HBO's The Last Of Us TV Series Won't Overstay Its Welcome, Writer Says

HBO's live-action The Last of Us TV series premieres this month, and now some new information about it has come to light. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, game director Neil Druckmann and show writer Craig Mazin discussed what events the series will cover and why they don't want it to overstay its welcome and run for numerous seasons.

Season 1 will cover the major story beats of the original Last of Us game, the report said. Season 2, meanwhile, could dig into the events of The Last of Us: Part II, the report said.

Whatever the case, HBO's Last of Us series won't get to a place where the show surpasses the source material in terms of plot, as was the case for Game of Thrones. "We have no plans to tell any stories beyond adapting the games," Druckmann said. "We won't run into the same issue as Game of Thrones since The Last of Us: Part II doesn't end on a cliffhanger."

A third Last of Us game might be in the works, and Druckmann alluded to this in the interview, saying he feels there is "more story to tell" in the games. As such, it's possible that if HBO's Last of Us series proves to be popular and continues for additional seasons, the events of a potential third game could wind up formulating on the show. That's still to be decided, but Mazin said he hopes The Last of Us TV series doesn't overstay its welcome.

"I don't have any interest in a spinning-plates-go-on-forever show," Mazin said. "When it becomes a perpetual motion machine, it just can't help but get kind of … stupid. Endings mean everything to me."

The full interview is stacked with lots more interesting and unexpected insights into the TV series, like how stars Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal first met during the show's sexual harassment Zoom call. The report also mentions how fans are upset that Pascal cannot grow a beard to match the facial hair of Joel from the video game series. It also reveals that HBO bought the show idea on the day it was pitched.

The Last of Us TV series debuts January 15 on HBO Max. Check out a trailer above.