“This Is Us” has completely swept America off its feet and the third season has been causing quite the buzz. We couldn’t leave the NBC Press brunch without talking to some of the cast members from and finding out a little bit more of what we can expect throughout the rest of the season. We spoke to Melanie Lieburd who’s new character Zoe happens to be Beth’s cousin on the show and Jon Huertas who plays Miguel and might’ve had a thing or two to say about Miguel and Rebecca’s relationship.
The Knockturnal: How does it feel to be part of such an amazing show?
Melanie Lieburd: It feels wonderful truly. I mean to be an actress and to be able to work with this amazing cast and producers and crew is so wonderful because everyone loves this show so much and cares deeply about it. I think it is reflected in everything about the show so I feel very grateful.
The Knockturnal: When you got the call and first started did you have any idea how big this was going to be where this wild ride was going to take?
Melanie Lieburd: I knew it was a huge show I started watching the first season and I was a fan I mean yeah the response has been wonderful the fans have been so kind towards my character.
The Knockturnal: Your character, what do you like the most about her and dating Kevin?
Melanie Lieburd: I love Zoe’s courageousness to get out into the world and explore. She makes documentaries and she loves to be adventurous and find truth. She’s enjoyed every minute of this journey with Kevin. She cares so deeply about him so it’s great.
The Knockturnal: There’s a lot of amazing people on this show what is it like being with Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia on set?
Melanie Lieburd: Crazy, talented people, who happen to be the kindest human beings on the planet. It’s just brilliant I mean our paths don’t always cross because they might shoot scenes on different days than I will but every now and then we’ll get together and it’s really fun.
We also spoke to Jon Huertas, who plays Miguel, Rebecca’s new love interest after Jack’s Death.
The Knockturnal: How has this whole journey been like for you?
Jon Huertas: I mean it’s pretty amazing you know the show has been welcomed with open arms to a great I think slice of America that is the general market but we have so many people of color that watch the show so many different walks of life so many different social spectrums you know working class people, people of stature or wealth. Everybody loves the show and to me it brings people together. I think it’s important for people right now in this day and age to bring people together.
The Knockturnal: I think the show is great and caters to everybody. Whether it’s family, or relationships everyone can relate to it and it’s nice to know that there’s a show that people can relate to.
Jon Huertas: Exactly.
The Knockturnal: When you got that call that you were gonna be part of the show I’m sure you had no idea where this journey was going to take you and how wild this ride was going to be.
Jon Huertas: Yeah you never really know in television how a show is gonna do or how well a show is gonna be. I had just been on a show that had been on for 8 seasons and it got cancelled kind of suddenly. It probably could have kept going but you know 8 seasons is a long time and I was comfortable with the ending really. I didn’t expect to jump into something right away because you are always shooting in the dark right. So I felt very humble to be able to be a part of this and at the beginning when I joined the show. They had already shot the pilot while I was working on my other show. But the trailer for the show digitally had had the most views out of any television trailer ever in existence. So I knew that if we just had a fraction of those views the first episode we were gonna be pretty good for that season.
The Knockturnal: Miguel isn’t necessarily a villain but he’s a bit disliked throughout the show. Is he gonna have a chance to redeem himself throughout the season?
Jon Huertas: I think every season leading up to now he’s done things to show the audience he’s not a bad guy. What ends up happening is he fills a hole he has in his heart and he fills somebody else’s hole. It’s all about love and I think that we are telling a story in a very strategic way when it comes to Miguel and Rebecca. We need to take our time and make sure people aren’t pushed into loving Miguel. Who accepts a step dad right away? That’s what’s happening, Rebecca came home with a new man and the audience has to learn why Rebecca fell in love with him and his great qualities and it just takes time.
The Knockturnal: Out of all the 3 kids why do you think it’s harder for Kevin to accept Miguel?
Jon Huertas: Because I have a feeling that Kevin and Miguel are the closest. Out of all the kids their relationship is the tightest … and something happened to drive them apart.
He’s gonna be the maddest at Miguel because he was the closest. That’s what I think, that’s my opinion and we’ve talked about telling the story that way. We’ll see if it stays that way.
The Knockturnal: What’s it like working with Mandy, Milo, and everyone on set?
Jon Huertas: It’s amazing because you are receiving gifts every time to work with them. Everybody is professional about their work. They are serious but not too serious that we aren’t having fun on set. You know we laugh a lot between takes and between scenes but working with Mandy is a joy. She’s so giving and she’s so sweet. Giving as an actress and super sweet as a person. Very easy to make laugh and that’s important to me. If I can make that girl laugh then I know everything’s cool.
The Knockturnal: Is there anything more we can expect with the rest of the season?
Jon Huertas: You can expect to see more about Miguel and Rebecca and how they got close after Jack’s death possible. more about how they got tighter after they reconnect.
This is Us airs Tuesdays at 9pm on NBC.
