This Is Us has been a massive hit for NBC and has gained fans worldwide over its run over the past five seasons. Now the sixth and final season is here, and the premiere is already making people grab a tissue.

The season premiere marks the Big 3's 41st birthday celebration. It was filled with flashbacks in how they marked the occasion in the pilot five years ago. So much has changed as they have grown up and gone on their different paths that brought them to this moment today. We know in the present, Kevin and Madison try to co-parent, and she seems ready to move on after their failed wedding with a new guy from her book club, forcing Kevin to move out of the couple's garage and into Kate and Toby's house. Toby is stuck in Silicon Valley on Kate's birthday but sets up babysitting and a massage session for her, capping the day by coming home to surprise her. Meanwhile, Kate overhears her future husband Phillip explaining to a beautiful woman that he had dumped her because she bores him. Kevin gets an offer for The Manny reboot, this time as the father, not the hot manny. He initially turns it down but later reconsiders, putting stability and being around his children first. Randall confronts in court the knife-wielding burglar from Season 4, who turns out to be a drug addict with no recollection of the incident. Randall ends up bailing him out and arranging a spot for him at a shelter, but he is a no show. One of the biggest storylines revolves around Rebecca, who is struggling with Alzheimer's, as the family also struggles to come to terms with what is to come.

In a recent interview with Deadline, This Is Us creator/executive producer Dan Fogelman talks about the personal experience behind The Challenger and how the events in the premiere set up the final story for Rebecca and the Big 3. He also discusses other upcoming major storylines and The Manny reboot, teases future episodes, including next week's Lovebirds, and possible returns of favorite characters. Entertainment Weekly caught up with Chrissy Metz (Kate) as she opened up about her character's fate after the reveal from Season 5.

"There's a lot of closure, but there's also new beginnings. There will be a lot of things tied up — beginnings and endings, maybe of people's lives and relationships. And ego and pride. [...] Because we are seeing so much take place, whether it's with Rebecca (Mandy Moore) or a relationship such as Kate and Toby's (Chris Sullivan). Also, there's already heightened emotion because it's the last season, so I definitely think it will be the most emotional. But also there's going to be a lot of contentment."

"I got to write it with [This Is Us writer-producers] David Windsor and Casey Johnson. […] Mandy Moore is directing the episode, which is even more exciting. I think I'm the one that probably understands Kate the most, and in a very intricate, emotional, deep way. So the way we formulated the whole episode was: Kate's wanting to salvage this [marriage]. She knows there's some sort of disconnect. So she goes to try to salvage it and… we shall see what happens. They both want this beautiful, amazing weekend, but sometimes we don't get what we want."

The series addressed so many issues over the years from the death of their father Jack to being adopted, racism and ,more. It has made us laugh and cry all in the same episodes. It has made us think and wait for answers which sometimes wouldn't come for a very long time. The series became part of our weekly viewing, and now we will see the closure we hope to get for the family and ourselves. This Is Us is on every Tuesday at 9 pm on NBC; you can also view the episodes the next day on Hulu and on Peacock. You can also view the season 6 trailer below.