Last night, This Is Us finally returned to NBC after a three-week hiatus. (Hallelujah.) And now, the showrunners are teasing a brand-new—albeit familiar—guest star.
After yesterday’s episode of This Is Us, NBC dropped a trailer for next week’s installment and simultaneously gave us a first look at Phylicia Rashad, who plays Beth’s (Susan Kelechi Watson) mom, Carole. (You probably recognize her as Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show and Diana Dubois from Empire.)
The teaser gives us a glimpse of Beth’s childhood dream of becoming a dancer, along with her mom’s criticism about her career goals.
“When I was a little girl, I was dancing. You didn’t have to take it from me,” Beth says. Her mom responds, “You had gone as far as you could go.” (Eep.)
The news should come as no surprise to fans, considering we know that Beth becomes a dance teacher based on flash-forwards. It all started back in the season two finale when old Randall (Sterling K. Brown) asks adult Tess (Iantha Richardson) if she’s ready to “go see her.” Although we originally thought “her” could be Beth, that all changes when Randall phones Beth, who is teaching at a ballet studio.
While last night’s episode focused on Kevin (Justin Hartley) trying to welcome Jack’s (Milo Ventimiglia) brother, Nick (Griffin Dunne), into their family, we’ve been waiting for Beth’s backstory for the last three seasons, so it’s about damn time.
Bring on the in-laws. This Is Us returns to NBC next Tuesday, February 19, at 9 p.m.
