The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey fires back at season 2's critics: "You don't have to watch it"

The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey has responded to some of the second season's most vocal critics.

"I try to steer clear as much as I [can], to be honest," Ramsey told The Awardist podcast of the vociferous response to parts of The Last of Us season 2.

"You don't have to watch it. If you hate it that much, the game exists. You can just play the game again. If you do want to watch it, hope you enjoy it."

Co-creator Craig Mazin is riding solo on The Last of Us season 3 after the departures of both co-creator Neil Druckmann and producer/writer Halley Gross to focus on future Naughty Dog projects. On The Awardist, Ramsey also added that Druckmann will be "greatly missed."

"It’s been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life on HBO. I couldn’t have asked for a more generous creative partner," Mazin said in a statement.

Mazin – who previously gave an update on writing the third season in an interview with GamesRadar+ – has now seemingly cracked the season length. In short, it will be longer than the second season's seven episodes.

"I will say that season 3 will be longer than season 2. Season 3 will be more on par with season 1. More bang for the buck," Mazin told The Hollywood Reporter.

HBO TV chief Casey Bloys has also suggested that The Last of Us could wrap up its story with either two more seasons or "one long season."

For more, jump into our guide to the new TV shows coming your way in 2025 and beyond. Then, discover all the upcoming PS5 games on the horizon – including Naughty Dog's Intergalactic: The Heretic Project.