. She wasn't.

Stop it. Oh my gosh. So good. Quick, start playing. Or I'll play like an early, it was like the first Gold Spot song that I wrote that sort of like, it sort of started my little Gold Spot career. And Dan liked this song too, so. You like this one, right? You did.

Or you told me you did. Just the right amount of Indian. Okay, it's called Friday. Friday it is my day to do what I want Mama can tell me I'm going nowhere I'm just a prisoner of my faith Would you come along bring me in Could you come along

Bring me in Bring me Today's Friday It is my day to disappear To kings and queens and make believe in No demons in my head Would you come along bring me in Could you come along bring me in

Dress up in color Maybe you might see me down here And you'd come along Or you'd come along to the rain Is what is my mind Your life to live a simple dress up in color. Maybe you might see me down here and you come along. This is my day to do a...

Mama can tell me I'm going nowhere. I'm just a prisoner. Would you come along? Bring me in. Would you come along? Your voice is perfect. It's crazy. Perfection.

So good. I know, like, you can't hit a bad note, Sid. I've been saying, so Sid has gone on, and he's now won Emmys, and we've done a bunch of shows together. But I think it's time for Sid to write a new album of original songs, actually. And I've been on him about this. With Taylor? I'm down.

We were talking about writing more songs together. Let's do it. Dan actually has to give Sid time off to do that. You keep him. This is an earlier song of my band, Oz. I feel like this song, I think when I wrote this song, I felt like, okay, now I know, or at least I have a better sense of what I sound like. I think I was sort of reaching and grasping at whatever I could until then.

And this song kind of lined it up a little bit more for me. It's called Moon in the Water. When the Wind is with me, but somehow out of sight. not knowing where it comes from or where it goes. That's the way your memory shames the middle of my nights since the last time I saw you and the words you chose. When I said this must be what love is like I saw it in a dream, you looked into my eyes and said you don't know what you mean.

Love is for the fishermen who cast his nets too far upstream Fishing for the moon in the water So I act now as if I forgot My efforts all in vain I spent some time with a new girl Who made the simple world seem fine But like a rose placed in a flower pot Her true nature contained, not knowing what she asks for or what she'll find.

When she says, if I've ever had love in my life, then surely this is it. I said anyone who talks like that doesn't understand one bit. That love is for the fighter, born to lose, but never quit. singing for the moon in the water. So I left her with her dreams where I thought that she belonged, not with my secrets, which she heard but never knew. I hoped my loneliness found peace, I hoped my number had been drawn when all I wanted from her was to remind me.

So I stay out in the streets, hoping a find you anywhere now that I understand the woman you need to be I can feel you in the heat I can taste you in the air and I can help but find your face in everything I see once I can admit you're gonna place it on a star and wait for the day I'm what you need and then reach out for your for your heart. Because even if love is more my mistress than my lovers ever are.

You'll always be the moon in the water. You'll always be the moon in the water. It's not very often that you get to hear music by two of the greatest living songwriters. Back to back, live

at the Wiltern Theater in Love. Daniels, Gallup. You guys are incredible. Can you guys a question? This is really like on an anthropological disorder, observational thing. Just to be like, how do you do that? It's something like that, but it's a little bit more nuanced than that. Do you think about the notes that you are singing at all?

Or is it just the meaning of the song and conveying that that carries you through it? I mean, like, I'm sure there's technical things to it. But it seems to me that you get lost in the message and the meaning of what you're trying to communicate. And then the other part just sort of floats along with that. Is that true or not true? Yeah, I mean, I don't think about the notes when I'm singing. I really, if I'm honest, I think about, like, absolutely nothing. Like, I don't think anything goes through my mind.

Nice. That's my boy. Sterling says, well, I could do that. Yeah. Okay. The same could be asked about acting. Yeah, yeah. Do you think about your intentions?

Do you think about the word? Like, what's your process? Hold on, hold on, Mandy Moore. I know, I skipped over Taylor. We should flip it over Taylor answering. I want to hear husbands answer, too. I mean, I think, I mean, what Mandy brings up is a good point where you study and you study and you learn structure and you learn theory and you learn what chords work and you learn. and you learn how to place the melody over it.

