NBC has given a full-season order to freshman breakout series “This Is Us,” Variety has learned.

The first season has been extended to 18 episodes, resulting from an additional five-episode order after the initial pickup.

“It’s a rare moment in this business when a show so instantly delivers both critical acclaim and hit ratings, but ‘This Is Us’ is just such an extraordinary achievement,” said Jennifer Salke, president of NBC Entertainment. “Creator Dan Fogelman, along with co-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa and the gifted producers, cast and crew, has delivered the kind of heart and depth that resonates with every segment of the audience, and we’re proud to extend its presence on our schedule.”

Fogelman, who created the series, commented: “We are thrilled. This order for a complete first season of 18 episodes is exactly what we’d wanted and hoped for. We’d carefully mapped out an 18-chapter story for the first year of the show, and this allows us to follow through with our exact initial intent. And to get the order so early on is a tremendous show of confidence and a boost for our entire cast and crew. I’m starting to sound like a broken record but I have to thank Dana [Walden], Gary [Newman], Jonnie [Davis], Howard [Kurtzman] and my amazing partners at 20th as well as Bob [Greenblatt] and Jen [Salke] and the fine folks at NBC for continuing to do absolutely everything right by me and this show. I’d gush more but I have to go back to work.”

“This Is Us” was one of the big winners of the 2016-2017 premiere week. According to Nielsen’s “Live +5” estimates, the ensemble series scored a 4.5 rating and 14.3 million viewers in the Adults 18-49 demo, becoming this fall’s top new series debut. The show improved NBC’s Tuesday 10 p.m. timeslot immensely, marking a six-year scripted record for the network. Digitally, “This Is Us” is NBC’s most-viewed series premiere of all time.

Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Sterling K. Brown, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan and Ron Cephas Jones star in the series.