‘This Is Us’ Cast Reacts to Final Season Announcement: ‘My Favorite Job’

Credit: Maarten de Boer/NBCUniversal

‘This Is Us’ Cast Reacts to Final Season Announcement: ‘My Favorite Job’

The Pearson family will wrap up their story next year as NBC's This Is Us comes to an end with season 6, and the cast is speaking out about the decision. Us Weekly confirmed that season 6 would be the final season earlier this week. Creator Dan Fogelman released his official statement via social media on Friday, May 14. "Whoever casually first said 'All good things must come to an end' never had to end their favorite thing," Fogelman, 45, wrote. "While sad to have just 1 season left, also grateful to NBC for letting us end the show how, and when, we always intended." The executive producer, who also writes and directs for the drama, promised, "We'll work hard to stick the landing." NBC renewed the tearjerker for a fifth and sixth season in 2019, and the cast and crew have stated many times that season 6 would likely be the end of the road for Jack and Rebecca's family. Fogelman explained when the season 3 finale aired in 2019 that he believed the series was at the halfway mark. “I think we’re roughly in the middle of where the television series is going to go,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. “We never set out to make a television series that was going to last 18 seasons, and so 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. Like, we have a plan for what we’re going to do and I know what the plan is.” [jwplayer tfJbwWJy-l3ahXupL] In 2018, Fogelman revealed that scenes for the series finale have already been filmed. "The show won’t overstay its welcome, we have a story to tell, we want to do this the right way. I’ve actually already shot pieces of the final scene of the series," he told reporters during a For Your Consideration event in Los Angeles. Banking that footage early was especially necessary as the cast, especially the youngest actors, got older. Milo Ventimiglia, who plays Jack, recently said the show would have to come to an end at some point, especially as actors aged out of their flashback roles. “Creatively, we run into problems. I mean, my character is dead, [and because of the timeline changes] the younger actors who play our kids are growing up and bumping against the ages of the actors who play the same characters as teenagers," he told Haute Couture's May 2021 issue. "So it’s kind of like, well, which one do you choose? There are a lot of roadblocks creatively that the writers just can’t get around. I mean, they can do tons of visual effects to make me look like I’m in my 20s, but we can’t make growing 13 and 14-year-old kids look like they’re 8 again. It’s like reconciling quantum physics or something. Time marches on, and we really can’t hold it back.” Keep scrolling to see how the This Is Us cast has reacted to the official confirmation that season 6 will be the end of the hit series. [podcast_block]

Credit: Maarten de Boer/NBCUniversal

‘This Is Us’ Cast Reacts to Final Season Announcement: ‘My Favorite Job’

The Pearson family will wrap up their story next year as NBC's This Is Us comes to an end with season 6, and the cast is speaking out about the decision. Us Weekly confirmed that season 6 would be the final season earlier this week. Creator Dan Fogelman released his official statement via social media on Friday, May 14. "Whoever casually first said 'All good things must come to an end' never had to end their favorite thing," Fogelman, 45, wrote. "While sad to have just 1 season left, also grateful to NBC for letting us end the show how, and when, we always intended." The executive producer, who also writes and directs for the drama, promised, "We'll work hard to stick the landing." NBC renewed the tearjerker for a fifth and sixth season in 2019, and the cast and crew have stated many times that season 6 would likely be the end of the road for Jack and Rebecca's family. Fogelman explained when the season 3 finale aired in 2019 that he believed the series was at the halfway mark. “I think we’re roughly in the middle of where the television series is going to go,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. “We never set out to make a television series that was going to last 18 seasons, and so 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. Like, we have a plan for what we’re going to do and I know what the plan is.” [jwplayer tfJbwWJy-l3ahXupL] In 2018, Fogelman revealed that scenes for the series finale have already been filmed. "The show won’t overstay its welcome, we have a story to tell, we want to do this the right way. I’ve actually already shot pieces of the final scene of the series," he told reporters during a For Your Consideration event in Los Angeles. Banking that footage early was especially necessary as the cast, especially the youngest actors, got older. Milo Ventimiglia, who plays Jack, recently said the show would have to come to an end at some point, especially as actors aged out of their flashback roles. “Creatively, we run into problems. I mean, my character is dead, [and because of the timeline changes] the younger actors who play our kids are growing up and bumping against the ages of the actors who play the same characters as teenagers," he told Haute Couture's May 2021 issue. "So it’s kind of like, well, which one do you choose? There are a lot of roadblocks creatively that the writers just can’t get around. I mean, they can do tons of visual effects to make me look like I’m in my 20s, but we can’t make growing 13 and 14-year-old kids look like they’re 8 again. It’s like reconciling quantum physics or something. Time marches on, and we really can’t hold it back.” Keep scrolling to see how the This Is Us cast has reacted to the official confirmation that season 6 will be the end of the hit series. [podcast_block]

