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Prepare for some tears because This Is Us is ending. NBC officially announced in May 2021 the show will be ending after six seasons. Meanwhile, Chrissy Metz (Kate Pearson), says she and the rest of the This Is Us cast have already “banked” footage for the series finale.

‘This Us Us’ Season 6 will be the TV show’s last

Portrait studio photo of ‘This Is Us’ cast members Sterling K. Brown, Susan Kelechi Watson, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Milo Ventimiglia, and Mandy Moore
(L-R): 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

Get ready to say goodbye to the Pearson family. The award-winning drama is ending after six seasons. NBC announced This Is Us Season 6 would be the show’s last in May 2021, with The Hollywood Reporter reporting the news a few days prior to the network’s official announcement. 

However, it may not be much of a surprise to This Is Us fans. Dan Fogelman, the show’s creator, called the end of season 3 the show’s “midpoint.” He’s also been clear about This Is Us not being on the air for a long time.

“We never set out to make a television series that was going to last 18 seasons, so we have a very direct plan,” Fogelman told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019. “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.” 

This Is Us Season 6 is set to air in 2021 and 2022. 

Chrissy Metz says the ‘This Is Us’ cast has already filmed ‘a lot’ of the series finale

Chrissy Metz as Kate Pearson smiles at Toby in ‘This Is Us’ Season 5 Episode 16, ‘The Adirondacks’
Chrissy Metz as Kate Pearson on This Is Us | Ron Batzdorff/NBC

This Is Us Season 6 hasn’t even started airing yet and already the cast’s filmed portions of the series finale. Speaking to TODAY on May 24, 2021, Metz said she and her This Is Us co-stars have been slowly filming the series finale for years. 

“We banked a lot of footage actually throughout the seasons, but, yes, we definitely have shot a lot from the series finale,” Metz told Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. 

Metz’s comment isn’t a complete surprise. This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman said something similar during a 2018 panel discussion in Los Angeles, California. “I’ve actually already shot pieces of the final scene in the series,” he said at the time.

So while fans of the award-winning TV show watch the latest drama unfold with the Pearson family, the actors who play them have been working on the series finale for a while now.

The ‘This Is Us’ Season 5 finale airs on May 25

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At the time of publication, the This Is Us Season 5 finale is only hours away from airing. Metz described the finale as unusual, telling TODAY, “It’s going to be an incredible finale, unlike anybody has ever seen before.” A producer for the show, Isaac Aptaker, suggested fans really pay attention at the end because a lot happens in the last five minutes.

“It’s really satisfying and twisty,” Aptaker told Entertainment Weekly in May 2021. “We give some big answers and then we ask some brand-new questions, and I think this really strikes the perfect balance between the two. 

“People are definitely going to want to have [eaten] their snacks and have taken all of their bathroom breaks and be rooted in front of the TV for our last five minutes,” he added. 

The This Is Us Season 5 finale airs on NBC at 10 p.m. ET on May 25, 2021. Season 6 is poised to return Tuesday nights in the fall. 

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