Support NeoGAF

[DragoonKain]

‘The Last Of Us’ Season 2 Episode Count Revealed As Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann Explain Decision & Tease Additional Seasons

The Last of Us Season 2 will be shorter than Season 1, but a potential third season will be "significantly larger" and there could well be a Season 4.

deadline.com

When Season 2 finally arrives in 2025, it will be shorter than Season 1, consisting of seven episodes. But the good news is that a potential third season will be “significantly larger” and possibly bigger in scope, and there could very well be a Season 4 coming behind it according to series co-creators, executive producers, showrunners and directors Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. Plus, one of the Season 2 episodes will be “quite big” in length.

“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 said. “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.”


Later in the interview, Mazin sounded even more definitive.


“One thing is absolutely for sure, I don’t see how we could tell the story that remains after Season 2 is complete in one more season,” he said.

“We just want to put people’s minds at ease that the idea that this season coming up is a little bit shorter than the first one is not because we’re taking less time to tell the stories, it’s because we want to take more time,” Mazin said. “The story that we’re telling is much bigger than the story of Season 1, there’s just a lot more going on, it’s a lot harder to produce but we want every episode to feel like its own blockbuster to be honest with you.”

“Our process was, we sketched out multiple seasons, then we did a deep dive on Season 2,” he said. “To echo what Craig is saying, there is no padding, everything that is in there is intentional. There is always a goal in mind that we’re heading towards, we are never meandering the sake of meandering, it’s always to say something greater for these characters and the themes.”

“And certainly in Season 2, there’s an episode that is going to be again closer to — I don’t know if I would say feature length but quite big,” he added. “I like generally hitting about an hour, it’s a great length, I love working in that format. What we don’t want to do is, say a season of seven episodes where each episode is 90 minutes; part of why we’re doing seven episodes is finding that nice line.”

 

[Punished Miku]

I thought it was obvious 4 seasons is the minimum

S2 - TLoU2
S3 - TLoU2
S4 - TLoU3

Gives them until 2028+ to finish the 3rd game.

 

[Iced Arcade]

damn we will have another 2 remasters by then

 

[Hugare]

This was a given

They will probably tell Ellie's side on Season 2 and Abby's half with season 3.

Abby's story has ton of new side characters that need to be developed, not to mention Abby herself. Saving one full season for her side of the story would be the better way to do it.

They could even finish season 3 with the theater confrontation and make season 4 about the timeskip/Ellie chasing Abby.

Part II is a huge game with tons of content that could be developed as much as they want in the adaptation

 

[Bring Back Scalebound]

The Last of Us 2 was 80% filler. Good luck, I guess.

 

[SlimySnake]

I really dislike these 7 episode seasons. HBO used to do 13 episode seasons back in the day. They got reduced to 10 episodes and now we are doing to mini series levels.

And TLOU2 is very light on story. Its just Ellie going from one hit to the next. Then Abby gets 3 long padded out levels that are almost all exclusively combat and setpieces. Not sure what story they will find there. They will definitely have to invent a lot of stuff.

my hope is that they give Joel a bigger role and have Abby and Ellie appear in more scenes together.

 

[bitbydeath]

Knowing how the story nosedives I’m not going to bother with season two, but I am interested to hear how others react to it.

Honestly season one wasn’t that good either compared to the game, Ellie not being innocent, and just straight into bitch mode ruined her character, among other things.

 

[DeepEnigma]

I really dislike these 7 episode seasons. HBO used to do 13 episode seasons back in the day. They got reduced to 10 episodes and now we are doing to mini series levels.

Those bloated production costs.

 

[Slothbeing1209]

Just hope they could do action scenes better than season 1..

 

[Coconutt]

 

[Arachnid]

The second games story and characters aren't near interesting enough for that much stretching out. Who gives af about Abby's crew? I don't want to spend a full season with them, nevermind 2-3.

 

[Arsic]

I do hope it’s half and half of the game across s2&3.

This would allow me to skip s3 entirely because it’s caca minus maybe the final episode?