Credit: Maarten de Boer/NBC

Sterling K. Brown

The actor, who portrays Randall Pearson, exclusively told Us that the cast wasn’t shocked by news of the show’s ending because a six-season run was Fogelman’s plan from the beginning.

“I don't know if I feel pressure so much because the plan has always been six years, and we haven't really been able to talk about it,” the Black Panther alum, 45, explained on May 18, adding that the network “was a little reticent” to announce the end too early, but eventually realized they shouldn’t push the show to extend its run.

“[NBC] realized that there was a structure being put in place from the beginning for a six-year cycle. Then they're like, ‘OK, let's go ahead and concentrate on making it as best as we can rather than trying to extend it for as long as possible.’ The writers have been building to this season. I think it's going to be incredibly satisfying for our viewers,” Brown teased. 

Credit: Jeff Lipsky/NBC

Chrissy Metz

This Is Us was Metz’s big break in Hollywood,  so she’ll be sad to say goodbye to her character, Kate Pearson. “This show, as everybody knows, completely changed my life, not only as a woman, as a human, as an actress, just my life,” the 40-year-old said during a May 24 appearance on Today. “And, so it’s going to be really sad to see it go, but, as we say, we want to go out with a bang and not a thud.”

Credit: NBC

Milo Ventimiglia

"Given the opportunity to wrap things up in a very thoughtful way with purpose and intention I think is more important and more impactful than just kind of floundering through, having filler episodes just to fill air, to fill space. It feels like there’s more intention, which feels right, especially for the show," Ventimiglia, 43, told Extra on May 17. "I’ve got an idea of how I would want it to end, but I also know how it does end. My version is completely shadowed by how great of an ending Fogelman has come up with."

Credit: Jeff Lipsky/NBC

Mandy Moore

Since playing Rebecca Pearson, Moore has gotten married to musician Taylor Goldsmith and become a mom to son Gus.

"Officially official. One season left of my favorite job. You can bet we will be soaking in every single moment," the "Silver Landings" singer, 37, wrote on her Instagram with a photo of Fogelman’s announcement.

On her Instagram Story, she reminded fans that the show isn’t done yet: "I'm already VERY emotional about my favorite job coming to an end. BUT ... We have a whole season to wrap things up the way it was always intended.”

Credit: Maarten de Boer/NBC

Eris Baker

The teen started playing Tess, Beth and Randall's daughter, at age 10, and she'll be 16 when the show ends. "Doesn't seem real," Baker commented on Moore's Instagram with a crying emoji.

Credit: Jeff Lipsky/NBC

Susan Kelechi Watson

The Beth actress retweeted Fogelman's announcement and hyped up the final episodes. "What a ride it's been ... what an incredible season to come," Watson, 39, wrote with three red heart emojis.

Credit: Maarten de Boer/NBC

Logan Shroyer

Shroyer has played Kevin through his high school years and into his early 20s, and he'll say goodbye to the character in 2021. "That's almost a wrap folks," Shroyer, 22, posted on his Instagram Story along with a repost of Fogelman's message.

Credit: Jeff Lipsky/NBC

Justin Hartley

In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Hartley didn't give away much about his reaction to the final season, but he knows why fans are still so attached to the story after five seasons. "When you can write something that's that authentic or real or pure, I think people see themselves in it and they relate to the characters," the actor, 44, explained.

Credit: Maarten de Boer/NBC

Hannah Zeile

The actress, who plays Kate as a young adult, kept her reaction to This Is Us ending very simple. Zeile reposted Fogelman's message on her Instagram Story and added a sad eyes emoji with a red heart emoji.