And then when you do kind of step into the ring, it's really important to just not think about that step or else you're going to hear the craft. I mean, I'm sure it's the same with acting, where if I can feel the work, then I don't, then I'm not as interested. But it's weird, it is a weird marriage. So much, at least for me,

sometimes the line, I'll have the first line. And that will dictate the shape of the melody. Like in that song, when the wind is with me but somehow out of sight. Like I have that written down. I don't know how I'm going to sing it. I have these chords. When the wind is with me, but somehow out of sight.

Okay, that's how that's, now that's the melody for that part. And so when I get to the second verse, I know I have to work it within. So the rules present themselves as it kind of goes along. Yeah. But also it's like you don't want to be too bound by that because then that can, again, turn it into more of an exercise than an exor size. And yeah, it's like thinking, it's kind of juggling a whole lot of things at once. I often write, like I'll have a title.

I had that title actually in my notebook for months. You come up with a title before lyrics? I had moon in the water sitting there. I was like, I know that's a good song. I know that's a good title for a song for what I like. I don't know how to write it. And I just had to sit and wait until I found a way in. And it's like a desperation.

It's like any way in I'll write it, even if it's a two-line song. Like whatever gets that out, then I'll just follow that thread. But it's usually lyric first before melody? More like concept first. It's not like a full page of words. It's like a first line, a title sometimes, not always, but kind of like the crux. Like, oh, this is what the song's about. But that goes back to like the John Prine kind of school, which I feel like I learn most about

songwriting from. like Christoverson and John Prime where you start to feel like how did they filter this thing into this like how did they land the plane in their cases how did they land the plane so well and so I feel like with that it's like it's hard

but it's really fun and that's why I don't just sit down and start riding because then it's even harder then I don't know how to how to funnel it into a unifying thought can I change my answer you may You may go ahead.

No, no, you said I think about nothing. I felt like, I felt like, I felt like I could have been better. He said, I don't think about it. Do you ever start with the title? Like, what happened when you were like, okay, cars? No. He was giving cars. He was given cars.

He was given cars, which, can we say, one of my top ten favorite movies of all time. Genius. Well, you and every other two-year-old boy. That's right, baby. No, I never have a title. I know, I don't, I need Taylor's notebook. This is us didn't have a title. No, it didn't.

It was happy birthday. It was 36, the untitled Dan Fogelman. Okay, Dan Fogelman, you were not at that photo shoot where they tried to make us put on birthday hats. No, I know. They did. They tried to name the show Happy Birthday at one point, but we all said no. But we didn't. We showed up to our first, we showed up to our first photo shoot was up here.

I remember the birthday handles. We showed up to our first photo show. photo shoot and there was a little trolley of like birthday hats and a cake and every streamers and we were all staring at it like what is that for and somebody said yeah they were they're kind of thing that made the show is going to be a team player yeah you yeah you want to happy birthday and i think it was you or somebody was like myel who was like nobody touches the birthday shit my my my sounds right myel texted me sounds right myla texting me is like i told them all under no No one puts on a fucking birthday hat.

And I was like, you're the man. I love it. Because you know historically, that is what they're going to use. Yeah. They're going to use, we lost Sterling. As soon as you pose like this. That's on the billboard. With the hat.

God, sorry. Real quick, I wanted to just address the acting question real quick. Thank you. Because, I'm not, I didn't forget about your mom. is because the slight difference that I see between your art and this acting thing is that you have somebody else to play off of. So you do all these things in terms of preparation. What is it that you want to try to affect from a person?

How do you want them to receive this, et cetera, communicate? And then that other person adds the last part of the magic. That you don't know what it's going to be until you're there in the moment. So it happens in a very live moment there, which is like you always prepare as much as you can so that you can be free to play in that moment. But they don't have that. Well, we kind of do. You do?

Like, with an audience, that's always a factor of, like, how is this feeling in the room right now? Sorry. Yes. And then it definitely happens with a band where when you're playing with other musicians and that'll, oh, no, we're going to play it a little more lively tonight. Right, right. But I know what you're saying. I mean, it's definitely not like a back and forth.

It's not like a duet the way that a scene would be. Yeah, especially not in the writing process. I come more from the SIDS school. Just nothing. Nothing. Nothing. I'm just a blank slate. I like that.

