The penultimate episode of This is Us recently aired, and in keeping with the rest of the entire series, we needed a box of tissues to get through it. It seemed unlikely that Kate would make it home to say goodbye to her mom Rebecca. The nurse had predicted that Rebecca wouldn’t make it through the night, but she stayed alive long enough for Kate to arrive.
With the final episode set to air on 24th May 2022, the show’s creator Dan Fogelman told fans to prepare for a ‘meditative day.’ Regardless, we and many fans will be disappointed to see the series end.
There are no plans to extend This is Us into a new season or film
Dan Fogelman told ABC News that the plan was always to end This is Us after six seasons. He knew fans would want more but settled on completing the story at season six.
“If we had done anything different, it would have happened for the wrong reasons,” Fogelman said. “A lot of them are lovely reasons, because I enjoy these people so much that I work with, because the show is lucrative, because it’s so successful. But creatively, I feel we’ve done the right thing.”
Knowing that fans will tune in, there’s always the temptation to extend popular shows like This is Us. It may lead to dilution of the content, but viewership numbers guarantee that it will be a profitable venture.
Fogelman had no desire to maximize profits and, therefore, no incentive to prolong the story beyond the pre-set end. He told The Hollywood Reporter:
“We never set out to make a television series that was going to last 18 seasons, so we have a very direct plan. We have a plan for what we’re going to do, and I know what the plan is.”
Dan said that the production team knew enough about the ending that around half of the final episode was filmed ‘three or four years ago.’ In May 2021, Dan tweeted that it would be difficult to end This is Us but expressed determination to stick with the original plan. Fogelman tweeted:
“Whoever casually first said ‘All good things must come to an end’ never had to end their favorite thing. While sad to have just 1 season left, also grateful to NBC for letting us end the show how, and when, we always intended. We’ll work hard to stick the landing.”
All signs indicate that This is Us is over for good. The creators have no plans for a new season, spin-off series, or film.
This is Us stars seem satisfied with the show’s completion
Nearly all This is Us stars expressed delight and sorrow at the show’s imminent completion. They took to social media to relay their emotions about the series. Mandy Moore wrote on Instagram:
“I haven’t begun to process the end of this journey quite yet and I’m sure it will take me time. I’m still kicking myself over what I had planned to say to our magnificent crew and then crumbled and forgot out of emotion… but hopefully the gratitude came across.”
Moore told ABC News that saying goodbye to the show was difficult. She added the material never waned throughout the show. “I don’t show up any day not grateful for the material,” Mandy said. “It’s a dream on every single level.”
The outlet asked Moore about the possibility of a spin-off or movie. She brushed off the likelihood of a new project linked with This is Us, citing Fogelman’s determination to end the story as planned.
“We’re really grateful that we’re able to do that and honor that,” Mandy said. “I feel like the audience will be incredibly satisfied with how things are wrapped up.”