The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin says season 3 will be "longer than season 2," but will be "more on par" with season 1: "More bang for your buck"

The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin says season 3 will be, unsurprisingly, longer than season 2...but that it'll be a bit more like season 1.

"We're kind of fiddling around with that...it's a little bit of a trade secret at the moment," Craig Mazin told The Hollywood Reporter, when asked what the structure and episode count would be like for season 3. "But I will say that season 3 will be longer than season 2. Season three will be more on par with season 1. More bang for the buck."

This makes perfect sense, given the length of The Last of Us Part 2, which takes around 42 hours of gameplay to hit 100% completion. The game is split into three parts: Seattle Day One from Ellie's perspective, Seattle Day Two in which the player is forced to play the game from Abby's perspective, and The Farm, which switches back to Ellie's perspective.

The Last of Us season 2, consisting of just seven episodes, focused on Ellie and Dina as they journeyed to Seattle to hunt down Abby, and ended on a cliffhanger with Abby waking up and onscreen text that read, "Seattle Day One." Season 3 will focus on Kaitlyn Dever's Abby, and show us what she was up to during those three days that Ellie and Dina were looking for her. A fourth season is also highly likely, and will probably adapt The Farm section of the game.

The Last of Us is streaming now on HBO Max. For more, check out our list of the best new TV shows coming your way in 2025 and beyond, or, read our The Last of Us season 2 review.