 

[lh032]

golf minigame could take 2 episodes.

 

[The Cockatrice]

I thought it was obvious 4 seasons is the minimum

S2 - TLoU2
S3 - TLoU2
S4 - TLoU3

Gives them until 2028+ to finish the 3rd game.

S2 and 3 will most likely cover TLOU2. They are not going to manage to put the entire TLOU2 in just 7 episodes. I can 100% guarantee you this. Theyll pad the season ultil like 4th episode where

Spoiler

they'll kill Joel

and it'll end around mid game tlou2.

Edit: misread your post. Lmao. sry. You are correct sir.

 

[Loomy]

My guess is Season 4(or most of it) would cover

Spoiler: Location

Santa Barbara

 

[CLW]

damn we will have another 2 remasters by then

OVER

 

[EverydayBeast]

They’ll extend episodes and seasons I hope not for money but to conduct good content. I encourage more seasons but if you can wrap it up in two seasons go for it, there’s only 2 games in the series, I would hope last of us 3 is actually going to happen.

 

[Mooreberg]

Seven episodes can work. "Outer Range" on Amazon is seven episodes this season, I've seen five so far, there is no real problem with the pacing. It also never hurts when you close out an episode with a wide shot of mountain range and "Time" by Pink Floyd playing.

A few potential problems here:

01. I think Bella Ramsey was already the same age as Ellie in TLOU2 when they filmed session one. Even with with tats and some trips to the gym, she is barely going to look any older without some obvious makeup work.

02. Does Naughty Dog get stuck working on TLOU3 earlier than intended so there is adequate source material for a fourth season? Yeah, "stuck" is an overly harsh term, a lot of people would kick ND's doors in for an opportunity to work on a game like that. But HBO already knows what goes wrong when you sprint past the source material, and Mazin is a better show runner than Dumb & Dumber. But ND has not worked on two consecutive installments in a series since 2011 (barring The Lost Legacy, which I believe was a side project that turned out exceptionally great). If 2025 is a new game, I'm not seeing TLOU3 by 2028, though they have exceeded this pace before.

03. I believe the show was averaging 30M+ per episode, better than "House of the Dragons". A lot of people loved this who have never played a video game. Several people I talk to about TV "IRL" are in this category. They really liked Fallout as well. They have also been Pedro Pascal fans since season 4 (I believe that is correct) of GoT. Are they sticking around after the "Hot Shots Golf" episode? I'm not even sure I will.

 

[FinalBossWithTheMostPower]

Andddddd...

 

[Hollowpoint5557]

How long before they remaster season 1 and re-release it?

 

[Pimpbaa]

The first game could have theoretically have had 2 seasons. Especially if it had more battles with zombies or other humans. They rushed through the best game and now they gotta stretch out the worse one.

 

[PixelatedBeast]

Good. There is much to exxplore and tell within the story and universe of Tlou. They can expand and flush out the story better where side characters didnt get much attention. Show us how the WLF transitioned from being a sign of hope for the return of a governing civilization with their secret for the cure, or how Abby trained and search for Joels where abouts to avenge her fathers death.

Would be great for a behind the scenes look at just how much progress the Fireflys were making to end the apocalypse until Joel killed the only doctor that can perform brain surgery in the wetern hemisphere. It can put in to perspective how devastated the group was, and show how Joel is the villainous threat in their minds. That way this gives the audience time to digest how Joel isnt seen as a hero by anyone else and can accept his eventual death.

 

[rhodesianshepard]

Seven episodes can work. "Outer Range" on Amazon is seven episodes this season, I've seen five so far, there is no real problem with the pacing. It also never hurts when you close out an episode with a wide shot of mountain range and "Time" by Pink Floyd playing.

A few potential problems here:

01. I think Bella Ramsey was already the same age as Ellie in TLOU2 when they filmed session one. Even with with tats and some trips to the gym, she is barely going to look any older without some obvious makeup work.

