'This Is Us' Writer Jas Waters Dies at 39 – See Her Colleagues' Emotional Tributes

TV writer and journalist Jas Waters shocked her friends and co-workers by her sudden passing at the young age of 39. An outpour of tributes flooded Twitter following news of her untimely death.

The “This Is Us” family and the hip-hop community is mourning the loss of writer Jas Waters who passed away in her Hollywood home at an early age of 39.

A tweet released on the This Is Us Writers page shared the sad news and paid tribute to Waters’ brilliance as “a story teller and force of nature.” Part of the statement read,

“The entire #ThisIsUs family was devastated to learn of Jas Waters passing. In our time together, Jas left her mark on us and ALL over the show.”

Several news outlets covered Waters’ passing but her cause of death was not revealed. Instead, there was an outpour of love and sorrow from people who knew or worked with her.

 In 2018, Waters spoke about her road to becoming a screenwriter sand how rules never applied to her since growing up in an "old folks' home". 

“This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman shared his heartbreak saying Waters’ death “took my breath away.”  Show lead Mandy Moore sent "love and light" to Waters’ family while her co-star Susan Kelechi Watson said that “incredibly shocked and saddened” with the news.

Meanwhile, music journalist Sowmya Krishna Murthy described Watson as “a motivating energy and dope woman in hip-hop.” Digital marketing strategist Karen Civil extended her condolences to Waters’ family and Raven B. paid tribute to her “Brilliant Soul.”

Waters joined NBC’s flagship drama series, “This Is Us” on its second season. More recently, she wrote for Showtime’s “Kidding.”

 In 2018, Waters spoke about her road to becoming a screenwriter and how rules never applied to her since growing up in an "old folks' home". She said she found her life at most times “very confining” but also “very freeing.” She also considered writing as a means to learn more about herself. 

Waters’ other credits include VH1’s “The Breaks” and Comedy Central’s “Hood Adjacent with James Davis.” She also lent her talent to the big screen via Taraji P. Henson’s “What Women Want.”

She also worked on "Hardball," "Save The Last Dance," MTV's "Real World," "Barbershop," and its sequel, "Barbershop 2: Back in Business," and NBC's "E.R." She was also a writer for VIBE Magazine in 2012.