'This Is Us' Is Coming to an End After Season 6 — That Was Always the Plan
May 18 2021, Published 11:29 p.m. ET
It seems like just yesterday that the NBC drama This Is Us premiered and captivated viewers week after week with the time-jumping drama, plot twists, and emotional moments that left us all in tears. Thankfully, there will be another season before we have to say goodbye to the Big Three and the rest of the Pearson family for good. Until then, we will be soaking in every minute of every episode between now and the series finale.
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report that the hit family drama would be coming to an end after Season 6. Then on May 14, NBC announced that This Is Us would officially end in the forthcoming sixth season, which will be comprised of 18 episodes. This Is Us is set to begin shooting this summer and will take an extensive hiatus before the Season 6 farewell run kicks off in 2022.
Hearts everywhere are broken, with many fans wondering why is This Is Us is ending after six seasons. Here’s what we know about why the Pearsons' story will conclude next year.
'This Is Us' was always going to to end after Season 6.
Even though the news that This Is Us is ending is very sad, the announcement is hardly a surprise. The show's creator Dan Fogelman pitched the show to NBC as a six-season series. Of course, This Is Us was never guaranteed to go the distance if the ratings weren't good, but the show was a hit right out the gate!
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter when This Is Us was renewed for three more seasons, Dan Fogelman shared, “We’re roughly in the middle of where the television series is going to go."
He added, "We never set out to make a television series that was going to last 18 seasons. I have script pages I have written and I’m writing that really are deep, deep, deep into the future. We have a plan for what we’re going to do, and I know what the plan is.”
Last year, Dan chatted with Entertainment Weekly and, when discussing how the network expressed eagerness to extend the series further, he made it clear that Season 6 would be the last.
He stated, “NBC has given us this gift that’s two consecutive three-season pickups, which we asked for, which has allowed us to really kind of plan out and map out our storytelling in a big-picture way. That’s when the Pearson story will basically come to a close."
Dan recently took to social media about the show's ending and tweeted, "Whoever casually first said 'All good things must come to an end' never had to end their favorite thing."
He ended his post by writing, "While sad to have just one season left, also grateful to NBC for letting us end the show how, and when, we always intended."
Season 6 of This Is Us will no doubt be a tear-jerker, and the series finale will deliver one heck of a story for the legendary Pearson family we've come to love. However, there's still so much to look forward to, including the final two episodes of Season 5, so let's not get too bummed out yet!
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.
