Jon Huertas' Miguel-centered This Is Us episode was in the works for years

The Hollywood Reporter

"We did have conversations about the long game," Huertas says of Tuesday's episode. "We thought it would be better to take our time, with how the audience first reacted to Miguel when he was first introduced. There was (an) immediate kind of backlash: 'Why is Rebecca married to this guy?' We could have tried to turn him around with some amazing feat that Miguel does for the family or for Jack. But we discussed early on that it would have been a more exciting challenge to really take our time and make it measured on how we gradually get people to see Miguel’s position in the family as a positive one, as a necessary one. And that’s what this episode does, the culmination in the end. Viewers will see in the next couple of episodes that Miguel needed to be there; he had to be there. He has always been there from the beginning; making sure Jack realizes how amazing this woman is, 'Don’t mess it up by drinking too much,' and telling him, 'Let me help you get a better job.' Really, everything that Miguel did was for the good of others all the way through the series."

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• This Is Us wraps filming on its series finale: "Last day of work. The greatest 6 years at the best job I’ve ever had. Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude (and definitely lots of tears)," Mandy Moore wrote Tuesday morning on Instagram. 
• Jon Huertas says Miguel's hair journey was inspired from his own life: "It's very personal," he says. "I think I've only told this story once publicly before today. When I was going to high school, someone attempted to "bully me and called me 'Pubic Head' and said that the hair on my head looked like the hair that was growing between his legs. It prompted a physical reaction from me, and because I was the victor in that situation, I was the one who got in trouble. So not only was there someone attempting to bully me and making me feel small and different, which I did, but I got in trouble for it. Because not everyone knew how to deal with my situation — no one did, really — I was sent to a salon where the hair stylist blewdry my hair straight and said, 'There. Now he looks white. He'll fit in. They won't tease him anymore.' So I basically gave up my identity at that moment. It was tough. It took some growth to be able to really accept my natural hair. That's something that Miguel goes through."
• Huertas predicts fan reactions to Miguel's episode: "I think they’ll walk away feeling very full, very satisfied"
• Huertas, director Zetna Fuentes and Jonny Gomez discuss how they collaborated to tell Miguel's story
• This Is Us' Twitter account posts a special message from Huertas