Chrissy Metz will co-write an episode of the final season of ‘This is Us'.
Chrissy Metz
The 41-year-old singer-and-actress - who plays Kate Pearson on the show - will contribute her writing skills to one episode of the NBC family drama’s sixth and last season, and admitted it is "really exciting" to have been given the extra responsibility.
The 41-year-old star told PEOPLE magazine: “It's really exciting because I think it's helping my songwriting, which is really great, and also understanding characters and writing for their voices.
"Also [creator] Dan [Fogelman] is such a great mentor, and I get to write with Casey Gettinger and David Windsor, who are our writing team. It's been really wonderful."
As well as Chrissy's writing, her co-star Chris Sullivan will make his directorial debut with a season six episode and Jon Huertas - better known to fans as Miguel Rivas - will helm an episode, and the actress is grateful the creative team have allowed the cast to branch out, after Milo Ventimiglia and Justin Hartley also previously directed installments in previous years.
She said: "We are really close to these characters and to these stories. When the actors are writing or the actors are directing, it's nice for it all to be shared and go around. Once everybody shared their desire to want to write or to direct, Dan was like, 'Yeah, absolutely.' He's just been so instrumental."
And Chrissy is particularly "excited" to see what Chris does in the director's chair.
She said: "I'm really excited for him. I think Chris is so in tune with everybody and he's such a people person, but he also is really creative. I'm so proud of him.”
The actress admitted her sadness for the show's ending “comes in waves.”
She added: "I'll be sitting there about to put a scene up and I'm like, 'Oh, this is the last time that I might be doing this. Or the last time we're at this location.’
"I have to suppress those feelings because it might not be conducive to the scene.
"I want to really enjoy and relish the moments that I do have as opposed to just crying through them, so it's weird. Also, I feel like it's a story that could go on forever, so part of my delusional mind is like, 'Oh, it's not really ending.' Part of me is trying to just protect myself."
She praised the show’s balancing tone, for keeping filming fun even during the heavier storylines.
She said: "It's been so much fun and there is a lightness to everything, even though all of the storylines are getting very heavy or deep. There's just this ease with the cast that's really nice so it's all the feelings, it's all the things."
Tagged in Milo Ventimiglia