The end is near for the highly popular NBC drama This Is Us. With less than two months left until the last episode of the show’s sixth and final season airs on May 24, the cast has been busy filming their remaining episodes. They took a brief break on Saturday to join nearly 3,000 fans at PaleyFest L.A. The show’s ensemble, including Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, and Jon Huertas, participated in a boisterous, hour-long panel discussion to commemorate their beloved family saga.

“I hope that people found catharsis in our show,” said Moore on the arrivals carpet ahead of the panel discussion. “That they were able to see themselves in our characters and that they were challenged by it, buoyed by it, and they are able to celebrate the triumphant moments and breathe and grieve and feel all of their feelings. And that generations continue to find the show and see themselves in a light that they are often not seen in.”

During the show’s run, the cast formed close bonds. “We get to do everything together. It’s not about one individual, it’s about us,” said Brown. That led to solidarity when it came time to renegotiate their contracts. Following in the footsteps of the casts of hits like Friends and The Big Bang Theory, they were one of the few ensembles to immediately agree to financial parity. Ventimiglia, Moore, Brown, Hartley, Metz, Watson, and Sullivan reportedly started at different compensation levels in the show’s first season, but the cast members negotiated their salaries together for equal pay after the second season and have maintained parity ever since. They recently requested a pay increase ahead of the final season and received a seven-figure bonus.

“I think when it comes to all things with us, we are not just a group of actors working together, but we regard ourselves as a family. And so in the matters of life, and love, and business, and everything in between, I feel that we were always going to stick together,” said Moore. “It wouldn’t feel right to do it any other way.”

Ventimiglia added, “This truly is an ensemble show. Some of us have been around in our careers longer than others, but we are all a part of the same show. There’s not one character that is more important than the next, so I think for us it was important to make sure that we are looking out for one another creatively, but also in business. Sometimes there is an understanding that maybe one person may bring in more eyeballs, and that would get a monetary value attached to it. Or if someone has been in Hollywood for a long time, that they are worthy of more. It’s tough, but with our ensemble show, everybody is worthy and equal.”

Huertas, who plays Rebecca’s current and devoted husband, Miguel, originally was hired as a recurring character in season one, but was promoted to a series regular in season two. The show’s seven original cast members lobbied the studio and network for parity for him, but he was given a lower bonus amount. The cast reportedly offered to pool together some of their own bonuses for Huertas, but he declined.

“It was a gift that these guys wanted to stand up for me,” said Huertas on the arrivals carpet. “It comes down to that sense of family. Every person in this cast, we are members of the same family now. We’ve had these conversations and made a pact with one another to always support one another and stand up for one another. We’ve had that outright conversation saying, ‘Anything you want me to change, let’s just be honest with one another.’ We’ve been like that from the beginning.”

As the Pearson family saga comes to a close, Ventimiglia is proud to have played the fan-favorite character Jack Pearson—a doting husband and selfless father who was nevertheless flawed. He crumbled under the weight of being the family’s rock, making him relatable to viewers.

“I’m grateful for playing Jack. He has reaffirmed the way that I was raised, which is we all are going to make mistakes; we all are going to have our shortcomings. But we should do our best: be kind to people, look out for one another, protect people when they need protecting, get out of their way when they need to leave,” said Ventimiglia, who earned three Emmy nominations for his work on the show.

This Is Us marked Moore’s first main onscreen television job. As Rebecca, she became the show’s common thread and the only actor to appear throughout the show’s multiple nonlinear time frames. She portrayed a young Rebecca in the flashbacks with Ventimiglia; an older version of her character in the present day, under heavy makeup, with Hartley, Brown, and Metz; and also acted with the various child and young adult actors who played her kids at different ages.