'This Is Us' May Take A Mid-Season Break

There are two episodes left in the first half of This Is Us Season 3 before it goes on a brief break. In "18,615," several different Thanksgivings will be woven together over the many timelines. Then "The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning" will usher audiences into a little hiatus. But when does This Is Us return in 2019?

Unfortunately, NBC hasn't revealed the show's official return date for its winter mid-season premiere. Fans can only speculate based on how the first two seasons were scheduled. But since the show seems to have stuck to the same pattern for two years, it's hard to imagine that it will deviate much now. Of course it's always possible things could change, but it seems like the season will likely pick up again in the early months of the new year.

Seasons 1 and 2 of This Is Us were both 18 episodes in total. Around the tenth episode, which typically aired in late November or early December, the show would go on break until January. Season 1 returned for its second half on Jan. 10, and Season 2 on Jan. 9. If Season 3 does the same, then you can expect This Is Us to be back within the first two weeks of January.

The show does appear to be sticking to the pattern so far, so that feels like a viable theory. "18,615" will air on Nov. 20, which is very timely and thematic because it's just a couple of days before Thanksgiving. Then the ninth episode premieres on Nov. 27 before the show goes on vacation. The summary provided by TV Guide indicates that "The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning" will continue many of the storylines set up in the previous eight episodes. It reads:

Kevin arrives at the Ville his father served in. Kate pursues a new opportunity. Randall debates Councilman Solomon Brown. In the past, Jack struggles to get through to his brother.

Kevin has been trying to get to know his father better by researching his time in the army during the Vietnam war, and even taking a trip overseas to glean all the information he can. Kate has been struggling with fertility but recently announced that she was expecting — happy news complicated by Toby's ongoing battle with depression. Lastly, Randall has thrown himself wholeheartedly into a new adventure in local politics that might not be going as well as he'd hoped.

Those seem to be the dominant storylines of Season 3, and it sounds like they're going to continue to develop over the next two episodes. Whether or not the characters find any closure before the break is debatable, but there's sure to be a few threads that carry over into the second half of the season. And thankfully fans won't have long to wait to see the show continue. If This Is Us does indeed repeat the same plan as seasons past, then it should be around a month and a half (give or take) before it returns. Thanks to the typical busyness of the holiday season, those weeks should fly by.