HBO’s ‘The Last Of Us’ Season 2 Is Essentially Guaranteed Already

While TV viewers these days are understandably conditioned not to get too attached to a show they like, lest the streaming service it’s airing on cancel it for some unknowable reason, I don’t think early fans of The Last of Us’ premiere on HBO have anything to worry about, despite no immediate season 2 renewal just yet.

Even with all the turmoil and cost-cutting and WB Discovery which has let to some tragic cancelations on HBO Max, The Last of Us is simply performing far too well for anyone to be worried about it not getting a second season. And given that the showrunners have already said season 2 would likely only be half the second game, they’d essentially need to do a season 3 as well.

Why can you be confident in a season 2 of The Last of Us? Well:

• The Last of Us is the second-largest premiere on HBO since Boardwalk Empire in 2010, with only House of the Dragon beating it out.
• In two days, 10 million people in the United State alone watched The Last of Us premiere.
• The Last of Us has a sky-high 99% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and an even more shocking on 95% from audiences. It also has a 9.4/10 on IMDB, currently tied as the highest rated show in history along with classics like Breaking Bad and Band of Brothers, and even above TLOU writer Craig Mazin’s last show, Chernobyl, at a 9.3.

You just do not cancel a show performing like this, and I would expect an announcement in the next few weeks, if not right after episode 2 here, if it shows a viewership increase, which certainly seems possible given the world of mouth traveling about the show. House of the Dragon was renewed after only its pilot, yes, but it’s a unique series given that it had eight years of Game of Thrones fanbase build-up, and everyone watching to see if it would redeem the pitiful finale of the last series (it kind of did!).

As for The Last of Us, I maintain my secret theory that the long term plan is not only to adapt both games over the course of three seasons, but by the time season 3 airs in probably 2026, that it’s entirely possible Naughty Dog releases The Last of Us Part 3, meaning season 4/5 could adapt that future, currently non-existent game as well. But that’s a conversation for another day. For now, season 2 is good enough, and that’s just guaranteed at this point.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.