This Is Us' Ron Cephas Jones Hopes to Delve into William's Gay Relationship in Season 2

Although Randall's (Sterling K. Brown) birth father William (Ron Cephas Jones) took his last breaths in This Is Us' first season, he's got a lot more living to do on the show -- in flashbacks. Ron Cephas Jones spoke with TVGuide.com this week and said that, just like us, he's got a list of things he hopes to see explored for his character in Season 2.

"William's character will be seen again next season," he said. "I don't know what's going to happen or how or when, I just know he's coming back in flashbacks."

It feels like we know a lot about William -- he's the son of a man who died in military service; he got hooked on drugs with a (female) lover as his mother started to get ill and he's a gifted writer and musician -- but then there's so much we don't know too. Among those mysteries is how he came to be in a relationship with a man: his partner Jesse, played by Denis O'Hare.

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"I'm looking forward to (exploring) that for next season," he said. "I think that's one of the avenues they may explore -- how that relationship developed. I'm very curious because it hasn't been written in, and we didn't talk about it much. So I think them introducing it was preparing the audience for next season and how that relationship develops in recovery."

William's entry into drug treatment is something else he hopes to see -- "showing how he got involved in recovery and made that transition," he said -- as well as more about his career in the arts.

"What was his life as a musician like?," the actor mused. "I'd love to see a lot of that, of him as a musician. Writing music, writing poetry, being at poetry readings, some of the friends that are with him -- the musicianship of William that they talked a lot about." William, we learned in the past, has played with some of the greatest musicians in the world. "You might see him with some popular musicians of the day," he said.

Does that mean we could see Randall's dad getting down with someone like Stevie Wonder or say, friend-of-Gilmore Girls Carole King? "That could be really cool," he said. "That door is open. We'll see if they walk through it."

Season 1 of This Is Us concluded Tuesday; you can watch past episodes on Hulu.