- Season two is slightly shorter than season one
- There’s a five-year time jump between seasons one and two
- The new season airs this month
Fans of The Last Of Us are wondering why the new season of the show will be shorter than the first.
Season one consisted of nine episodes, but creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckman confirmed in June 2024 that season two would only have seven instalments. They told Deadline at the time that each episode would be “quite big” in length.
Read more: The Last of Us Season 2: Surprises & Brutal Scenes
“The story material that we got from Part II of the game is way more than the story material that was in the first game, so part of what we had to do from the start was figure out how to tell that story across seasons,” Mazin explained. “When you do that, you look for natural breakpoints, and as we laid it out, this season, the national breakpoint felt like it came after seven episodes.”
He added: “One thing is absolutely for sure, I don’t see how we could tell the story that remains after season 2 is complete in one more season.”
‘Where is an interesting point to end a season?’
More recently, at the show’s premiere, Mazin explained that the split was both an artistic and logical choice. They quickly realised that the second game had too much material to cram into one season, so it had to be split into more than one.
“We just sort of thought, ‘How would we want to lay this out going forward all the way to the end, and where is an interesting point to end a season?,'” he said.
“It could have been nine episodes; it could have been six. It happened to be seven because that’s where the story went to for this season,” Mazin added. “Next season? We’re not actually sure how many it might be because we have to lay it out again.”
In addition, we already know the series won’t go beyond the narrative of the original video games. In addition, the show will continue for another two seasons past this one.
When is The Last of Us back?
The Last Of Us returns on Sunday, 13 April and will find Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) living in relative peace five years after the events of the first season.
A synopsis reads: “Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.”
Several new cast members are joining the show. Dopesick’s Kaitlyn Dever joins the cast as soldier Abby. Young Mazino signed on to play community leader Jesse, while Isabela Merced is playing Dina, a romantic prospect for Ellie and an ex of Jesse.
Meanwhile, Catherine O’Hara is set to be guest star but no details about her role have been given.
