Creator Dan Fogelman revealed that the upcoming season will include the current pandemic.
This Is Us will mirror the real world and feature the current pandemic in the upcoming fifth season.
Creator Dan Fogelman revealed the news on Sunday when a fan inquired about whether the new season would include coronavirus in its present-day storylines.
"Yes on Covid [sic]," Fogelman wrote on Twitter. "We've decided to attack things head on. Very proud of @ThisIsUsWriters."
While some TV shows, such as Grey's Anatomy, have opted to incorporate COVID-19 into their forthcoming seasons, there had been questions over whether This Is Us would follow suit.
Considering that the show has been working toward a specific end goal and often jumps between decades in any given episode, the complexities over its creative direction in a coronavirus-affected world introduced an added layer of uncertainty. It is unclear how the writers will weave in the pandemic into the fabric of the series in the present day.
Fogelman also addressed when season 5 would begin filming, confessing that there still is no set start date for production. (This Is Us, under normal circumstances, usually begins filming in July.)
That also means there is no confirmed premiere date for the new season, though NBC has slotted This Is Us in its usual Tuesday at 9 p.m. time period.
Though the pandemic has introduced a new element to the show's creative direction, Fogelman promised that the final destination remains intact.
"Same planned ending. Same route to get there," he assured.
The This Is Us season 4 finale left viewers with many unanswered questions, from Kevin becoming a father to twins to Kevin and Randall's fractured relationship over Rebecca's declining health to Kate and Toby deciding to expand their family.
“We’re keeping up the momentum, for sure,” Justin Hartley told ET earlier this summer. “Our show is at our best when we’re talking about real-life things that real-life people are going through that are hard and that are not going away anytime soon: mental health, sexuality, alcohol abuse, drug addiction, marriage, death. As long as we continue to tackle those topics that are truthful, honest and relevant, that’s when we’re at our best. And from what I’m gathering, it’s going to be a hell of a season.”
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