It doesn’t get much more Pittsburgh than a “This Is Us” episode in “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
Tuesday night’s episode of the NBC hit drama featured one of the TV show’s trademark flashbacks to the 1980s with Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) taking sons Randall and Kevin to a taping of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
The show is in its fifth season and takes place in multiple cities in different eras. It frequently shows Pittsburgh in the 1970s and ’80s, the heyday of the renowned WQED children’s program.
As the episode’s title suggests, “Brotherly Love” revolved around siblings Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown). The “Mister Rogers” parts of the episode focused on young Randall ruminating on what his life would be like if he had Black parents, and Kevin dealing with what he perceives as special treatment that his brother receives due to his race.
The episode begins with the 5-year-old boys watching an episode of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Jack turns the TV off and surprises the boys by telling them that the show is filmed in their hometown, and they’re going to a live taping that day. While they wait in line, a “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” staffer incorrectly assumes that Kevin and another white child are Jack’s kids. To make up for the mistake, Jack asks if Randall can have a special seat, which angers Kevin.
As the taping begins, a blurry figure in a red sweater comes out and says, “Hello neighbors. Thank you for coming.” The actor portraying Mister Rogers is Walt Keller, according to Entertainment Weekly. However, he is not credited as a specific character in the IMDB page for this episode.
After the show, Kevin runs off and Jack goes to catch him. Randall takes a walk through a lovingly re-created Neighborhood of Make Believe. As he’s admiring the set, a Daniel Tiger puppet emerges from the castle. Randall and the puppet exchange pleasantries and talk about the power of books before things begin to get real.
“They help us develop our imaginations, don’t they?” Daniel Tiger asks Randall. “Do you like using your imagination?”
Randall hesitates before responding, “I have imaginary parents.”
“Well that’s OK,” the puppet replies. “We all have our own Neighborhoods of Make-Believe.” That answer makes young Randall smile. Jack returns with Kevin, and the three head out of the studio as the camera focuses on a tiny trolley.
“This Is Us” often uses quintessentially Pittsburgh figures and locations in its storytelling, especially the Steelers. Earlier this season, the show spotlighted the 1995 police killing of Jonny E. Gammage, the cousin of former Steeler Ray Seals.
Tuesday’s episode was directed by Kay Oyegun, a University of Pittsburgh graduate who clearly understood the connection Fred Rogers had with the children of Pittsburgh. She talked with Entertainment Weekly’s Dan Snierson about the conversation between young Randall and Daniel Tiger.
“There's a world where the audience can take it two ways. One, they are at a taping of ‘Mister Rogers.’ Mister Rogers is known for engaging with children in this beautiful, magical way. And so that conversation very much did happen. But then the other side of it is, we've been having conversations with all of our characters' psyches ...
“It very well did happen in a real sense — and it also could have been this kid looking for an outlet that he could trust.”
And who better to confide in than Fred Rogers, even in puppet form?
Joshua Axelrod: jaxelrod@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jaxel222.
First Published: April 14, 2021, 4:16 p.m.
