A Million Little Things EPs Break Down Finale Shocker, Explain Why 'We Put All of Our Eggs in the Gary Basket'

Anyone whos watched A Million Little Things for a while has probably guessed that the show could end season four on a cliffhanger. But honestly was anyone prepared for this year to be so devastating? Thursdays season finale titled Just In Case was an emotional rollercoaster that rivaled Space Mountain. Gary and Maggie thought she might be pregnant. But when Maggie got her period they lamented the failure of her IVF efforts. But then the doctor told them that the bleeding was normal and that she was in fact pregnant with their child!

But before visiting the doctor Gary returned the camera that Roma had loaned him to. After all without a child there wouldnt be a need to document everything right? And when Roma was checking the cameras memory before Tyrells graduation party he saw something he wasnt supposed to see Garys video message to his future son in which he mentioned he might not be alive. Because when the child entered the world.

Thats when the show revealed that while Garys breast lump earlier this season was benign a scan at the time revealed a lump in his lung. So hes been secretly receiving chemotherapy ever since the food poisoning in last weeks episode was just a cover story and kept him away from his friends because he didnt want to be treated differently. Maggie isnt thrilled with this arrangement but shes fine with it...for now. The Daily News spoke with series creator/executive producer DJ Nash and executive producer Terrence Coli about Garys new illness and how it could play out in the just announced season five.

When you decided you were going to put Gary in a tight spot again along with the audience did you know youd be back? Was this decision made knowing you would have another season to tell this story?

We went online in the middle of the year and said Hey guys weve been back for a while. Are we coming back or not? And they said Please dont end this show now. Too big a bag could get over someones head and someone would hit a car. But it is a slope it is not the end. Are we all ready to go down this path? They really pushed us to do it. I know we were at the last minute. There is no doubt that we were show bubbles. But everyone at ABC was so supportive and wanted this to happen and we knew that if it didnt happen our fans would say You cant end a series like this! So we put all our eggs in Garys basket.

Talk to me about the card flip aspect of the clues you place. Im ashamed to say I didnt notice any of them.

We definitely set it up to be shocking in the end but then if you go back and watch the last four episodes youll see that weve been determining a little bit of whats going to happen. There is a story where Gary and Sophie rush to the clinic with back problems. If you look at it through the new lens the ending presents you understand what its all about. Similarly when Maggie and her mother were trying to get to the clinic to collect her eggs and Gary was suffering from food poisoning it was all very intentional using these basics to make her feel impressive but we also won it when we got to the episode [20] the end.

So talk to me about why you chose this class and Gary Cancer at the same time.

For us two things. First our series if there is an equation is just when you think its A its B. If you look back historically Will Eddie drink or not? Oh thank God he didnt. He got hit by a car! So in the magic trick were trying to get you to look at that hand with the shiny thing while we do this other thing here. I also think this is really true for the way of life. The happiest moments of your life sometimes collide with some of the saddest moments of your life and when you think you cant take it anymore the world sometimes gives you a reason to laugh. You just have to be open to it.

So for us the decision to combine these two was based on a not wanting the show to be too sad because Maggie and Gary have so much power and control and decided that even though cancer had always been a part of their lives in some way that wouldnt stop them from living life. When Maggie miscarried she said I cant believe I still have cancer that defines things about me. And now the day they come home from this bad diagnosis theyre lying in bed and hes like I think we should move in together and shes like I think we should have a baby. So they make these decisions and will live on their terms as long as they are allowed to.

How many times do you think the program will review those videos that Gary filmed for the baby? Im not sure how many people I could handle before I became a perpetual mess.

When we released this online without anyone knowing we shot a version with James [Roday Rodriguez]. We had our manager James and the camera operator. We shot everyone else and shot a mockup of this so they could see what it looked like. James is so adept at using humor to get through a sad moment he does it so effortlessly that the videos are captivating. I dont see a world where we cant go back to those not just because of sadness but also because of some fun being taken with them. I cant imagine not doing that.

Roma and Jenna see this even though Gary doesnt want everyone to know. And this is not a group of friends that are good at keeping secrets from each other. How long do we think Garys wishes will come true?

Its interesting because Roma Gary and Eddie had that conversation in the pilot about how we need to talk to each other. We have to tell each other whats going on. Weve revisited this idea a lot throughout the series. And now Roma finds out that Gary keeps a big secret about him and the interesting thing to explore is If someone wants to keep something about their health private or to themselves in the moment do you have to respect that?

I can think of four different times when I was having dinner with friends and I knew I was pregnant and I couldnt say anything... laughs There are times even on the happiest occasions that its really hard to do. . There are these moments that we hope to capture that are a lot like the friendships we already have and this is the perfect opportunity for one of those moments here. Roma and Gary both suffer from these ailments and both have frequent. Both are determined not to let him or the other person capture him. So it will be very difficult for Rome not to say anything. However as someone who needed her privacy while fighting her illness she would also find it difficult not to comply with her friends wishes.