NBC is still madly in love with the Pearson family, and as reported by Deadline, they are proving it by giving This Is Us the post-Super Bowl 2018 time slot. As TV fans know, getting the post-game slot is one of the most coveted honors a show can receive. This Is Us is joining a list of shows to land the spot that includes The X-Files, Alias, The Office, and New Girl.
Airing after the Super Bowl will give This Is Us Season 2 an excellent shot at attracting even more viewers, and the show is in a unique position to tie-in the football love in the episode itself. Remember, Kate and Kevin were conceived in the bathroom stall of a bar when the Steelers won the Super Bowl in 1980. Football is part of the fabric of the Pearson family's lives, so if the writers feel so inclined, it would be perfectly natural to air an episode where Kate, Kevin, and Randall held a Super Bowl party or some other tribute to the sport.
According to Deadline, there may be some Steelers tie-ins over the course of Season 2. Recently, stars Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia were invited to Heinz Field to help announce the Pittsburgh team's day three NFL draft picks. With This Is Us relocating from Tuesdays to Thursdays (where Thursday Night Football also resides on NBC) in the fall, expect the mutual lovefest between the show and the team to continue.
The only downside to the Pearsons moving to Thursdays is that Season 2 is going to have to deal with preemptions due to both football season and the Winter Olympics. Having your favorite show's schedule become unpredictable is frustrating, and that's why NBC and the This Is Us writers are working on something special for the fans.
NBC President Bob Greenblatt told Deadline,
"We are thinking about doing a special Christmas episode. It's a priority for us how can we keep This Is Us alive on schedule as long as possible even with the interruptions."
A post-Super Bowl outing and a special Christmas episode? Where do I sign up? This Is Us already produced a stellar holiday episode in Season 1, but it sounds like the writers could be cooking up something extra special for this year. Given the show's multiple time frames, there's plenty of ways they could get creative with the Christmas theme — maybe even with a visit to a Christmas past, present, and future.
One thing is clear: NBC is committed to making This Is Us bigger and better than ever in Season 2, so the time to get excited is now, Pearson family devotees.
