“This Is Us” fans have to say goodbye to the NBC drama on Tuesday. Season 4 is coming to an end, but will it return? Most shows have to wait until May to find out if they’re canceled or renewed, but the tearjerker isn’t most shows.

There is certainly no need to worry about cancellation. When “This Is Us” was renewed last year for Season 4, it was actually renewed for Seasons 5 and 6 as well. The massive three-season renewal was shocking since networks rarely do that, but “This Is Us” is a huge success.

The Pearson family is averaging 6.85 million viewers each week in Season 4. While those numbers are down from Season 3, where it pulled in 8.32 million viewers, it’s still a hit. It’s NBC’s No. 1 scripted show in the 18-49 demographic and fourth in overall viewers (behind only the “One Chicago” shows), according to TVSeriesFinale.

“This Is Us” is expected to end with Season 6, but that isn’t set in stone. Milo Ventimiglia, who plays Jack, told Ellen DeGeneres last year that anything could happen, but the writers are expecting to wrap up their arcs around then.

“We never know where we’re going to go. The show could have a huge spike in season 6 and everybody wants more beyond that,” he explained to talk show host. “But I think, creatively, they have an idea of what they’d like to do to wrap it up in this nice story. So at least the audience knows they’re going to get three more seasons. But beyond that, I don’t know.”

For now, fans just have to worry about the March 24 season finale. If it seems early for a show to wrap up for the year, that’s because “This Is Us” sticks to shorter, 18-episode seasons. They’ve always done this, and it allows their cast to have more opportunities between seasons. Mandy Moore (Rebecca) starred in last year’s “Midway”; Sterling K. Brown (Randall) has starred in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Frozen 2”; Ventimiglia is heading into production on “Evel,” an Evel Knievel series.

“This Is Us” might end up being one of the few broadcast shows that finish their current season on schedule. Amidst the coronavirus crisis, many shows that typically air finales in spring, including "Law & Order: SVU" and "Supernatural," have been put on hold.

This Is Us
From left: Milo Ventimiglia as Jack, Lonnie Chavis as Randall, Parker Bates as Kevin, Mandy Moore as Rebecca Mackenzie Hancsicsak as Kate in "This Is Us" Season 4. Ron Batzdorff/NBC
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