‘This Is Us’ Star Susan Kelechi Watson Says Beth Isn’t Dying In Season 3
This Is Us fans are bracing for a tragic storyline for another character, and they’ve narrowed the unlucky person down to one of three ladies: Beth, Annie, or Deja (played by Susan Kelechi Watson, Faithe Herman, and Lyric Ross, respectively). Now, This Is Us star Susan Kelechi Watson is setting the record straight on the fate of her character, Beth Pearson, as the show heads into its third season.
The second season of the flash-back filled NBC drama ended with a rare flash forward to the future that showed an aging Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown) telling his now-adult daughter, Tess (played by Iantha Richardson), “It’s time to go see her.” Tess sullenly responded, “I’m not ready,” and her dad admitted he wasn’t ready either.
The scene teased a dire situation for a female who is important to Randall and his daughter, and many This Is Us viewers noted that Randall wasn’t wearing a wedding ring in the future-set scene, spawning internet buzz that Beth is next on the This Is Us hit list. But Susan Kelechi Watson now tells the Los Angeles Times that she believes her character is alive in the future.
“I don’t think I’m dying,” Watson told the Times. “That’s a rumor.”
Still, the This Is Us star gave a cryptic clue that teases that her character might not totally be in the clear. When asked if she knows who the “her” that future Randall and Tess were referring to, the actress said, “I think I might.”
“Stuff changes sometimes. But I feel like I know … there is some real stuff that happens in the future. And it involves the whole family. Does it necessarily mean Beth is dying — no. That’s the spoiler I can give — she’s not dead.”
Watson also promised that This Is Us fans will finally get to learn more about Beth Pearson’s backstory in Season 3.
“That’s something we’re going to learn about in Season 3 — that she has a Jamaican background,” the This Is Us star said. “Her mom is still alive, her dad isn’t, obviously. She has sisters and comes from a big family. Seeing how that plays into her life, who does she go to for advice and help outside of the Pearson clan…she’s like a slow-peeling onion. There’s all these layers that weren’t laid out immediately. We keep getting to meet her.”
This Is Us fans were surprised by the flash to the future, but executive producer Isaac Aptaker told the Hollywood Reporter that it was “not a one-time thing.”
“Since the beginning that’s been something we’ve known we were going to get to in the show,” the This Is Us producer told the Times.
“We had a lot of story we wanted to tell before we got there, but now that we’ve visited that time, nothing’s off the table and we will certainly be returning there in the future. It’s so much fun for us as writers and storytellers, getting to imagine what these people are up to 10-15 years in the future. We haven’t put an exact year on it. It’s just like the possibilities are endless.”
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, This Is Us star Chrissy Metz revealed that some of the This Is Us cast members know the details behind the mysterious flash forward—and it doesn’t sound good at all.
“It’s something you’d… nobody… it’s not good,” Metz said. “It’s…no… it’s actually very heartbreaking.”
You can see the This Is Us cliffhanger scene below.
This Is Us returns to NBC this fall.
