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This Is Us fans have been dreading the end of the series since creator Dan Fogelman teased the last chapter of the Pearsons’ story. Now, the NBC drama is approaching the fifth season finale on May 25, and many fans are curious about the future of the hit TV show. So is This Is Us ending after season 6? The final episode is coming sooner than you think.

‘This Is Us’ is reportedly ending after season 6

Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson looks concerned at Hannah Zeile as Kate Pearson in ‘This Is Us’ Season 5 Episode 14, ‘The Music and the Mirror’
Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson in ‘This Is Us’ Season 5 | NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

On May 12, The Hollywood Reporter claimed This Is Us Season 6 will serve as the last season. The publication also suggested NBC will announce the series’ end on Friday, May 14, when the network unveils its fall 2021-22 schedule. NBC declined Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s request for comment at this time.

Meanwhile, the episode count of This Is Us Season 6 hasn’t been confirmed. But it’s likely the final season will include at least 18 episodes. Following the third season finale in May 2019, the family drama was renewed for three more seasons at 18 episodes each. That said, This Is Us Season 5 will consist of 16 episodes due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

The ‘This Is Us’ cast and crew on the end of the series

While This Is Us is reportedly ending after season 6, the news isn’t much of a surprise to many fans. Fogelman has always been open about the final season. 

Following the three-season pickup in 2019, the creator revealed the show was “roughly in the middle” of the Pearsons’ story. Then more recently, Fogelman suggested he was standing by his original plan.

“I’m sticking with my plan that the Pearsons’ story comes to completion,” Fogelman said on the TV’s Top 5 podcast in October 2020. “I know where our endpoints are. There’s no more to the story to tell.”

Chrissy Metz, who plays Kate Pearson, also offered a This Is Us update when speaking with NBC News in January 2021. 

“Next season — season 6 — is supposed to be our last season,” Metz said. “So everybody’s a little distraught about it.”

How the last chapter of the Pearsons’ story will end in ‘This Is Us’ 

Portrait studio photo of ‘This Is Us’ cast members Sterling K. Brown, Susan Kelechi Watson, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Milo Ventimiglia, and Mandy Moore
‘This Is Us’ cast members Sterling K. Brown, Susan Kelechi Watson, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Milo Ventimiglia, and Mandy Moore | Maarten de Boer/NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
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For now, This Is Us fans will have to watch how the Pearsons’ journey ends in season 16. But whatever happens next, Fogelman already teased what to expect moving forward. 

“I think by the time we’re in our sixth season, you’ll have a lot of the information about what’s happened to this family and what will be left is some resolution,” Fogelman told the LA Times in January 2020. “I think when the show eventually comes to an end, I think in the best way, it’ll be very quiet and normal.”

He continued, “That’s always been the plan because, at the end of the day, it’s a story about this kind of regular family.”

Meanwhile, Milo Ventimiglia, who plays Jack Pearson, recently shared his thoughts on Fogelman’s original This Is Us ending — and apparently, the final episodes of season 6 are beautiful. 

“If the original plan and how he saw the show ending are actually going to be the way it ends, it’s a beautiful moment,” Ventimiglia told StyleCaster in March 2021. “But I’m more interested in not just the last scene and the last episode, but the last couple episodes as it’s running up toward the last moment on camera for the show. It’s been a ride.”

This Is Us Season 5 airs Tuesday nights on NBC.

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