Mandy Moore To Return To TV In NBC Drama About Triplets, ‘This Is Us’

Singer-turned-actress Mandy Moore did not have the best of luck with television projects over the past few years. She was initially set to star in the American version of Sharon Horgan’s “Pulling,” but then she dropped out.

Moore then tried to move on with an ABC comedy about married restaurateurs, as well as a CBS legal drama. But none of those shows panned out.

“The first year, especially, I was just devastated. For some reason I just didn’t even think it was a possibility,” she admitted to New York Magazine. “Not in an egotistical way, but just like, ‘Cool! I made the show! Can’t wait to work with these people for the next five years!’ Each year I feel like I lessened my grip on the possibility of things moving forward.”

Last fall, Moore was offered another TV project. She did not think she had it in her to weather another pilot season, only for it to fall through. But she braved on for the project after reading the script for “This Is Us,” which is written by Dan Fogelman of “Crazy, Stupid Love” fame.

Moore did not mention her former husband Ryan Adams, but she did allude to their six-year marriage when she said, “I took a very, very purposeful step out of this world for the past couple of years, so it feels nice to be back.”

“I think I was investing everything I was into my personal life. Sort of nesting, and trying to be a good partner,” she added. Since their split, “I’ve been working on myself and have been in plenty of therapy to realize that is not the only role that I need to assume in life.”

In “This Is Us,” Moore will co-star with Milo Ventimiglia, who plays her onscreen husband. Their characters, Rebecca and Jack, are a married couple expecting triplets.

Hopefully, “This Is Us” will be a success and both Moore and Ventimiglia can continue working together. “Mandy is the kindest, most talented, most beautiful soul I've come across in a long time,” Ventimiglia told PEOPLE of his co-star. "When we shot the pilot, the funny thing was we didn't really know each other, but we had this immediate connection.”

“As an actor, it's obviously our job to find chemistry with somebody who is playing our spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever," added Moore. “Every now and then, you luck out and that chemistry is just palpable and it's right on the surface. And I really lucked out with Milo.”

“This Is Us” will premiere on Sept. 20 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, according to The Huffington Post. It will also star Justin Hartley, Sterling K. Brown and Chrissy Metz.