Lightness will overtake the darkness in This Is Us‘ upcoming third season. “We felt like at the end of Season 2, our family had grieved and processed [Jack’s death],” co-showrunner Elizabeth Berger divulged Wednesday at the Television Critics Assoc. summer press tour. “This is a hopeful season and a season about true new beginnings for everybody.” TV's Big Cast Changes (2018-2019)

The Season 3 premiere — which is set to air on Tuesday, Sept. 25 (9/8c, NBC) — once again centers on the Big 3’s big day. “We are picking up with [Randall, Kate and Kevin] turning 38,” shared co-showrunner Isaac Aptaker, before adding, “Our storylines are going to catch up to all of those [flash-forward scenes from the Season 2 finale] over the course of this year.”

Aptaker also confirmed that “we are going to be spending a lot of time in Vietnam” exploring Jack’s war-torn origin story. Added Berger: “There’s something very freeing about being past the mystery of Jack’s death and moving into this new chapter and being able to tell a completely different kind of story. To be all of a sudden [writing] about the Vietnam War is very special and different.”