The Last of Us Season 2 Gets Disappointing Episode Count, but Creators Want at Least 4 Seasons

The Last of Us season 2 will be slightly shorter than season 1, according to showrunner Craig Mazin, as HBO adapts the second game in Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic video game franchise. Season 1 debuted in 2023 to rave reviews from fans and critics, quickly earning the title of the best video game adaptation of all-time, and setting a new benchmark for future adaptations. Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay, The Last of Us is set 20 years into the future, after a fungal virus has mutated to take over humans, turning them into mushroom sporing zombies.

Deadline revealed season 2's episode count when it announced the line-up of directors for the new season. Unlike season 1, which ran for 8 episodes, season 2 of The Last of Us will be slightly shorter, clocking in at seven episodes. While some were left confused by the decision to shorten season 2, it comes with a valid reason, as, unlike season 1, which adapted the entirety of the first video game, The Last of Us Part 2 is being split into two seasons.

In the report, Craig Mazin explained the decision to shorten season 2, to more effectively adapt The Last of Us Part 2. "The story material that we got from Part II of the game is way more than the story material that was in the first game," Mazin said. The Last of Us Part 2 is nearly double the length of the first video game, so, in the process of adapting it to TV, Mazin said they had to find natural "break points". He continued:

"So part of what we had to do from the start was figure out how to tell that story across seasons. When you do that, you look for natural breakpoints, and as we laid it out, this season, the national breakpoint felt like it came after seven episodes."

The Last of Us Likely to Run for at Least 4 Seasons

The Last of Us Part 2is a substantially bigger game than its predecessor, and attempting to adapt it in a single season would be a Herculean task. While season 2 is shorter, and will likely establish new characters and relationships that follow the major time-jump that takes place in the game, season 3 is reported to be far bigger, and could be longer than both previous seasons. That being said, Craig Mazin isn't sure three seasons will be enough to tell the entire story.

"We don’t think that we’re going to be able to tell the story even within two seasons [2 and 3] because we’re taking our time and go down interesting pathways which we did a little bit in Season 1 too," Mazin suggested.

While Season 1 is a fairly faithful adaptation of the video game, it did make some major deviations to expand upon some underwhelming aspects of the first game - namely, Frank (Nick Offerman) and Bill (Murray Bartlett). It's unlikely that fans will complain about HBO's The Last of Us running for more than three seasons, and Mazin said he'd love to keep producing the show as long as people want more. He continued:

"We feel like it’s almost assuredly going to be the case that — as long as people keep watching and we can keep making more television — Season 3 will be significantly larger. And indeed, the story may require Season 4."