diff --git a/src/tsm/tsm-screen.c b/src/tsm/tsm-screen.c
index b6fab33..7c17b34 100644
--- a/src/tsm/tsm-screen.c
+++ b/src/tsm/tsm-screen.c
@@ -405,6 +405,7 @@ static void screen_write(struct tsm_screen *con, unsigned int x,
 	for (i = 1; i < len && i + x < con->size_x; ++i) {
 		line->cells[x + i].age = con->age_cnt;
 		line->cells[x + i].width = 0;
+		line->cells[x + i].ch = 0;
 	}
 }