LOS ANGELES _ "This Is Us" looks at the lives of the Pearson family and those associated with them over numerous decades through flashbacks. Despite all the insights that have been revealed, one major character's past _ Beth Pearson's _ has remained a mystery. That's about to change for the wife of Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown), played by Susan Kelechi Watson.
Series creator Dan Fogelman decided to dip into Beth's history as a result of feedback from loyal fans.
"One of the things that I hear the most after Jack died and 'How did Jack die?' was I was constantly hearing, 'When are we going to get a backstory episode about Beth?' During our second episode of the show, in the pilot, Susan had a big part, obviously, but it was a relatively contained part in the pilot," Fogelman says.
It's taken a third season of "This Is Us," but this week's installment of the NBC family drama deals with Beth's early years through a look at her close connection to her father, relationship with her mother (Phylicia Rashad), love of dance and first encounter with someone who would become very special in her life. The flashbacks are sparked by Beth's trip to see her mother, who has been injured.
Working with Rashad was a moving moment for Watson.
"There was this part where Beth says, 'You know, I'm strong because of you.' And I thought of the legacy of Phylicia Rashad and what she has left us all with, and continues to do, obviously, with her work on 'The Cosby Show' as Clair Huxtable, and on and on and on," Watson says. "She was my example of representation back in the day.
"When I sat with her, there was this, sort of ancestral, spiritual exchange in that moment. I think Beth is here because of you, because people like you have walked through the door and made a path that now people look on a show like 'This Is Us' on NBC, and it's not a strange thing to see a black woman roll through with box braids and a suit on, talking about, 'I'm going to work and holding down my husband and my family and my kids,' and this is not going to be strange."
Most of the dancing in the episode is done by the two actors cast to play Beth at younger points in her life, but Watson gets her opportunity. That was a happy return because she started dancing at a very young age. Watson was told by producers in September there was the possibility of a big dance number coming up and she began to prepare.
Watson loved all the dance work because she considers it to be the greatest form of expression.
"What dance does is speak in a way that, I think, words can't. For me, it was such a great opportunity to combine the things that I love," Watson says. "I left dance because I was like Beth. I was on Howard's campus, and there was this amazing dancer, Peanut, who walked out and just did her thing, and I was 'Oh, got ya. I'm going to go ahead and act. Let me go and see what's going on over here.'"
Dancer, actress, director and choreographer Anne Fletcher directed the episode. Most of her past work, from "Bring It On" to "Hairspray," required her to use smoke and mirrors with actors who could not do their own dancing. She loved not having to use a body double for Watson.
Watson hasn't minded that it's taken this long for her character's backstory because of how much she loves both the character and the series. It might seem a little odd to fans of the show that generates so many tears each week that what Watson enjoys the most about playing Beth is her humor.
"Every now and then, I get these lines that are just hysterical that make me smile, and it's a joy to play," Watson says. "I always think of Beth as an every woman. I say it all the time, but I think representation is so important. And I'm so excited that I get to play a black woman who's just normal and striving just to do her best in life. I think through doing that, it represents the every woman, no matter what ethnicity you are.
"There is a place just to be living your life and trying to find your dream and support your man and get your kids off to school. Those things that seem mundane and ordinary are the things that ground us in this life."
Before landing on the Emmy-winning series, Watson worked on several television series including three seasons of "Louie" as the title character's ex-wife. Her other credits include "The Blacklist," "NCIS," "Veep," "Divorce," "Third Watch" and "The Following."
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