When NBC in May 2019 renewed This Is Us for three additional seasons, sources told THR at the time that season six would likely be the last for the Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia and Sterling K.
“We never set out to make a television series that was going to last 18 seasons, so we have a very direct plan.
While an official count has yet to be determined, it’s expected that the final season will consist of around 18 episodes, likely enough to carry the series over the 100-episode threshold typically needed to secure a lucrative off-network syndication deal and triggering a cash infusion for Fogelman and Disney, which now owns the series after closing its $71.3 billion Fox deal a few years ago.
The series lived up to the hype and was a ratings and awards breakout at a time when broadcast originals have struggled to catch hold as viewers continue to cut the cord and focus on streaming originals.
What’s more, This Is Us has been a rare broadcast show to break through on the awards circuit, earning Emmy nominations for drama series and for stars Ventimiglia, Moore, Brown and Chrissy Metz.
Co-showrunners Aptaker and Berger, meanwhile, have the upcoming second season of Love, Victor on Hulu and recently secured a straight-to-series order at Hulu for How I Met Your Father, a spinoff of sorts of the former CBS comedy.
This Is Us is NBC’s second scripted show that will end during the 2021-22 broadcast season, joining former Fox comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which will wrap with an abbreviated and delayed eighth season.
NBC has already made the bulk of its renewal decisions for next season, where This Is Us and Brooklyn will join returning shows The Blacklist, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD, Law & Order: SVU, New Amsterdam and comedies Kenan, Mr. Mayor and Young Rock.