And I just let it flow through me. Working on the show, and this is something I noticed, it was consistent through, how many, we did 106 episodes? Bucco 6, yeah, man. Is that, you know, Dan gets all, he goes, compliments the music and all that. But I will say, like, the show worked, as we call it, dry, like with nothing. I would watch these episodes before putting the score on. and it all worked. Like it always worked.

It always felt like it was already, it was perfect. Like it felt emotional. The performances were incredible. Like I, I think it's like one of the best ensembles, like, ever in television. And it's, you know what? It really is. Like, it was like a magical moment. And I just like, you know, I don't think we'll ever have a gig like that again or I won't.

But like that was like so special. But the music, like, it was always this balance of like just doing just a, I was always trying to live under the skin a little bit and not do too much because it was there already, you know? And you guys brought it. Like it was so inspiring to work to whatever you guys were already bringing to the screen. We appreciate the compliment. And as we rewatch the show, like all of us, we've been watching this show for the past. How long has it been?

Two years. Has it been two years? So we've been doing this for two years now, basically because we just really like hanging out with each other. Yeah. And also it's sort of recounting like, wow, we made something really special. Like something that touches people in a really profound way

that we weren't even really fully aware of while you're doing it. Even Fogelman will say this. He'll say, like, I don't know if I got a chance to enjoy it as much as I wanted to while it was happening. And so I think for the three of us in watching, it's like, wow, this was a really good show. And one of the reasons for this podcast,

for this one live, is like, the music slaps on that shit slaps in a really hard and delightful way. I've been listening back to all six seasons of music. You can get those playlists on Spotify. And the music itself is a world. And it has this tone of, I was telling Mandy earlier, I was like, it feels like an old man who has lived a good life and who has lost the love of his life and who has reconnected with an old love and is driving cross country to see them. Like all of it. It just has this story of its own.

And if you don't, I mean, a lot of you were here because you are rewatching with us, hopefully. But if you don't have time to rewatch the episode, you put this music on and it evokes an emotional response in and of itself. It does. That is so profound. And tonight, we have had the soul of the music of This Is Us with us. Thank you, guys. Please give it up for Dan Pogerman, Taylor Goldsmith, and Sid Posla.

For those of you who listen to the podcast, we have an example. We have an occasional segment on the podcast called Hot Day! I say hot, you say take. Hot! Hot! You guys are so obedient. This is wonderful.

And we got some hot takes from the audience here tonight. We did it. We made it safely. And now we have hot takes here. Thank you, Natalie. Oh, that's specifically for me. That's specifically for me. Keep up.

Keep up the cut. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Oh, hot! Oh my gosh. It's Sally's face. It's Sally's face. You guys, this is, I thought this was going to be a special night, but that's the most special, right?

Before we do the hot takes, Mandy Moore was saying this before the show. Christopher Joseph Sullivan is really the driving force behind this podcast. Yes. He's the person who asked us to do it the first time. He's like, we should do a live one. And the man picks up the reins and he makes shit happen.

So give it up for my man, Sully. That's why you're here tonight. You're the man, bro. The most beautiful part about any creative collaboration is that collaboration. So any chance I get to be creative with you two, with these musicians that you're about to see with anybody in my life, it is my favorite thing. So thank you for coming along for the ride.

And thank you for making it possible. You're hot. Hot takes. Hot takes. All right, we'll just go down the line. Yeah, yeah. Let's see it right here. Let's hear it.

We got a hot take from Selena. What up, Selena? Is there only one or there two? Just one Selena. Where are you at? Only one Selena. Let's hear it. Rebecca never should have agreed to go on tour with Ben.

An X is an X. Kind of agree. Hot take! Do you really? I mean, a little bit. Because the kids were young, because of why? No, the kids weren't young, but there's some weird tension. there. Well, listen,

Unresolved tension. If Ben was on the up and up and wasn't trying to do nothing superfluous, for you as an artist and trying to find, like, your own purpose in the world. Correct. But we came to see that he had other intentions. I hear you. But it was one of them kissed things that way. I was like, and you could have just pushed them off, and it seemed like he was fine after.

No, okay. No. Give us one. No. There was no going back. This is from Danielle. Miguel was the real hero. Jack was just top.

That is a scorching take. Hot take! That is a scorching take. That's the hottest take I've ever heard. Hot take! It's so ridiculous. I let the woman who was married to both of them go first. Mama, what you got to say to that hot take?

