Sophia Bush Is Joining ‘This Is Us’ in a Mysterious Role (& We Have a Theory)

Don’t freak out, but we may have just learned who will play Kevin’s (Justin Hartley) wife-to-be in This Is Us.

The news came courtesy of series creator Dan Fogelman, who let slip at a Television Critics Association press tour event this weekend that Chicago PD star Sophia Bush is joining the season four cast in a mystery role, playing opposite Kevin.

As a brief refresher, the This Is Us season four fall finale ended with a flashforward that showed Kevin engaged and expecting his first child with an unknown woman. We’ve had our theories about who he might be starting a life with, but the addition of Bush seems like a promising option for the future Mrs. Pearson. Sure, her character and Kevin would have had to meet and decide to (or accidentally?) make a baby relatively quickly, but it’s definitely possible. Conversely, she could be Kevin’s fiancée’s OBGYN or their nanny. Either way, we’re curious. 

Fogelman assured viewers, “The story of who is the mother of Kevin’s child and all that journey will be a story in the back half of the season, and there will be an answer by the end of the season.” Guess what? We’re about to start the “back half of the season.”

But Bush isn’t the only one joining This Is Us. Pamela Adlon of Better Things is also coming on as a guest star with a part in Randall’s (Sterling K. Brown) storyline.

Brown shared the news at the same panel as Fogelman, explaining that his character’s upcoming journey is “quite compelling and allows us to [delve] further 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 and how he could possibly do a better job at that.” Is it just us or does it sound like Adlon will play Randall’s therapist?

Separately, Fogelman told Deadline, “[Adlon] has an unbelievable arc in the back of the season, she plays a limited but very important part of that story.”

We thought John Legend joining the fold was a big deal, but now we have two more new faces? We can’t wait to see what happens.

This Is Us returns tomorrow, Tuesday, January 14, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.