Entertainment TV 'This Is Us' Creator Dan Fogelman Shares the Show's Ultimate Message This Is Us aired its series finale on NBC Tuesday night after six seasons By Stephanie Wenger Stephanie Wenger Instagram Twitter Stephanie Wenger is a TV Writer/Reporter at PEOPLE. She joined the brand in 2021 as digital news writer, spanning across the site's verticals. She previously contributed to E! Online, HollywoodLife, Discover Los Angeles, Oscar.com and Hollywood.com. She appeared on air at AfterBuzz TV. She began her journalism career as an intern at Good Morning America and Access Hollywood. She graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor's in communications and received a Master's in journalism from the University of Southern California. People Editorial Guidelines Published on May 25, 2022 12:57 PM Share Tweet Pin Email This Is Us cast. Photo: Maarten de Boer/NBCUniversal The creator of This Is Us revealed the ultimate message behind the hit NBC show, which aired its series finale on Tuesday. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, creator Dan Fogelman opened up about what he hopes fans took away from watching the Pearson family over the last six seasons. "You never lose anyone, because you're living in six different versions of your own life in a given moment, and you're carrying the pieces of people forward," Fogelman, 46, said of the show's meaning. "That OG Pearson couple is being carried forward into the future generations of their family.'" Dan Fogelman. Chelsea Guglielmino/WireImage This Is Us Creator Admits He 'Didn't Have a Backup Plan' for Finale Scenes Filmed 4 Years Ago During the series finale screening and panel on Sunday, the cast of This Is Us including Milo Ventimiglia, Chrissy Metz, Susan Kelechi Watson and Chris Sullivan shared their favorite lines from the show's run. Metz, 41, revealed her favorite moment came in the emotional penultimate episode during a conversation between the late William Hill (Ron Cephas Jones) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) on the train, right before she enters the caboose car. "Of course, when Rebecca said, 'Isn't this quite sad?' and William says, 'No, if it is, it's because it meant something,'" Metz explained. "If that don't sum up this whole damn series, I don't know what else does." RELATED VIDEO: This Is Us Creator Unpacks Rebecca's 'Fitting Conclusion' and Her 'Meaningful' Stops on the Train This Is Us: Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore and Cast Talk 'Wonderful and Complete' Series Finale Sullivan, 41, picked a memorable line from young Kate (Mackenzie Hancsicsak) in the series finale. "As long as I know where all of you are, I know where I'm going," he said. "I was sitting in my office weeping. I didn't realize that that is how I feel about my life until Dan said it [in the script], and that's something I'm gonna take with me forever." In selecting his favorite line, Ventimiglia, 44, also opened up about his own takeaway from the show's final episode. "When the world puts something this obvious in front of you, you don't just walk away from it," he said, before clarifying on its meaning. "Pay attention. Pay attention when life is happening in front of you. That was a big moment for me to be like, pay attention to life happening in front of you as it's happening, don't let it pass." NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty This Is Us Cast Celebrates One Another on Finale Night: 'An Honor to Be Part of Their Story' Watson, 40, added that her favorite line comes from a song performed by Rebecca at Kate and Phillip's wedding. "It's a song... went to the top of the charts because Mandy Moore sang it," Watson noted. "It says, 'I'm starting to learn that some silences shouldn't be broken, just listened to,' and that's in 'Forever Now.'" "That was just so deep to me," she continued. "I'm a big fan of how to communicate without words and something about listening to a silence for information, and there being information in it, something to gather there without an over-explanation, felt beautiful and very human and very poignant. That whole song wrecked all of us every single time she sang it. There's so many gems in it, but that one stuck out to me the most." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. This Is Us premiered on NBC in September 2016. In addition to Ventimiglia, Moore, Metz, Sullivan and Watson, the series also starred Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley and Jon Huertas. Over its six-season run, the show earned hundreds of accolades — including more than 30 Emmy Award nominations — before its conclusion on Tuesday.