I think that's too hot. I will agree. That's pretty hot. I will agree that Miguel never got his proper due, right? Yes. Little Miguel love. Give it up from Miguel. I feel like people just in general came around

him a little too late. I always had the softest spot for Mr. Wirtas and Miguel. But I don't think... Jack was just... I don't... I don't think so. I think he was... Wow.

What do you got, Mandy Moore? I would have loved to have seen one of those alternate reality episodes in which Rebecca never lost the third baby. I wonder why Randall never brought that scenario up to his therapist. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah. That would have been an interesting... That would have been very interesting... I wouldn't have been a part of the show.

But... We can't have that. I mean... Hot take. I'd like to see what this looks like without Sterling K. Brown. You know, it's a pretty good show. He gets all the awards for it, but... But get him out of there.

Get him out of there. Interesting. You got the next with Mick, so what's up? All right. Miss, is it Mickey? Mikey? Doesn't matter. It's anonymous. It could be anonymous if the takes too hot.

You got. God, I need classes, guys. You got it? Tell me your 45 without telling me you're 45. There you go. I got you if you need it. It is dark. The show.

This show and and this podcast. And this podcast is my guilty pleasure. Why does Sterling wear his Stanford t-shirt so much? Get new clothes, SKP. and wear quints. I cannot. I'm not wearing it tonight.

I proudly represent the Cardinal. You know what I'm saying? And I don't, I wear a lot of stuff over and over again because it's very comfortable. Spoiler alert, we do record three podcasts, usually in one sitting. So it's like, when you see. So if you watch three in a row, it's like, why is this Negro in the same stuff?

It's because it's on the same day. I don't know. I know. I know he's at least wealthy. He could have two Stanford T-shirts. I do. I have exactly two. Here's the thing. At the beginning of the podcast, we're like,

should we change clothes for each one? Oh, we did. And Mandy would all go in a room, and Mandy would go around the corner, we changed clothes. I was like, it's too hot for this shit, man. I'm wearing the same thing, though. It was early summer. We were in a place that was not air-conditioned.

I was pregnant. like, oh, you guys. Did you go to Berkeley or something? I was like, you guys just have to change shirts. I didn't wear a whole new outfits. It was never going to work. So, anyway. Okay, good hot take.

You don't like Stanford. I got you. This is Luce. Luce says, we should have seen Kev and Sophie's wedding in either teen or adult timeline. Okay. Or at least a mention of it in the future timeline.

You know what? That's not a hot time. I'm not mad at them. I'm with that. We spent enough emotional energy on that relationship. We deserved an entire spinoff.

We needed a payoff. I think for a long time, we didn't know who was going to get Sophie and the answer. It's like, well, let's not give them too much time. I was like, is Virgin River still shooting? We're not going to get. We're not going to go too far into it.

He can have other relationships, but she's got to be blonde and she's got to be white. We already saw the kids, baby. We saw the kids. We saw the kids. We knew it wasn't Joey. That's all I'm telling.

Okay, B says, this is a hot take. Yeah. Jack purposely went back into the burning house, not just for the dog, but to get that box of pictures from Vietnam. I think he was going to tell his family about Nikki.

You know what? That's an interesting take. Because if ever there was something... Really toxic, huh? Now what do you think? Because if ever there was a moment where a life-changing event would have made him reconnect with his brother, that would have been it.

Yeah, get him. But do you think about that in the moment? Like... Probably not. Not thinking about it in the moment. I think he wanted keepsakes that he knew the family would cherish. Sure, sure, sure. Like history, but not necessarily to connect with Nikki.

Yeah. But maybe once he looked at it. Yeah? He was like... You know what I'm saying? I would like to think that if he continued to live, he probably would have said, hey, guys, guess what? I got a brother.

You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Go ahead. This one's really hot. Okay. I hope Dan Fogelman is in conversation backstage. Let go, let go. What you got?

The train symbolism was overkill. We didn't need it. Hot take! Hey, it's not called hot takes for a reason, people. We're not booing. We're just discussing, thoughtfully. We listen and we don't judge. Respectfully.

She thought it was over here. What do you think, maybe? I disagree. You disagree? Yes. Yeah. I disagree. We don't judge, but we disagree.

I feel like it was... I feel like it was one of the most... exquisite episodes written, like what was on the page. It was just... It's right, it's why it's a hot take. It moved me so profoundly and just like also this the concept of you understanding what was happening in a haze waiting for sister to get there. You know, like, no, you're wrong.

