For the last five years, This Is Us has easily been one of the most emotionally charged dramas on television, unravelling the complex family history of the Pearsons.
Spanning a significant timeframe, we’ve seen them at their best as well as at their lowest points, with fans becoming very attached to this flawed but loveable group of characters.
Alas, the time has come to say goodbye and this farewell season looks set to pack a punch, with the focus being on a tragic storyline about Mandy Moore’s Rebecca, who has been suffering from Alzheimer’s.
“It’s going to be quite a ride and quite a showcase for [Moore], someone who I’ve been beating the drum for for a while but who I think is doing something extraordinary on television,” said showrunner Dan Fogelman (via TVLine).
This also looks like it will be a less disrupted run of episodes, with the previous season having to take several breaks as production was slowed down by the coronavirus pandemic.
Here’s everything you need to know about This Is Us season six, including when it will premiere and how you can watch in the UK.
This Is Us season 6 release date
CONFIRMED: This Is Us season six will premiere in the UK on Thursday 6th January 2022.
Fans should be aware that the final season launches two days earlier in the US, which means that spoilers will most likely be floating around social media soon after.
NBC has promised that the family drama’s final season will have “a largely uninterrupted run” following season five’s pandemic-induced delayed start, multiple hiatuses and shortened episode count.
NBC Network boss Frances Berwick told Variety: “We know that saying goodbye to the Pearsons is going to be hard enough. So what we wanted to do is honour the fans and get them as close to an uninterrupted run as we could.”
This was echoed by Chairman of Entertainment Susan Rovner, who told TVLine: “Obviously because of COVID this year, [This Is Us’] schedule has been on-and-off and we want to honour the fans by making sure have the best viewing experience possible.”
How to watch This Is Us season 6 in the UK
!["This]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/05/NUP_193489_0008-d7d19e6.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"this-is-us-season-6-release-date\"")
Episodes will be rolled out weekly as usual, with the key difference being that this final chapter will be available on both Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus, alongside the first five seasons if you fancy a rewatch.
When it first launched, This Is Us aired on Channel 4 and All 4, before moving to being a Prime Video exclusive for several years, but this latest change gives fans an extra method of consuming the show.
Is This Is Us ending?
Unfortunately, This Is Us will be ending with its sixth season, as per the wishes of creator Dan Fogelman.
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.
— Dan Fogelman (@Dan_Fogelman) May 14, 2021
We’ll work hard to stick the landing. #ThisIsUs
The news shouldn’t come as a big surprise to fans, considering Fogelman said when season three came to an end that the show had reached its “midpoint”, and told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019 that the show would never “going to last 18 seasons”.
“We have a very direct plan. I have script pages I have written and I’m writing that really are deep, deep, deep into the future,” he said. “We have a plan for what we’re going to do, and I know what the plan is.”
This Is Us season 6 cast
!["This]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/05/NUP_190391_0702-c9d9e5d.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"this-is-us-season-6-release-date\"")
With season six marking the show’s last ever season, we’re going to see the whole Pearson family return for one last emotional lap including Milo Ventimiglia (Jack), Mandy Moore (Rebecca), Sterling K. Brown (Randall), Chrissy Metz (Kate) and Justin Hartley (Kevin).
We’d also be surprised if Susan Kelechi Watson (Randall’s wife Beth), Chris Sullivan (Kate’s husband Toby), Jon Huertas (Rebecca’s second husband Miguel), Eris Baker (Randall’s daughter Tess), Faithe Herman (Randall’s daughter Annie) and Luric Ross (Randall’s adopted daughter Deja) didn’t return for season six.
- For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.
This Is Us season 6 spoilers
!["This]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/05/NUP_190391_0837-f385120.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"this-is-us-season-6-release-date\"")
Spoilers for This Is Us season five below.
This is Us is known for playing with our hearts – but even by their standards season five had quite the twist ending.
The finale began with Kevin rehearsing his vows, assumedly for his upcoming wedding to Madison. However, it was soon revealed that Kevin and Madison’s wedding doesn’t go ahead after all – and that the rehearsal scene was actually a four-year flash-forward where Kevin is to officiate his sister Kate’s wedding, who is not marrying Toby but music teacher boss Phillip!
It was a fresh twist on the classic wedding cliffhanger that will obviously have huge implications for season six, particularly for the characters of Kate and Toby now they are going their separate ways.
Kate actress Chrissy Metz told Entertainment Weekly: “Well, I do know that we can see how she’s continuing to show up for herself in a very different way than she ever did in all the previous seasons. She’s really making herself a priority.”
Fogelman also offered some hints for the final season, telling EW: “My clues for season six are a little bit more romantic. Resolution. Family…”
He also promised us more of the show’s famous tear-inducing scenes, saying: “There’s one story line that’s one of our stakes in the ground for season six that when I speak about it, my eyes start welling up with tears. And I’m not a crier.”
He may have been referring to the ultimate fate of Rebecca, who is seen battling Alzheimer’s in this final season, which is causing her to lose the cherished memories she made with her children and late ex-husband.
“I’m going to have to save all my tears, calibrate all my adrenals, get myself into a stable place before all of that gets wrecked and ruined,” she told Los Angeles Times.
Meanwhile, with Kevin now the father of twins, we’re sure we’ll watch him adjust to new fatherhood whilst trying to progress in his filmmaking career and patching up his strained relationship with brother Randall.
At the end of season five, we saw Beth shut down her ballet school due to coronavirus and enter a bit of a slump when it comes to her future career – hopefully she’ll manage to get out of it and find another venture she’s passionate about next series.
Even executives at NBC struggled to keep their composure when hearing about Fogelman’s plans for the finale, with the writer revealing that “people were crying to the point that I wasn’t sure if I should keep going” in his virtual pitch meeting.
This Is Us season 6 trailer
In November 2021, NBC released the emotional trailer for This Is Us season six, which looks back on some of the best moments from the show to date, as well as teasing the struggles to come – most notably, Rebecca’s memory loss. Watch below:
This Is Us seasons 1-5 are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video – for more recommendations, see our guides to the best Amazon Prime series and the best movies on Amazon Prime.
Check out what else is on with our TV Guide.