When
This Is Us (Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on CTV) returns with new episodes on January 14, it will be the start of the back half of the fourth season, which will include some very famous guest stars. Sophia Bush and Pamela Adlon are the latest bold names set to join the ever-growing cast and possibly offer answers to fan’s burning questions. Show creator Dan Fogelman announced Bush and Adlon’s guest roles this weekend at a Television Critics Association panel. Although Fogelman did not go into specifics on the roles Bush and Adlon will be playing, he did confirm that they will be involved with the Big Three, including Randall (Sterling K. Brown), Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Kate (Chrissy Metz).Fogelman appeared at the panel with the cast, including Brown, Hartley, Metz, Mandy Moore (Rebecca), Chris Sullivan (Toby) and Susan Kelechi Watson (Beth). The
This Is Us group offered a few specifics for Adlon’s role, with
Brown revealing that he’ll be working closely with Adlon as the rest of the season will “delve into Randall’s mental health and how he takes care of himself, what’s right and what’s wrong about how he takes care of himself.”[video_embed id='1827415']RELATED: Sterling K. Brown reveals how 'Waves' influenced his approach to parenting'[/video_embed]“We have a cool guest star coming, Pamela Adlon, who will be involved in Randall’s very intense storyline,” Fogelman
told Deadlines following the panel. “She has an unbelievable arc in the back of the season, she plays a limited but very important part of that story.” Fogelman said that he reached out to Adlon as a fan and "on a whim" and was able to book the writer, director, actor during a break from her Peabody-winning series
Better Things.As for
Sophia Bush, it appears the
One Tree Hill and
Chicago PD actor could fill in the mystery role of Kevin’s baby mama. In the final flash-forward of the
Season 3 finale, viewers were introduced to Kevin’s teenage son, although the identity of his mother remains a mystery. Hartley and Metz are the only two main cast members who have not been seen in flash forwards, although it was confirmed in the Season 3 finale that Kevin is alive and was simply running late to the family gathering.Fogelman declined to comment on Bush’s role and whether she is Kevin’s co-parent, but he did confirm that Bush will be involved with Kevin’s storyline and that the mother of Kevin’s child will be revealed by the end of Season 4.When
This Is Us returns January 14, it will include an appearance by singer John Legend, who will premiere a new song on the award-winning drama. Season 4 has included several recurring guest stars, including Timothy Omundson as Kate and Toby’s neighbour, Marsha Stephanie Blake and Omar Epps as the parents of a young boy dating Randall’s daughter Deja, Tim Matheson as Rebecca’s father, and
Jennifer Morrison as an Army veteran who befriends Kevin. Fogelman also confirmed that fan favourite Ron Cephas Jones will return in his Emmy-winning role as Randall’s birth father, William.Watch
This Is Us every Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on CTV.[video_embed id='1870201']Justin Trudeau has a beard and we have some thoughts[/video_embed]
