In the midst of the madness, a little story about tonight's episode of #ThisIsUs ...

About this time last year, the @ThisIsUsWriters started discussing an episode focusing on Randall's birth mother. It was something we had contemplated before, but never fully decided on...

One of the many things up for debate: the young actress we had cast in Season One episodes as Randall's birth mother. We didn't really know her. She barely had lines, if ANY, and it seemed like a stretch to give her an entire episode of TV...

But we had a story we wanted to tell. So @KayOyegun and @freboni09 wrote some scenes, and we brought the actor in to read some REALLY heavy material. She got the call, came in, and absolutely crushed it.

We decided to move forward with the plan...

Four of our writers (Kay, Eboni, @veraherbert and Julia Brownell if I remember correctly), went off and broke a story.

I went in a few days later to hear what they came up with and I was blown away.

They, too, had absolutely crushed it.

Tonight, a year later, that episode airs. A leap of faith made under tricky circumstances. It features a stunning performance from that same young actress - the one who once had no lines.

Her name is Jennifer Holmes and I believe she will soon be nominated for a guest Emmy.

You never know when you'll get your shot.

When you do: seize the moment.

Oh, and try and get @KayOyegun to direct.