And, and, and hold on, and you will see when we get to this episode. Yeah. This is based on one of our writers actually. her life, her mother-in-law. This was like, this is a story based on her life. So, yes, maybe it does seem like overkill, but this was like a very true to life.

Yeah, yeah. All right. Let me just do this one real. Let me just do this one real quick, because there's nothing to even talk about because it is not the biggest hot take, but Siddhartha Kostla should have won numerous Emmys. Agreed. Spoiler alert, he has. Just not for this as us.

Okay, so Emily D'Artis says, the show is really funny. The show is really funny, not sad. Once you re-watch the second time, you know the sad stuff and what to expect on that so you can appreciate the humor way more.

Emily, that is... Thank you so much, Emily. I appreciate it. The first time I read the pilot, I was laughing hysterically until like you get to the end of it, and you're like, oh my God. Yeah.

You're my mom? Also, I just wish... I wish everybody got to be around while we were shooting because like... We had a lot of fun. Oh, my God. Especially like I said many a time, but like any time I was in age makeup. Yeah. And I was with the whole family, the other side.

It was, yeah. We try to keep it fun for you, Mama. It was too much. I was like, my prosthetics are going to pop off guys. When you got the prosthetics on, you can't smile or laugh too hard. There's a lot of... Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Not a lot of emotion.

This is pretty hot. This is from Veronica M. Come on, Veronica. That's Veronica Mars? Yep, Veronica Mars. Kate and Toby were never good for each other. Hot date? You agree?

You agree. I'm not saying that. I would not say that. Well, what are you saying? I would say I understand why it's a hot take. It is a hot take. I mean, it's a hot take. There's this idea sometimes

and when people feel like marriage is in that it was a failure, but maybe it was for that season. Maybe they were meant to be each other for a particular period of time in their lives. Yeah, they have two beautiful children. You know what I'm saying? And they brought their own issues

and baggage to the relationship. And some of it got resolved and some of it certainly did not. Because here's the thing, this is what I'm going to say to this one, because it is a hot take and it's interesting. It just makes me think about marriage. I celebrate 20 years of marriage,

March 18th of this year. And I'll say, Ryan Michelle Bathay is the love of my life. Not because it's always easy, but because we keep choosing each other. You know what I'm saying? So even when you're not perfect for each other, you can still choose each other

and just choose to be perfect for each other. That's it. There you go. There we go. All right, I'll do Will. How come you guys so many more cards? No, no, because I'm not throwing them like you. We've been tossing.

Sorry, sorry, sorry. We're tossing cards out here, baby. Here we go. Big Will says, I think it would have been epic. if Toby and Kate found their way back to each other after marrying other people years later. Lots of varying opinions.

People feel in Katobi. There's a lot of Kotobie. After they married different people? Yeah. And then divorced them? And then divorced them and they went back to. Just check. A tort affair while they're married to other people.

No. That's not the show. It's not the show. Do you have another one? I do. I have one more. I almost hit you, big dog. Don't throw them too far.

He's looking at his phone. Don't throw you worried about. Don't give anybody a paper cuts. They're sharp. They're sharp. Are you recording? Okay. Do you have one more or that's it?

I've got one more. Okay. Who wants? I'll do my last one. This is from Tiara? Yeah. Tierra, Tierra. Randall kicking Annie out of her room when they had a whole basement for William.

It was crazy work. We talked about this a lot. We talked about this a lot. Listen, you don't put all. people in the basement. It gets cold and drafty. You know what I wanted him to be comfortable and warm? Yeah. And we didn't have a set down there most of the time. Most of the time we did not.

For like one episode of you and Justin. Justin was downstairs and we had a reconciliation in the basement. I think he knocked boots with somebody in the basement in my house and I was like, now it's time to close this set. I can't have white people having sex in the bottom of my house. It's not right. Last one. It's a good one to end on. Michone says the show would have had a whole different vibe if someone in the family wanted to be an Eagles fan. Hot days!

This has been an excellent episode of Hot Takes. Incredible. Thank you so much for coming out tonight. Yeah. That was us. That Was Us. That Was Us is filmed at Rabbit Grin Studios and produced by Rabbit Grin Productions.

Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. That was us. That was a hate gum podcast.