This Is Us Won't Return for Sixth and Final Season Until 2022

This Is Us is going to end with Season 6, bringing the Pearson family's story to a close with the upcoming season. NBC made the official announcement on Friday, May 14, also informing fans that the drama wouldn't premiere the final season until 2022 to allow for a "largely uninterrupted" run of the concluding episodes.

This Is Us, which is currently in its fifth season, was renewed through Season 6 in 2019. Series creator Dan Fogelman and the showrunners have said since the end of Season 3 that the Pearsons' story was planned to last six seasons, but the question remained whether This Is Us would begin telling the story of a different family once it had wrapped up with the Big 3 and their sprawling clan. 

While This Is Us remains a hit, especially in the key advertising Adults 18-49 demo, it makes sense that NBC wouldn't want to gamble the show's popularity or prestige by moving on to a new set of characters. The show has resonated with audiences because of their deep connection with the Pearson family, whether it's the ultimate dad, Jack (Milo Ventimiglia); the mom who tries her best, Rebecca (Mandy Moore); or the Big 3 and their various life paths. The show has brought people together, usually through their tears, as the Pearsons have fought, reunited, and found their purpose. 

The final season will have to flesh out the flash-forward sequences that started two seasons ago, which show the family gathering around Rebecca at her deathbed. Several burning questions still remain about the sequence, including the status of Toby (Chris Sullivan) and Kate's (Chrissy Metz) marriage, what the ominous box of chalk is for, and why Nicky (Griffin Dunne) is the one sitting at Rebecca's side instead of Miguel (Jon Huertas). Even though questions linger, Fogelman has revealed in several previous interviews that pieces of the series finale have already been shot, suggesting that he always planned to wrap up the Pearsons' story in six seasons. 

So stock up on one more year's worth of tissues, because we're sure you are going to need them. 

This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.