'This Is Us' season 1 spoilers: Jack is dead but Milo Ventimiglia will still be around

The biggest "This Is Us" season 1 question has been answered.

Over the last few weeks, viewers of the new NBC dramedy have wanted to know why Jack (Milo Ventimiglia), the Pearson family patriarch, has not been seen in the show's present-day scenes. Many have speculated that he has either died or abandoned the family. Some have suggested that he and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) were divorced, which is why their grandkids were heard calling Miguel (Jon Huertas) "Grandpa" in an earlier episode.

In Tuesday's "The Game Plan," Jack's fate and whereabouts were finally revealed. As it turns out, the doting dad was indeed dead. His ashes were in a golden urn in his daughter Kate's (Chrissy Metz) living room. There, Kate had been religiously keeping their old Sunday ritual of watching football. The big Jack reveal played out as Kate finally let Toby (Chris Sullivan) join them for the long-held weekly tradition.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ventimiglia called the revelation "bittersweet" and said that it wasn't until the "This Is Us" pilot had been picked up that showrunner Dan Fogelman let him in on Jack's fate. He also said that the "This Is Us" boss had assured him that just because Jack won't live on doesn't mean that his time on the NBC drama will be cut short.

"'You're still here, but what we want to do is explore that idea of when the lessons of the parent stop,'" Fogelman reportedly told the actor.

Indeed, there's plenty more about Jack's early life, his marriage, and his experience as a young father for viewers to learn. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Fogelman confirmed that the series will eventually explore how Jack and Rebecca met. But before that, Fogelman said that the show will move into the future, at the point in time in which Kate, Kevin (Justin Hartley), and Randall (Sterling K. Brown) are about 13 years old.

The "This Is Us" showrunner also said that the series will add more timelines to the existing ones. "In the seventh episode, we establish a completely new past timeframe in the family," he said.

According to Fogelman, this new timeline will then disappear for a little while before coming back in a major way at the end of the season. Aside from this, two other timelines will be introduced as the show moves forward.

As for those wanting to know how and when Jack dies, Ventimiglia said, "I would urge people to not worry too much about how and when, and just accept that Jack has limited time, and know that every moment he has with his kids, with his wife, is going to be the most important thing to him."

"This Is Us" season 1 airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EDT on NBC.