‘This Is Us’ Star Justin Hartley Says Kevin Pearson Will Meet His Long Lost Uncle Nicky ‘Really, Really Soon’

This Is Us fans should brace for what could be one of the biggest scenes on the NBC drama this season—and it’s coming “really, really, really soon.”

In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, This Is Us star Justin Hartley revealed that his character, Kevin Pearson, will soon come face-to-face with his Uncle Nicky Pearson. Fans of the show know that Kevin and his siblings were previously told by their father, Jack (Milo Ventimiglia), that his brother, Nicky, died in the Vietnam War, but viewers were left with a cliffhanger at the end of the fall finale episode that revealed Nicky is alive in the present day and living near the family’s original Pittsburgh hometown.

Ahead of This Is Us’ winter premiere, Hartley admitted to ET that Kevin Pearson will meet his long lost uncle “really, really, really soon.” But it won’t be pretty.

“He’s gonna [meet him]. I mean, that’s the thing, who’s keeping that secret, right. We all know that’s happening…It’s probably not going to be all rainbows and butterflies.”

Hartley went to explain that the story behind Nicky Pearson’s secret life will be a “huge” one for fans to process.

“Here’s a guy who’s lived in solitude his whole life, who we thought was dead, because we were told by our father — who is dead — that he was dead. And now it’s like, ‘Wait, he’s not dead?’ So, should we be mad about that? Like, what’s the deal? Like, why did you tell us he was deceased? There’s a huge story behind all of that. [It’s] a lot to process.”

Justin Hartley didn’t give any further details on which episode the Kevin-Nicky meeting will happen. What is known is that actor Griffin Dunne will play the present day version of the mysterious Pearson uncle. (Michael Angarano played the 20-something Nicky in flashback scenes set in the early 1970s.)

In addition, the January 22 This Is Us episode is titled “Songbird Road: Part One.” An address on an envelope in his home revealed that Nicky Pearson currently lives on 2125 Songbird Road. According to the Futon Critic, the “Songbird Road: Part One” episode synopsis reads: “Rebecca and the Big Three reckon with secrets Jack kept from them. Jack’s Vietnam story continues to be revealed.”

Take a look at the This Is Us clip below to see the moment Justin Hartley’s character finds out his uncle did not die in Vietnam.

This Is Us returns to NBC on Tuesday, January 15, at 9 p.m. ET.