‘The Last of Us’ Will Probably End Sooner Than Initially Promised

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The second season of HBO’s The Last of Us concluded with a tense encounter between Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), the woman responsible for the death of Joel (Pedro Pascal), who was like a father to Ellie. The next season will continue the story from the video game The Last of Us Part II, showing what Abby was doing during the same three days that Ellie spent in Seattle seeking revenge.

The story doesn’t end with the current season of the TV show, and it was unclear if showrunner Craig Mazin could fit the rest of the game’s plot into a third season. In a May 2025 interview with Collider, Mazin indicated he’d need more than one season to tell the complete story. He stated that finishing the narrative would likely require a fourth season, assuming the show is renewed.

Things have changed. In a recent interview with Deadline, HBO’s CEO, Casey Bloys, was asked whether the upcoming third season of The Last of Us would be the last. He indicated it likely would be, but stated that the final decision rests with the show’s creators, suggesting people ask them directly.

HBO generally gives showrunners a lot of freedom in deciding how many episodes to create, and HBO’s content chief, Bloys, seems confident about the direction of their shows. Craig Mazin, the creator of The Last of Us, has hinted that Season 3 might have more episodes than Season 2, which only had seven. So, even if the show doesn’t get a fourth season, viewers might still get an extended third season eventually. While the actors have been sharing some news about Season 3, it will still be some time before new episodes are released.

One option is that Neil Druckmann, the creator of The Last of Us games and a former co-showrunner on the HBO series, could develop a third game for HBO to adapt. However, despite years of rumors, there’s been no confirmation of The Last of Us Part III, making it unlikely to happen quickly enough to continue the TV show’s storyline.

Other HBO Shows Are Coming to an End, Maybe


HBO

Casey Bloys also discussed the upcoming finales of several HBO series. He confirmed that Hacks will conclude after its fifth season, and after some discussion, that House of the Dragon will end after four seasons. He stated, “Yes, that is the plan.”

As a huge fan of the Game of Thrones universe, I’m really excited for the third season of House of the Dragon coming this summer! We’ll probably have to wait a couple of years after that for the final, fourth season. And HBO just dropped a new prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is awesome news because they’re planning to release a new season every year. They haven’t said how many seasons it’ll run for total, though, which just leaves me wanting more!

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The third season of the drama Euphoria will debut on April 12th. While it’s unclear if this will be the final season, HBO’s content chief, Bloys, shared that creator Sam Levinson has devised a compelling way to advance the characters’ stories by five years. Bloys and Levinson will discuss future plans once the third season is completed, but for now, the focus is on finishing and releasing it.

Several big HBO series are finishing up, but the network has plenty of new shows in development. While popular series like The Last of Us and House of the Dragon are nearing their conclusions, upcoming shows such as The Pitt and Heated Rivalry are poised to debut.

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2026-02-02 02:10