Filming is underway on the final season of This Is Us, and fan expectations are high for how creator Dan Fogelman and the writers will tie up the storylines of our beloved Pearsons. A lot of characters have been introduced into the Pearsons’ circle over five seasons, and on top of witnessing satisfactory endings for everyone, fans are also going to need Season 6 to provide answers to all of the mysteries yet to be revealed. According to Milo Ventimiglia, the actors are learning more every day about the ending, and that’s got him and co-star Mandy Moore excited and worried at the same time.
While the cast has known their characters’ fates for a while — with Milo Ventimiglia's Jack Pearson meeting said fate in Season 1 — the final season's imminence means details are now being filled in to reveal the full picture of how the Pearson family will exit our screens and lives. Ventimiglia talked to Us Weekly recently about the series’ final season, revealing that while he thought the ending was “beautiful,” he and his on-screen wife Mandy Moore were “incredibly devastated” about the way fans are going to be affected.
I think it’s wonderful. I think it’s incredibly satisfying. I think it’s beautiful. I was just on set with Dan about two weeks ago and he was talking about some things that I didn’t know about the end. I was there with Mandy. We just kind of looked at each other, like, one, excited to get into it, and two, incredibly devastated as human beings because this is probably gonna wreck people in the most heartfelt way. It’s beautiful. I’m so excited.
If there’s one thing This Is Us has proven capable of, wrecking its fans in a heartfelt way is at the top of the list. The Season 5 finale shocked viewers with the revelation that Kate and Toby will get divorced and she will remarry. And I’m honestly still not over Randall’s spiritual reconnecting with his birth mother earlier in Season 5.
But just as important as the characters’ “current” paths (not an easy thing to talk about on a show with multiple timelines) are the mysteries, and boy does This Is Us have some big ones in need of answers. From our flash-forward timeline, where the family is gathering around a dying Rebecca, we know that Kevin and Nicky are both married, but to whom? And where is Kate? Who is the father of Deja’s baby? How many more mysteries will be introduced before they start solving them, and how many of those will directly tie into the heartfelt devastation that we're all apparently going to deal with?
Thinking about all we’ve got left to learn about the characters we’ve grown to love so much makes me excited for what’s ahead in Season 6, even as I know it’s coming to an end. But there’s always hope for a spinoff, right?
This Is Us Season 6 is set to premiere in early 2022 as part of NBC’s midseason lineup. Debuting in the winter should mean that the final season will air largely uninterrupted, unlike Season 5, which often had multiple weeks between episodes due to a COVID-altered production schedule. In the meantime, start stockpiling tissues, and check out our 2021 Fall TV Schedule to be sure to catch all of the upcoming premieres.
