If you want to feel something – not just in your heart, but in your very marrow, too – then put on an episode of This Is Us.

The award-winning TV series isn’t just about the intertwining lives of three siblings and their parents, oh no. By blending flashbacks from the characters’ childhoods with present day it seamlessly demonstrates how the events of our past significantly impact the person we are today, too.

And it also tackles some big heavy themes, including anxiety, stress, grief, and loss, making This Is Us one of the most insightful and relatable family dramas on television right now.

It makes sense, then, that showrunner Dan Fogelman has confirmed that This Is Us writers have worked hard to make the ongoing coronavirus pandemic a key storyline for season five.

That’s right: while production on This Is Us is currently on pause due to lockdown, Fogelman has promised that the big-hearted series won’t be skipping over the ups and (let’s face it, mostly) downs of 2020 when it returns.

“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.”

While Fogelman admitted that he has no idea when the series will resume production or when new episodes will air, he also confirmed that the ending to the series – which he has had planned for multiple seasons now – has not changed despite the pandemic’s interruption.

“Same planned ending,” he promised fans. “Same route to get there.”

It’s also worth noting that, during a panel with Entertainment Weekly’s Dan Snierson for the 92, Fogelman said that he would like to factor the Black Lives Matter movement into the new season, too.

“This moment in time that we find ourselves in is something different [than what we’ve experienced before], and if we attack it, we want to attack it the right way,” he said.

“We do feel uniquely suited in our show to mark this moment, but it’s complicated territory… [That being said,] we’re mindful and we’re hopeful that we can get something right here.” 

While we don’t have a firm release date for the new series of This Is Us, it’s worth noting that Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Chris Sullivan will all be back, along with recurring characters like Madison (Caitlin Thompson) and Jack Damon (Blake Stadnik).

Anyone else counting down the days ‘til it pops up in their TV schedules again?

You can catch up with This Is Us over on Amazon Prime now.

Images: Getty