TV This Is Us cast protests NBC airing Trump's town hall: 'Devastated' The cast adds their heft to more than 100 power players objecting to the NBC town hall By James Hibberd James Hibberd James Hibberd is the former editor at large at Entertainment Weekly. He left EW in 2021. EW's editorial guidelines Published on October 15, 2020 02:26PM EDT Photo: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage More than 100 top Hollywood players have sent a protest letter to NBC Universal over plans to air a town hall with President Donald Trump on Thursday night. As first reported by THR, a long list of writers, actors, and producers have signed a statement saying they are "devastated" by the company's decision to counter-program Democratic nominee Joe Biden's town hall on ABC with a Trump town hall on NBC. Most notably, signers of the letter include several names from NBC's biggest hit drama This Is Us, including creator Dan Fogelman and stars Sterling K. Brown, Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Chrissy Metz, and Justin Hartley. As current NBC talent, I’m proud of our entire #thisisus cast for taking a stand and signing this," Moore tweeted. "Tonight I will be watching Joe Biden on ABC." NBC's Debra Messing (Will & Grace) also signed as well as top industry writer-producers like J.J. Abrams (The Rise of Skywalker), Greg Berlanti (The CW's superhero universe), Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story), Damon Lindelof (Watchmen), Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) and many others. With Biden firmly topping Trump in election polling, and the president refusing to agree to the Presidential Debate Commission's virtual format for the previously announced second debate that was supposed to take place Oct. 15, it's thought that Trump has pushed for this particular event in order to find a way to score a public relations victory against Biden in the one way that he still can – by delivering competitive TV ratings. Here's the letter concerning tonight's NBC News Town Hall with President Trump: We are a group of writers, actors, directors and producers. Many of us have been lucky enough to work for NBCUniversal at some point in our careers. Some of us are currently employed at your studio. We have always thought of NBCUniversal as both a terrific creative home and a brand that stands for the best in entertainment and broadcast journalism. This is why we have been devastated to learn that you have chosen to air President Trump’s town hall this Thursday night at 8 p.m., directly opposite Vice President Biden’s town hall. This is not a partisan issue. This is about the political health of our democracy. President Trump refused to participate in the virtual debate scheduled for Thursday night by the Presidential Debate Commission. By agreeing to air his town hall as counterprogramming opposite Vice President Biden’s town hall on ABC, you are enabling the President’s bad behavior while undercutting the Presidential Debate Commission and doing a disservice to the American public. We believe this kind of indifference to the norms and rules of our democracy are what have brought our country to this perilous state. We are simply asking that NBC air the President’s town hall either before or after Vice President Biden’s so that American voters can have the opportunity to watch both. We understand the necessities of business, especially in this difficult time. But we believe there are larger issues of civic responsibility at stake here.And then it's signed:Aaron Sorkin Adam McKay Adam Scott Alex Barnow Allison Tolman Amy Lippman Amy Schumer Aubrey Plaza Ava DuVernay Ayelet Waldman Ben Stiller Billy Eichner Billy Porter Brendan Gall Chelsea Handler Chris Bishop Chris Meloni Chris Miller Chris Sullivan Chrissy Metz Courtney Kemp Dahvi Waller Damon Lindelof Dan Fogelman Daniel Hageman David A. Goodman David Guggenheim Debra Messing Ely Henry Emily Gordon Eric Guggeheim Greg Berlanti JJ Abrams Jason Moore Jennifer Yale Jill Knox Jim Parriott Joe Mantello Jon Cryer Jon Hamm Jon Huertas Josh Gad Josh Singer Julianne Moore Julie Plec Justin Hartley Keith Powell Kenya Barris Kevin Hageman Kumail Nanjiani Laeta Kalogridis Latoya Morgan Mandy Moore Marc Guggenheim Mariska Hargitay Marti Noxon Martin Gero Matthew Lopez Max Mutchnick Michael Chabon Michael Green Michele Fazekas Milo Ventimiglia Neal Baer Nicholas Stoller Nicole Yorkin Otmara Marrero Parvesh Cheena Patton Oswalt Phil Lord Preacher Lawson Robert Kirkman Ryan Murphy Samuel Baum Sarah Schechter Sarah Silverman Sarah Treem Seth Grahame-Smith Seth Rogen Shakina Nayfack Sophia Bush Sterling K. Brown Sunil Nayir Susan Kelechi Watson Tara Butters Terry Matalas Thor Freudenthal Tom McCarthy Tony Kushner Travis Beacham Vanessa Taylor Zoe Lister-Jones Ken Olin Abbi Jacobson Alison Janney David Kohan Robert King Malcolm Spellman Seth MacFarlane Marjorie David Donald Faison Chris Misiano David Goyer Julie Martin Joss Whedon Warren LeightNBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde released a statement in response to the letter, confirmed by EW stating, "We share in the frustration that our event will initially air alongside the first half of ABC’s broadcast with Vice President Biden. Our decision is motivated only by fairness, not business considerations.” Conde added NBC gave Trump the 8 p.m. slot because it gave Biden the same slot in a previous town hall and wanted to keep the presentation equal between the candidates. "We hope voters will watch both discussions," Conde added, even though the events are airing at the same time. Obviously, both will be available on other online platforms should viewers want to watch one live and the other taped. The dueling town halls air tonight on ABC and NBC, respectively, at 8 p.m. ET. Related content: