The story of the Pearsons concluded on This Is Us Season 6 Episode 18, the NBC drama’s series finale.
The episode was more straightforward than many expected, scaling back the twists and turns to really give viewers the sense that the Pearsons would continue to thrive for the years to come.
After such a successful run, many fans have questioned whether the series could return with a spin-off, or perhaps as a movie.
Creator Dan Fogelman addressed the possibility in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that dropped following the series finale.
“So much of the show is borne out of my experiences and what’s inside of me and my familial experiences, both as a member of a family now and as one when I was a child – as well as the experiences of my writers – but I do feel like I may be tapped out for a while… My well may be drained of family stories,” he said to the outlet of a potential follow-up.
“So I don’t think a spin-off is happening anytime soon. I don’t really understand what a movie would be, but you never know.”
It sounds like Fogelman is at the very least open to the possibility of bringing the franchise back down the line, but when you consider the finality of the series finale, it is difficult to imagine what any future projects would look like.
Many TV shows come to an end naturally, and it feels like this universe ended with the series finale.
Maybe any future projects will follow different characters, but the show has always been about the circle of life, so it could possibly pick up with another generation of Pearsons.
While the finale did end on a simple note, Fogelman believes that it was important to highlight that the show was about family.
“So much of the narrative about this show has been about these big, surprising twists and the deaths of major beloved characters.
“But at the end of the day, what I think really drew people to the show was just the simplicity of family stories and remembering your childhood fondly from your adulthood.
“I thought: How confident, how cool and how important it would be to just end on a day with these kids, at an age you haven’t seen in a while, that was just a simple regular day in the life?”
What are your thoughts on the ending?
Do you think a spinoff or movie should be made?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.