‘This Is Us’: Will Zoe Baker Return? Melanie Liburd Teases the Possibility in the Future
This Is Us fans fell in love with Zoe Baker (Melanie Liburd) and Kevin Pearson (Justin Hartley) when they first got together. The couple gradually grew closer throughout the third season. But they went their separate ways by the finale, and Zoe hasn’t been seen since. That said, Kevin’s past loves always seem to pop up again. So will Zoe return to This Is Us? Recently, Liburd revealed she was supposed to come back in season 4.
What happened to Zoe Baker and Kevin Pearson on ‘This Is Us’?
The end of This Is Us Season 2 hinted Zoe would make an impact on Kevin’s life. Then fans watched an epic love story unfold throughout season 3. But even so, the relationship didn’t work out.
In couples therapy, Kevin and Zoe realized they wanted different things. Kevin wanted kids. However, Zoe didn’t feel the same way. At first, Kevin chose to be with the one he loved, and he claimed he was fine without having children. But in the This Is Us Season 3 finale, Zoe realized Kevin truly wanted to become a father. So she chose to end the romance.
While fans were sad about the split, it was a pivotal moment in Kevin’s character development, as it forced him to examine what he wants in the future.
“That [breakup] is really crystalizing for Kevin,” executive producer Isaac Aptaker told TVLine in April 2019. “He really is pretty close to entering his forties. And he needs to start making some decisions about what he wants out of his life.”
Then This is Us Season 4 revealed Kevin has twins with Madison (Caitlin Thompson).
Melanie Liburd on Zoe’s return to ‘This Is Us’
Zoe hasn’t appeared on This Is Us since her breakup with Kevin. But as it turns out, Liburd almost returned to the NBC drama in season 4. She’s also open to reprising her role in the future.
“I was going to go back for the end of Season 4, but we just couldn’t make scheduling work because I’m in New York,” Liburd told TVLine in September 2020. “But I would love to go back. I miss those guys. They’re so lovely.”
She continued, “Every time I bump into [creator] Dan Fogelman, he’s like, ‘Yeah, we’ll get Zoe back at some point.’”
That said, it seems unlikely Zoe would come back to This Is Us as an endgame for Kevin.
“Zoe’s so cool, free-spirited. She’d be cool with it,” Liburd told Entertainment Tonight when asked how Zoe would feel about Kevin’s twins. “She doesn’t really hold grudges. She’s just all about being free, love, and she cares about Kevin. So I think as long as he’s OK, she’d be cool. She wouldn’t even have kids. That’s why she left.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly published in January, Aptaker reminded This Is Us fans that Zoe’s connection goes beyond Kevin, as she is Beth Pearson’s (Susan Kelechi Watson) cousin.
“What we love about the Zoe’s story is that she connects to her world on these two points. She’s not just Kevin ex. But probably, more importantly, she’s one of Beth’s closest family members and there’s a foundational relationship there,” Aptaker said. “And we’re always open for stories that can bring her back. There wasn’t one this year, but that’s not to say there won’t be.”
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