Big News for Season Three of ‘The Last of Us’ (And Bad News About Season Two)

Let’s start with the good news: We’re gonna see a lot more of Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby in the next season of The Last of Us. During an Emmys FYC event for the series yesterday, co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann confirmed that season three would be centered on Abby, mirroring the game’s plot structure. I had speculated that this would likely be the case, but it was no sure thing since it flies in the face of conventional TV logic. Ditching your tried-and-true lead character, Ellie, for a whole season to follow her mortal enemy? It was a contentious creative decision amongst fans when the game did it, and there’s no reason to expect the show will be any less divisive.

Then again, the show is already divisive, if the latest ratings information is any indication (it is; it’s like the main indicator). Though the numbers were all sunshine and roses for the second season premiere, the data does show a substantial decline in viewers after episode two — which was when Abby killed Joel, another contentious creative move. The second-season finale drew 3.7 million viewers on its first night, which is down from the 5.3 million who tuned in for the season premiere and far short of the 8.2 million viewers who watched the season-one finale on its original air date. To be fair, the season two finale aired on Memorial Day weekend, which is historically a weak time for live viewing, and we don’t have a full picture of the catch-up viewership just yet. We do have it for episodes two, three, and four now, though, and it’s not pretty: a 21.2% decline in viewed minutes from episode two to episode four during the full week of their first airs.

HBO’s internal data reportedly shows that worldwide viewership is up for season two, however: in the first 90 days from the season premiere, season two averaged 37 million worldwide views compared to season one’s 32 million views. Those are early figures and may not hold as we get 90 days out from the finale, but it’s hopeful. I also find it hard to believe that the network would be at all surprised by this trend, considering how the second game was received. Regardless, the network appears to be letting Mazin and Druckmann follow the shifting-POV structure of the game, which is going to make for some exciting and unique television to come, no matter how controversial.

And for those fans who are still mad that Joel was killed off and Pedro Pascal is off the show, Mazin would like to remind you that “he’s in literally everything else!” So I guess you’ll just have to make do with (checks notes) watching Materialists, Eddington, Fantastic Four: First Steps, The Mandolorian and Grogu, and those upcoming Avengers flicks to get your Pedro fix.