NBCThis Is Us won't be skipping over the ups and mostly downs of 2020 when it returns for season five.
Creator Dan Fogelman confirmed on Twitter that the NBC drama will include the global coronavirus pandemic the world is currently dealing with, though he does not know when production will start again or when new episodes will air.
"Yes on Covid," he tweeted in response to a fan asking if it would be addressed. "We've decided to attack things head on. Very proud of @ThisIsUsWriters."
He also confirmed that the ending to the series, which he's had planned for multiple seasons now, has not changed despite the pandemic's interruption.
While This Is Us follows the Pearson family through many decades, the main storyline takes place very much in present day. One scene—a birthday party at the family cabin that we've only seen pieces of so far—specifically takes place on Aug. 31, 2020.
Much of season four was spent giving us pieces of the future of the show. That birthday party scene takes place just a few months after the season finale, but we've also visited the family in 2032 and around 2050, when Kate and Toby's children are adults.
While we don't yet know exactly how the pandemic will affect the Pearson family, we do know bits and pieces of their future. Scroll down to find out everything we've learned so far!
We knew about Kevin's middle-school-aged son since we saw him as the family gathered for Rebecca, and as of season five, we know his name: Nicholas!
Kevin's daughter was a surprise from the season four finale, since Madison revealed she was pregnant with twins. Her name is Frances.
We saw Kevin rediscover a sketch his dad had made of the house he wanted to build, and now we know he had that house built on the hill next to the family cabin.
By the time this family gathering takes place 12 years after the birthday party at the cabin, Kevin and Randall have apparently mended their rift. We saw them work through their issues in season five, so it's nice to see that they can still be in the same room together.
Despite some questions about whether Randall and Beth's marriage might make it, they're still happily together in the future, which is good to know.
He says when he arrives at Kevin's house that he talked to Jack, and "they're on their way." We assume that "they" includes Kate, but we don't know, since there's no mention of her. Kate is one of the few who has not yet appeared in this future story yet (along with Miguel).
Nicky plays a significant role in the family by the time they all gather in Kevin's house in the future. He's sitting by Rebecca's bedside, and Randall asked about him when he arrived at the house. He is also wearing a wedding ring.
By 12 years in the future, Rebecca's health seems to have deteriorated. Randall has to reintroduce himself when he visits her.
This is what Kevin looks like in the future. That's all.
Kate and Toby's son Jack grows up to be a successful singer. In the latest flashforward, he and his wife Lucy have just had a new baby named Hope.
The season four finale revealed that Kate and Toby were adopting a daughter, revealed to be played in the future by Adelaide Kane. Her name is Hailey, she works at an art gallery, and she dropped everything to be there to visit her brother's new baby in the hospital.
The season five episode "The Ride" finally introduced adult Deja (La Trice Harper) and adult Annie (Iyana Hailey) and brought all of Randall and Beth's daughters together for the first time in the future. We learned that at the time of this gathering around Rebecca's bedside, Deja is studying to be a doctor and is secretly pregnant, and she and Annie are close enough for Annie to be one of the few who knows. Annie also seems to know a lot about babies!
This Is Us airs on NBC.
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