There's only one show on TV that can make the claim that it's the best zombie series on TV, and that's The Last of Us. Unfortunately, The Last of Us surprisingly won't be able to make that claim for much longer.
In an interview with Deadline, HBO CEO Casey Bloys confirmed that The Last of Us season 3 will likely be the final season of the hit zombie series based on the video game series of the same name.
Here's what Bloys mentioned when asked about The Last of Us and Hacks ending after their next seasons:
"It certainly seems that way, but on decisions like that, we will defer to the showrunners. So you can ask them."
I don't know exactly what I expected, but I don't know if I was expecting Bloys to basically confirm that the show will end after season.
The Last of Us season 4 seemed like a real possibility recently
After The Last of Us season 2 ended, it seemed very likely that Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann, and the rest of the creative team would be able to wrap up the series in just one more season. There's still so much story to be told.
I'm not going to get into spoilers, but there's so much that happens in The Last of Us Part II that most fans agree it will be difficult to pack it all into 8-10 episodes of the third season. But, they weren't alone in that assumption that The Last of Us season 4 would happen.
In fact, Craig Mazin, the co-creator of the series, even told Collider in an interview right after season 2 that a fourth season might necessary to conclude the story.
"But certainly, there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season. Hopefully, we’ll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth. That’s the most likely outcome."
So, I don't know what's changed in the nine or so months since the second season premiered. Perhaps, Mazin and the creative team have found a way to wrap the story up a little bit earlier in seaosn 3 than they expected? We'll likely find out more information soon.
Production on The Last of Us season 3 begins this spring
Regardless of whether it will be the last season or not, the wait for The Last of Us season 3 is going to be a long one for fans. After season 2 came to an end in May 2025, it looks like 2027 will be the release year for the third season of the series.
Reports indicate that The Last of Us season 3 will begin production in Canada in the next few weeks with a tentative start date of sometime in March 2026. Kaitlyn Dever, who returns as Abby in a much bigger role in season 3, just confirmed she's heading to Canada to start prepping for the series now.
Then, production will likely last through November or December of this year. That likely pushes any 2027 release date back to summer or fall, assuming everything goes according to schedule and there aren't delays.
It's really hard right now to know what to expect from The Last of Us. I hope, for personal reasons, that this show doesn't end after season 3. To me, it's the greatest zombie series ever made, and it would be a shame if it was forced to end the run early.
On the other hand, if Mazin and the team are ready to end this show after season 3, it will be because the story lends itself to that ending. We know, based on their track record, the team at HBO is very good about letting creators see their vision through if it makes sense from a business perspective, as well as a story perspective.
Stay tuned for more news about The Last of Us season 3.