‘It’s been an honor’: The Last of Us co-showrunner calls it quits before work gets underway on the hit HBO Max show’s third season

The Last of Us TV show has lost one of its showrunners
Neil Druckmann is stepping away before work begins on season 3
His departure has nothing to do with the HBO Max Original’s poor season 2 ratings

The Last of Us co-showrunner Neil Druckmann has made the shock decision to step back from working on HBO’s TV adaptation.

In a statement released yesterday (July 2), Druckmann confirmed he was departing the project after two seasons. However, Druckmann’s departure has nothing to do with how poorly The Last of Us season 2 was received among general audiences. Instead, Druckmann, who is also the Studio Head and President of Naughty Dog, the videogame company that originally created The Last of Us, is walking away from its TV namesake to focus on his responsibilities with said company.

“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO,” Druckmann surprisingly revealed. “With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative.

“Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. It’s been an honor to work alongside [co-showrunner] Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct, and write on the last two seasons. I’m deeply thankful for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting The Last of Us Part I and the continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II.”

Mazin is now expected to solely lead development on The Last of Us TV show, which is set to run for another two seasons. Indeed, The Last of Us season 3 was officially announced before season 2 premiered and Mazin has since confirmed he’ll need a fourth season to adapt The Last of Us Part II‘s full story.

Look for the ever-dimming light

The death of Joel (Pedro Pascal) in season 2 episode 2 might have impacted The Last of Us’ viewership (Image credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO)

It’s unclear if Druckmann always planned to call it quits on the HBO and Max TV Original after co-helming it for two seasons. What is clear, though, is that The Last of Us‘ sophomore season failed to recapture the spark that made its first season such a success.

Per review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, The Last of Us season 1 was a critical and commercial hit; the series’ first entry earning 96% critical and 86% audience scores respectively. However, while The Last of Us season 2 was similarly praised by critics – its 92% rating serving as proof of that – everyday viewers slammed one of the best Max shows’ latest installment, which currently holds a paltry 37% approval rating.

Things aren’t much better on the viewing figures front, either. In May 2023, The Last of Us set a new HBO Max record that saw each episode pull in an average 32 million viewers in the US alone. Its season 1 finale pulled in a a series high 8.2 million people when it debuted on March 12, 2023, too.

However, despite season 2 averaging 37 million viewers in the 90-day period following its premiere, its finale drew in just 3.7 million users. That represents a 55% decrease on its forebear’s final entry. Clearly, the show’s creative team have a lot of work ahead of them to ensure The Last of Us season 3 revives many people’s interest in it.