This Is Us is going to risk its popularity by getting political in season three.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Rob Morgan, who starred in Netflix’s acclaimed Mudbound, joined the cast to headline a political storyline.
Morgan was cast as Solomon Brown, a Philadelphia city councilman who oversaw the district where William (Ron Cephas Jones) lived before Randall (Sterling K. Brown) was born, reports The Hollywood Reporter. He is a family man, churchgoer and eager to succeed.
“Someone starts entering the world of local politics,” This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman told THR. However, he assured that the show will not be jumping into today’s divided national political climate.
“It’s nothing big and national — nothing Republican vs. Democrat or left vs. right — but we’re going to dive into some community hot political waters with a surprising character,” Fogelman said.
Fogelman did not go into specifics over the political storyline, but it will likely involve Randall in the present. During season two, Randall bought the Philadelphia building where his biological father once lived, and his plans could certainly create conflict with Solomon.
Morgan has starred in several major Netflix projects. He has appeared in five Marvel shows – Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage, The Punisher and The Defenders – as Turk Barrett. He also starred in Dee Rees’ Oscar-nominated Mudbound as Hap Jackson. He plays Officer Powell on Stranger Things and had a role in the Western series Godless.
Outside of his work for Netflix, Morgan just finished the World War II drama Greyhound with Tom Hanks and starred in Brawl in Cell Block 99 with Vince Vaughn.
This Is Us is already in production for season three. A recent photo from the set showed Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore) on a carnival date in the past.
During a break in production, Moore appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and assured fans that the ending will be “very satisfying for people,” even though it will not air for a long time.
“I think just the nature of our show and the trajectory is that … you know, people are certain ages now, and perhaps they’re just going to keep getting older. So [we are] capturing content in the can now,” Moore said.
“There’s no predetermined end date, but … I think [Fogelman] has an idea in his mind of when he sort of sees the story ending and he knows how it ends, which makes me feel good as an actor and as a viewer. He knows where the story is heading.”
This Is Us season three kicks off on Sept. 25 on NBC.
Photo credit: Maarten de Boer/NBC
