'This Is Us' Creator Addresses What Season 6 and the Ending of the Show Will Be Like
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Well folks, here we are. The last season of This Is Us. It feels like just yesterday we were seeing the Big Three being brought home from the hospital and the very beginning of Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and Jack (Milo Ventimiglia)'s love story unfold. But now, we are only 18 episodes away from the NBC drama series being over for good — and, of course, we're super emotional about it.
As This Is Us fans saw on Tuesday night, the season 5 finale was packed with surprises. We learn that in the not-so-distant future, Kevin (Justin Hartley) is involved in a construction company called "Big Three Construction," Randall (Sterling K. Brown) is featured in a magazine as a "rising star," and Kate (Chrissy Metz) is getting married to another man. Now that season 5 has ended, we all must wait for the cast and crew to film season 6 and address all of these mysteries.
While we practice our patience, read on for all the key details gathered so far about the final season of This Is Us:
When will season 6 of This Is Us premiere?
Ready for some bittersweet news? After season 5 endured several interruptions due to production delays amid the coronavirus pandemic, NBC confirmed to TVLine that the network aims to air all season 6 episodes without breaks. But to do this, the network made the tough decision to push back the show's normal premiere schedule. As a result, This Is Us season 6 will air "mid-season," which means fans should not expect to see new episodes this September. A more likely start time will be November/December of 2021 or even early 2022.
The extra-long wait time is definitely a bummer, but as Susan Rovner, NBC Universal Television’s Chairman of Entertainment, told TVLine, this will ensure viewers won't have to put up with multiple starts and stops.
Who will be in the This Is Us season 6 cast?
Given that this will be the show's last season, we can expect to see all of the main cast members — and probably a handful of the supporting actors and guest stars — come back into the Pearsons' world in some capacity. Some guaranteed cast members include:
Milo Ventimiglia as Jack
Mandy Moore as Rebecca
Sterling K. Brown as Randall
Chrissy Metz as Kate
Justin Hartley as Kevin
Susan Kelechi Watson as Beth
Chris Sullivan as Toby
Caitlin Thompson as Madison
Jon Huertas as Miguel
Griffin Dunne as Nick
Eris Baker as Tess
Faith Herman as Annie
Lyric Ross as Deja
Mackenzie Hancsicsak as young Kate
Lonnie Chavis as young Randall
Parker Bates as young Kevin
Hannah Zeile as teen Kate
Logan Shroyer as teen Kevin
Niles Fitch as teen Randall
Rachel Hilson as teen Beth
Based on what happened in the season 5 finale, Kate's boss Phillip (Chris Geere) will definitely be back — and in a big way. That said, it's hard to say if characters like William (Ron Cephas Jones) or Zoe (Melanie Liburd) will emerge again. But as soon as we hear anything, we'll be sure to update this post quickly.
Are there any This Is Us season 6 spoilers?
According to what show creator Dan Fogelman told Deadline, fans can expect to finally get the full story of how Rebecca and Miguel got together, fell in love and "found their way back to each other" during season 6.
He also addressed questions about whether Kate and Miguel are dead in the future since they have yet to make an appearance in the famous flash-forward scene at Kevin's house. "I think that we have more surprises and turns in store," he cryptically responded. "I don’t know that any of those will come to that level of catastrophe."
With Entertainment Weekly, Dan fielded questions about Phillip and hinted that his storyline will be a "big journey" in season 6, which makes sense given the way the character was suddenly thrown into the season 5 finale and introduced as Kate's fiancé in the future.
"It felt really good to us for [Kate's love after Toby] to be somebody who's been involved in her career and the cause that she's really believing in," he explained.
As for where Kevin and Madison end up, Dan didn't say whether they wind up together. That said, he did admit that "it doesn't feel like" Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Kevin's story is yet "resolved."
Finally, Dan also revealed to EW that love is definitely finding its way to Nicky in season 6. Whether it's with his long-lost love Sally or someone else is TBD — but rest assured, things are looking up for him.
How will This Is Us end?
Since the season 3 finale, we've seen glimpses of a flash-forward scene with an ailing Rebecca lying in a bed at Kevin's house. Back in April of 2019, Sterling confirmed to EW that this particular scene is what the rest of the seasons would be building toward, which means we'll likely see the very end of the show conclude in the future.
"I would hope that when we reach our ending, people think it's a really satisfying end place that makes sense, and it feels like they've watched something that is a complete piece of work because that's really how we're trying to plan it," show runner Isaac Aptaker told Deadline in 2019. "We've had this end in mind for a long time, so we're able to plan for it and try to make it feel like it's a whole, as opposed to a series that's going to go endlessly."
How can I watch and stream This Is Us season 6?
This Is Us episodes air on NBC Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. ET.
Those who have the NBC app can stream the show on their favorite device (click here to see all of the compatible devices and how to download). What's more, the latest episode is available the following morning on NBC.com if you can't tune in on Tuesday (no cable provider login is needed).
For those who have streaming services, the NBC show is available on Peacock, Hulu, Sling TV, YouTube TV and fuboTV. You can also purchase episodes for $1.99 on YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, Apple TV, iTunes and Amazon Prime Video.
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