‘The Last Of Us’ Creators Hint Series Might Only Run For 2 Seasons & Will Only Adapt The Games

Judging by how the series has been marketed, as well as early buzz, it would appear that HBO’s “The Last of Us” is set to be a monster hit for the premium network. Based on one of the most beloved video game franchises today, “The Last of Us” could become the next big franchise for HBO. Well, probably not. You see, even if the show is a massive hit, it looks like the creators aren’t that interested in this becoming a long-running show. 

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In a new interview with THR, series co-creators Neil Druckmann (who is responsible for the video game franchise) and Craig Mazin (who previously created the acclaimed “Chernobyl”) explained that “The Last of Us” isn’t expected to stick around very long at all. In fact, it could just be two seasons. 

It’s probably not too much of a spoiler to say that the first season of “The Last of Us” covers the first game in the franchise. That makes total sense from a storytelling perspective. However, the problem is there are only two games in the series, so far, and though Druckmann says “there’s more story to tell” in the future, he and Mazin aren’t interested in creating new stories just for the series. 

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“We have no plans to tell any stories beyond adapting the games,” Druckmann said. “We won’t run into the same issue as ‘Game of Thrones’ since ‘Part II’ doesn’t end on a cliffhanger.”

Without getting into spoilers, “The Last of Us Part II,” which would likely comprise the second season of the TV series, basically ends the story and offers a pretty definitive conclusion. And without a third game immediately on the way (video games take years to make), it’s likely that “The Last of Us” will come to an end after Season 2. This isn’t a bad thing, added Mazin. 

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“I don’t have any interest in a spinning-plates-go-on-forever show,” Mazin said. “When it becomes a perpetual motion machine, it just can’t help but get kind of … stupid. Endings mean everything to me.”

When you think about zombie series, which “The Last of Us” most definitely is, you can’t help but think about “The Walking Dead.” Many fans, even the most diehard, would agree that “The Walking Dead” has run for way too many seasons, and it has spawned multiple spinoffs. Sure, it’s making a lot of money for AMC, but the storytelling has suffered immensely. Don’t expect that to be a problem with “The Last of Us.”

Granted, “The Last of Us Part II” (the game) did feature a story that shocked fans of the first game and led to Druckmann getting crazy threats. We all know TV audiences aren’t that crazy, right? …right? Regardless, for Season 2 to be a thing, Season 1 has to be really popular. So, we’ll see how “The Last of Us” does when it debuts on HBO on January 15.