No need to set the DVR. This Is Us will air a repeat on Tuesday, January 19, following a delay in production due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“No new episode of #ThisIsUs tonight – Covid-related production delays in LA have forced us to delay a few weeks,” creator Dan Fogelman tweeted on Tuesday. “But the next few are big ones, and we are close, so we hope you’ll hang in there with us. Sorry!”
Us Weekly confirms the show will also air a repeat episode on Tuesday, January 26.
Following the holiday hiatus, This Is Us and many other series pushed their return to work from Monday, January 11, to Monday, January 18, after an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases in Los Angeles. On December 28, the L.A. County Department of Public Health released a statement asking productions to consider closing.
“Although music, TV and film productions are allowed to operate, we ask you to strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic surge in Covid cases,” the statement read. “Identify and delay higher risk activities, and focus on lower-risk work for now, if at all possible.”
Ahead of season 5, This Is Us‘ Milo Ventimiglia opened up to Us exclusively about the show making changes amid the coronavirus, mostly behind the scenes. For example, the cast isn’t allowed on set while they’re not filming and can’t spend much time around the crew. That said, the show still has intimate scenes and the actors trust that everyone is being safe when not filming.
“I trust Mandy [Moore] and how she goes about her life away from work, and I think Mandy trusts me for how I go about my life away from work,” the Heroes alum, 43, told Us in October. “We’re always mindful of that. But no, you’re not going to see a Jack dummy or a Rebecca dummy — or Mandy kissing the Jack dummy or Milo kissing them Mandy dummy. It’s not gonna be that!”
Chrissy Metz also noted that filming is very different amid the pandemic.
“We have different zones, and we have all these protocols that we adhere to because we want to do the show,” the Breakthrough star, 40, told Us earlier this month. “The cast has decided to just be as careful as possible and we’re all staying home. Being on set is very strange — with a mask or in our pods or with face shields on — but you make the best of it and you just are grateful. I know there are shows that aren’t able to come back, which is such a shame and people are missing them desperately. So we just feel very grateful.”
This Is Us will return with new episodes on NBC Tuesday, February 2, at 8 p.m. ET.
