The Last of Us showrunner reveals season 2 episode count, but says that potential season 3 will be "significantly larger"

Pedro Pascal as Joel in The Last of Us
(Image credit: HBO)

Bad news: The Last of Us season 2 will be slightly shorter than season 1. The good news, however, is that we may very well be getting a season 3 and 4.

"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 told Deadline. "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."

Season 2 is set to follow the harrowing storyline of The Last of Us Part 2 video game, which fast forwards to an 18-year-old Ellie and her life as an adult following the events of Part 1 – and if you thought season 1 was devastating, you ain't seen nothin' yet. 

Continued Mazin: "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."

Kaitlyn Dever is set to play Abby, the anti-hero (to put it lightly) of season 2, with Jeffrey Wright set to reprise his villain role as Isaac from the video game. The rest of the new cast includes Isabela Merced (Dora the Explorer) as Dina and Young Mazino (Beef) as Jesse. Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal will also be back to reprise their respective roles, with HBO already releasing a first look.

The Last of Us season 2 is set to hit HBO and Max in 2025. For more, check out our list of the best new TV shows coming your way in 2024 and beyond.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for 12DOVE currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.