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 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."
More The Last of Us is officially coming your way. Thanks so much for all your enthusiasm and support! [[link]] See you on Sunday! https://t.co/vM5WT56Thl
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.