02. Does Naughty Dog get stuck working on TLOU3 earlier than intended so there is adequate source material for a fourth season? Yeah, "stuck" is an overly harsh term, a lot of people would kick ND's doors in for an opportunity to work on a game like that. But HBO already knows what goes wrong when you sprint past the source material, and Mazin is a better show runner than Dumb & Dumber. But ND has not worked on two consecutive installments in a series since 2011 (barring The Lost Legacy, which I believe was a side project that turned out exceptionally great). If 2025 is a new game, I'm not seeing TLOU3 by 2028, though they have exceeded this pace before.

03. I believe the show was averaging 30M+ per episode, better than "House of the Dragons". A lot of people loved this who have never played a video game. Several people I talk to about TV "IRL" are in this category. They really liked Fallout as well. They have also been Pedro Pascal fans since season 4 (I believe that is correct) of GoT. Are they sticking around after the "Hot Shots Golf" episode? I'm not even sure I will.

It always bothered me when most series are required to be a certain length every season. It ruins pacing for a lot of good shows. So I don't mind shorter seasons. Having said that, I feel like they are shortening the seasons so they can extend the length of the show through the end of Part 2. If they can stretch TLOU2 into 3 shorter seasons, then Naughty Dog won't have to release TLOU3 until 2029 or even 2030. Which should not be a problem. Naughty Dog has a grown tremendously since TLOU2. They have enough people to work on 2 separate projects

And I don't think Pedro Pascal is the main draw. They made his character in the show much more disconnected/broken compared to VG Joel. I think that was intentional so that when the time arrives, it will feel more like an "old yeller" type situation

 

[Mooreberg]

It always bothered me when most series are required to be a certain length every season. It ruins pacing for a lot of good shows. So I don't mind shorter seasons. Having said that, I feel like they are shortening the seasons so they can extend the length of the show through the end of Part 2. If they can stretch TLOU2 into 3 shorter seasons, then Naughty Dog won't have to release TLOU3 until 2029 or even 2030. Which should not be a problem. Naughty Dog has a grown tremendously since TLOU2. They have enough people to work on 2 separate projects

And I don't think Pedro Pascal is the main draw. They made his character in the show much more disconnected/broken compared to VG Joel. I think that was intentional so that when the time arrives, it will feel more like an "old yeller" type situation

I agree he may not be the main draw, but for casual viewer types, can anyone honestly say that Abby is? I moved out at the football stadium, and I think that is roughly five minutes into playing as her, Wyoming early game sequences aside. Just a repulsive protagonist.

 

[rhodesianshepard]

I agree he may not be the main draw, but for casual viewer types, can anyone honestly say that Abby is? I moved out at the football stadium, and I think that is roughly five minutes into playing as her, Wyoming early game sequences aside. Just a repulsive protagonist.

I never really minded Abby. She is more likeable than Ellie in TLOU2, imo. I was mostly weirded out why her character model was obviously taking steroids. Regardless, Kaitlyn Dever, who will play Abby, is a really good actress. I am much more worried about Bella Ramsey playing adult Ellie compared to Abby's character

 

[DragoonKain]

I think they are going to use a lot of the time to try to make Abby sympathetic and likable. Otherwise she'll come off as a typical TV villain and I don't think Mazin or Druckmann want that. If viewers think of her that way it will hurt what they want people to get out of the story. In the game you get to play with Abby so a lot of gamers grew a fondness to her. In the show with the gameplay cut out they're going to need to make up the time spent with her somehow so I suspect entire episodes will just be spent with Abby quite possibly if this is going to be divided up into 3 seasons.

 

[realcool]

no padding or filler expected?

 

[Represent.]

By far ny most favourite game of all time, getting turned into multiple seasons of television. And they are crafting it with love and high budget. It’s goddamn beautiful.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

How?

I can see 3 seasons max, covering TLOU 1 and 2.

The story really isn't that deep, so how are they going to fill 4 seasons without padding?
Unless they want to fill the other seasons with Bill&Bob episodes, I guess.

 

[Paasei]

So season 3 or season 4 will feature TLOU 3.

