‘This Is Us’ Season 5 Spoilers: Winter Premiere Title Revealed, Sneak Peek Photos Released

This Is Us is set to return in January after a lengthy hiatus, and new details have emerged on the winter premiere of the NBC drama series.

According to The Futon Critic, the January 5 episode of This Is Us is titled “A Long Road Home.”

“Kate confronts her past. Randall’s brush with viral fame leads to an unexpected discovery. Kevin debates the best path for his future,” the synopsis reads.

Based on sneak peek photos released by NBC, the episode will include present-day scenes and flashbacks to the late 1990s — and further.

In a new post shared to Instagram, images of a glum-looking Randall and Beth (Sterling K. Brown, Susan Kelechi Watson), a ’90s-era Kevin (Logan Shroyer), and a widowed Rebecca (Mandy Moore) were revealed. All of the pics featured the Pearson family members on the phone, and none of them looked to be receiving happy news.

In the caption, it was announced that the show will return to TV on January 5, but commenters were concerned about the tone of the photos.

“Oh God there were no happy calls to use? Really?” one fan wrote.

Other photos released by NBC showed that the teen version of Beth, played by Rachel Hilson, will also be featured alongside college-age Randall (Niles Fitch). In one snap, they appear to be having a meal with Kevin, his young wife Sophie (Amanda Leighton), and Rebecca.

A promo for the back half of the season teased the return of Teen Kate’s (Hannah Zeile) toxic boyfriend, Marc ( Austin Abrams), and the new photos confirm he will pop up in the winter premiere.

There will also be present-day scenes with 40-year-old Kevin (Justin Hartley) and his unexpected fiancée, Madison (Caitlin Thompson), who is pregnant with his twins.

Viewers will also be transported to the past as Randall’s biological father William (Ron Cephas Jones) returns and the mysterious Hai (Vien Hong) appears in a scene. While Hai’s connection to the Pearson family is not fully known, the last episode before the hiatus zoomed in on a photo of him with Randall’s birth mother, Laurel (Jennifer C. Holmes).

Interestingly, Randall’s brush with viral fame that is teased in the synopsis could tie that storyline together. Fans may recall that after his town hall livestream, the Philadelphia city councilman did not realize that he was still on camera, and he began to undress in his office.

This Is Us executive producer Ken Olin recently told Deadline that Randall’s embarrassing video moment will serve as a way for him to connect to his birth mom, whom he believed was long dead.

“Just through this ridiculous video, this viral, silly video, there will be a way that he begins to connect to her history,” Olin said. “That story and her story, and what all of that means will be played out very soon. You’re not going to have to wait the entire season or anything.”