This is ... not cool.
According to Entertainment Weekly, NBC’s beloved show This Is Us will be preempted on Feb. 5 so Trump can exude his self-absorbed orange rays through our televisions in the form of the State of the Union address.
The “Songbird Road: Part One” episode had already been bumped from its Jan. 29 airing due to the government shutdown. Now, it won’t air until Feb. 12, creating a tortuous domino effect resulting in the Season 3 finale airing on April 2, instead of its originally planned March 26 date.
Upon hearing this news, I proceeded to emote in the calmest manner via our work Slack and Twitter, because I’m a professional.
A couple valid reasons for the emotional blow-up:
1. We’re still fresh off of the trauma known as the Season 3 mid-season finale. No spoilers, but those who know ... know. Look, if you saw that cliffhanger, you realize we deserve consistency from here on out. We’re finally starting to get answers and next thing you know a whole ass federal government shuts down, delaying it a week. Now, we have to be delayed once again?!
2. This also means the much-anticipated Beth-centered episode will be pushed back. According to the show’s Wiki, an episode titled “Bethany Clarke” will air on Feb. 19. You mean to tell me we could’ve witnessed Susan Kelechi Watson and Phylicia Rashad trade acting chops onscreen on Feb. 12, instead?!
Plus, this is the second time this has happened. Trump also preempted a February episode in 2017. Shit, to be honest, were it not for the shutdown, we could’ve been sitting on our couches, surrounded by a superfluous amount of snacks watching Watson and Rashad’s epic episode as scheduled on Feb. 5.
Impeach him now.
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET / PT on NBC.