The Last of Us Showrunner Teases Four Seasons

The showrunner for The Last of Us is teasing four seasons for the TV series. The Last of Us is one of the biggest video game franchises out there, but it's also very dense with story. Sony initially opted to try and adapt the first game into a film with Sam Raimi at the helm, but it became pretty clear it would be difficult to fit the whole game into a two-hour movie. Eventually, HBO greenlit a TV series with Craig Mazin spearheading the project. It was an immediate hit once it aired, prompting HBO to greenlight a second season. The second season was in development before the various Hollywood strikes with the aim to adapt The Last of Us Part II.

It's heavily expected that the second game will be adapted across multiple seasons with speculation leading fans to believe one season will cover Ellie's story and another would cover Abby's. Given there's currently no third game at the moment and the creators have expressed that they don't want to make anything beyond the games, many assumed it would stop at three seasons, at least for now. However, in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Craig Mazin stated that he believes four seasons is the sweet spot, but is open to the idea of it going on for five if that's what the show dictates. He also noted that he expects not every season to have the same number of episodes, so some may be longer than others.

"You never know," said Mazin. "It can end up being three or five. But four seems like a good number. Some seasons, because of the story we're telling, will need fewer episodes and some will need more. The best news is the audience wants more. We will not indulge a desire for more simply to make them happier when they hear how many episodes are announced. And if they don't like how many episodes are in a season because they want more, well, OK. But when all is said and done, I think the wisdom of how we lay it out will hopefully be clear. I don't know if any season will actually have the same amount of episodes. But, whatever, the number's not important. What's important is when they get to the end of the season, they're like, 'That was a good season.'"

The Last of Us season 2 is expected to possibly premiere in 2025, depending on how long the strikes go on for.