 

[FunkMiller]

I don’t think anyone expected that season 2 would wrap up TLOU’s story. Always obvious they’d do Ellie’s half in season 2, and Abbie’s half in season 3.

I’m pretty convinced they won’t show the golf game straight away either. They’ll want Mandoborian around for as long as possible.

 

[GymWolf]

If it doesn't have filler like the first season i expect an entire episode about wlf manny and his numerous side bitches inside the base.

 

[FingerBang]

People complain that playing Ellie's story and then Abbie's right after was a mistake for the game, but I thought it was a bold surprise for a first playthrough, especially if you didnt know about it. I am not sure that will work for a TV show because realistically there'll be a big wait between S2 and 3.

I'm curious to see if they're keeping the structure intact or if they're going to mix the two stories up together, where you jump between one and the other until the final showdown (before the final chapter)

...then they should do the same for the game.

 

[Negotiator101]

Pascal carried Season 1 so more of him please. Basically hold off the TLOU2 storyline as long as possible.

 

[xrnzaaas]

I thought it was obvious 4 seasons is the minimum

S2 - TLoU2
S3 - TLoU2
S4 - TLoU3

Gives them until 2028+ to finish the 3rd game.

The show should've been telling a separate story from the start with maybe some mentions of Joel, Ellie and the rest of the characters. I take absolutely no joy in rewatching scenes I already know from the games, especially with heavily downgraded Ellie.

 

[Jormatar]

With 2nd season being quite short I think they are letting Pedro's Joel get more screentime and finishing him off in the season finale which is definately better than offing him in the first two episodes .

 

[Cyborg]

Before season 4 they will remaster Season 1, 2 and 3.

 

[captainnapalm]

I remain convinced there's no way they can repeat the second game's story as told. At least in the game, people can still focus on all the bang bang shooty stealthy stuff and play that - in the series, you ONLY have the story - the most awful part of TLOU2. Once Joel gets his brain bashed in - you've killed the emotional heart of the entire narrative. I don't think butch women, lesbian relationships and trans sidekicks are going to fill the void.

 

[EruditeHobo]

Think that makes a lot of sense:

Season 2 could expand greatly on the Joel/Ellie rift -- find their way to Jackson, hook back up with Tommy, start to build that community, lots of chances for drama there both in-town and out fighting infected, all the time the lie eats and Ellie and then maybe they even do a Ned Stark-like cliffhanger toward the end of S2 to the end.

Season 3 could be the meat of the second game; Abby vs Ellie, WLF vs Jackson vs the cult vs infected, and then the ultimate showdown. Maybe even Santa Barbara. I suspect that's why they are talking about S3 having to be "big", think it's probably going to contain a LOT of that. Because there's not enough time to do what the second game did, they don't have 30-40 hours to drive home that emotionality... They need a lot more of Joel, they need that rift between them to be shown not told, and then they can drop the hammer.

Should be pretty good, tons to work with in terms of drama & character. Druckmann and Mazin know what they're doing, quite obviously.

Oh... and only 3/4 remaster jokes in a 40-post first page? What, we couldn't get closer to 10? It's not like it's painfully tired and unfunny... keep em coming!

 

[KungFucius]

I thought it was obvious 4 seasons is the minimum

S2 - TLoU2
S3 - TLoU2
S4 - TLoU3

Gives them until 2028+ to finish the 3rd game.

Nah. This is HBO and will be like Game of Thrones. S4 will come out and cover a draft version of the 3rd game's plot some 10-20 years before the 3rd game drops. Fans will hate it and this will further delay the 3rd game until Druckmann dies at which point nobody will care anymore.

 

[Frwrd]

I do hope it’s half and half of the game across s2&3.

This would allow me to skip s3 entirely because it’s caca minus maybe the final episode?

It's caca

 

[Arsic]

The first game could have theoretically have had 2 seasons. Especially if it had more battles with zombies or other humans. They rushed through the best game and now they gotta stretch out the worse one.

The worst one… so far!