Milo Ventimiglia Makes Peace With Crock-Pot In 'This Is Us' Super Bowl Promo

This Is Us Crock-Pot Left: istockphoto.com; Right: Photo by Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Elizabeth Licata|

The January 23 episode of NBC's tear-jerking melodrama This Is Us upset a lot of people, not least of which were probably some very nice people at Crock-Pot, who were surprised to discover their famous slow-cookers had been implicated in the demise of series patriarch Jack Pearson, played by Milo Ventimiglia. Now This Is Us has offered the brand an olive branch by releasing a new Super Bowl promo in which Ventimiglia shows there's no bad blood between him and his Crock-Pot.

After the January 23 episode of This Is Us, many fans said they would be throwing away their Crock-Pots, either out of fear of the machines, or out of a sense of loyalty to Jack. Jack was still alive at the end of the episode, but his situation seemed dire. Viewers expected the following episode, which would air after the big game on Sunday, February 4, to be absolutely heartbreaking.

While the post-Super Bowl episode was expected to be devastating, according to TV Line, the promotional video NBC aired before the game was actually pretty funny. It started out with Ventimiglia dressed as his character on the set of This Is Us, and he delivered a dramatic, heartfelt speech about how the country is divided, and how it can be hard to find common ground, even with friends and family.

"This year, this year I think we should all take a deep breath, find the ability to forgive and remind ourselves there is no difference so great that we can't overcome it," he said, while looking intently at the camera as though delivering an important life lesson.

But just as the audience assumed he was talking about politics, or family struggles, Ventimiglia opened up a shiny new Crock-Pot full of chili and served himself a bowl. Suddenly it became immediately clear that Ventimiglia wasn't talking about burying the hatchet with relatives, he was talking about forgiving the Crock-Pot. At that moment, the screen flashed the Crock-Pot logo, and the hashtag #CrockPotIsInnocent appeared on the screen.

Milo Ventimiglia even Tweeted that it just made him hungry.

It's an amusing fake-out, and people seem to have responded by embracing their Crock-Pots, and the #CrockPotIsInnocent hashtag.

Now that everybody is friends with their Crock-Pots again, here are 10 easy and delicious Crock-Pot recipes to share with friends and family.

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