The Last of Us is coming back for a third season on HBO

The Last of Us Season 2 doesn't hit the airwaves until , but HBO has already renewed the series for a .

"We approached season two with the goal of creating something we could be proud of," executive producer Craig Mazin said (via ).

"The end results have exceeded even our most ambitious goals, thanks to our continued collaboration with HBO and the impeccable work of our unparalleled cast and crew. We look forward to continuing the story of The Last of Us with season three!"

HBO executive vice president Francesca Orsi added to the plaudits: "It can't be overemphasized how proud HBO is for the outstanding achievement we believe the second season of The Last of Us [[link]] is. Craig, Neil [Druckmann}, Carolyn [Strauss] and the entire executive producer team, cast and crew have delivered a masterful follow-up and we're thrilled to carry the power of Craig and Neil's storytelling into what we know will be an equally moving and extraordinary third season."

That's pretty big praise for a show that hasn't actually aired yet, but critical reviews have been largely positive: said The Last of Us Season 2 "sets a new standard for every videogame adaptation to follow in its wake," while reassured fans that they "will not be disappointed" by the second season.

The was a little more restrained in its take, saying that "like any continuation of a fantasy/sci-fi franchise, the second season cannot match the world-building revelations of the first"; , on the other hand, says the second season "does an excellent job of rendering some of the game’s most touching moments ... while also putting Joel and Ellie’s story into the larger context of [[link]] this world," and, notably, "ends at a place that nicely sets up season three."

That sounds pretty solid to me, and I imagine HBO executives have to be pretty happy about it as well, although I'm pretty sure they didn't wait for reviews to drop before hastily signing the contracts for the third season. Sometimes you have to roll the dice on these things—like, for instance, when you have a hot property with well-loved actors that people are vocally eager for more of. That helps!

First things first, though: The first episode of The Last of Us season 2 will debut on April 13, and will continue weekly from there through its full seven-episode length. If you want to watch but aren't otherwise interested in going whole-hog on MAX, PC Gamer's TV mastermind Chris Livingston has some good advice on how to to get the most for the least—and in the meantime, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered in , so you can just go play that, too.