The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin says he avoids online discourse around the show simply by staying away from the series' subreddit, which is exactly what someone in his position should be doing.
"I don't look at them, so I don't know," Mazin told The Hollywood Reporter. "Problem solved! I don't go on Reddit."
Mazin added that the only time he goes to Reddit is when he needs Oblivion: Remastered advice, which again, is precisely the way.
"I mean, I'm always playing video games; I'm playing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered right now. Sometimes I'll go on Reddit when I'm like, 'What is the best bow for an archer build?' That's about as much Redditing as I do."
The Last of Us subreddit isn't always the most chipper place to be, but I'd imagine it's exponentially less so when you're the guy in charge of the TV show adaptation, which wrapped up a highly controversial second season in May.
Whether or not the criticisms over its various departures from the source material, or the ones about it following the source material, are valid, all that negativity has to take a toll on your mental health.
Mazin's wellbeing aside, no one should be taking advice from Reddit, especially not someone running a TV show, and especially not someone running a TV show based on video games with a narrative as beloved and meticulously crafted as The Last of Us.
I've seen a disturbing rise in video game developers seemingly structuring updates entirely around feedback from people on Reddit, who in general aren't representative of any game's broader, more casual player base. Of course, I'm not talking about performance updates based on online feedback; those are great. I just don't want Reddit deciding on a game's, or any other thing's, creative vision.
I think most of us would rather play and watch things that are structured around a strong, singular vision and whose key creatives are confident enough to see it through regardless of its reception. I mean, imagine a Last of Us season 2 without the whole baseball bat scene? Sure, it'd probably be a much less depressing show, but it wouldn't be as good either.
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"
