Summary

  • Fans criticize long two+ year wait between The Last of Us seasons on HBO
  • Some argue for longer breaks to ensure higher quality shows despite impatience
  • Streaming's impact altered TV landscape, leading to debate on release schedules

The second season of HBO's The Last of Us has proven exceptionally divisive. Reaching its climax this past week, fans have been in uproar about the way the season ended, and one particular scene that "underestimated viewers' intelligence". This ultimately culminated in the show's viewership dropping by 55 percent, compared to the Season 1 finale.

Related

The Last Of Us Writer Thinks Including Alice The Dog Would Have Been A Step Too Far

There was a lot of death in the finale, but one that might have hit the hardest was omitted from the show.

Posts

With the second season now in the rearview mirror, fans have had time to reflect and realize that, given there was over two years between Season 1 and Season 2, the same is likely to happen with Season 3, and they aren't keen on the wait.

HBO's The Last Of Us Fans Are Already Getting Impatient With The Wait For Season 3

Over on the r/television subreddit, a new debate has reached a boiling point with one fan calling the two-year wait between seven-episode seasons "pathetic and unacceptable." In the discussion, which garnered almost 15,000 upvotes and over 2,500 comments in under 24 hours, its creator, 1111joey1111, argued that audiences are "getting ripped off" as 20 years ago, shows like Lost were able to deliver 20-episode seasons almost yearly. They also cited the waits for new Stranger Things and Westworld seasons as part of the problem.

The shift in focus for television executives came under fire, with The Last of Us being the spark. "This is a relatively new phenomenon that no one asked for: the high-budget blockbuster show that takes years to produce," said Any_Mushroom1209, "The first wave of prestige TV w/ Sopranos, Wire, etc. was on a yearly schedule with a healthy episode count. Problem is, they don't really make those types of shows anymore, or not of the same quality, not since Succession and Saul at least. So we're left with these huge IP shows that take too long to come out."

This is a relatively new phenomenon that no one asked for: the high-budget blockbuster show that takes years to produce.

Srstone71 added to the discussion, saying, "I'd get the argument for these ridiculously long breaks if there was an obvious and direct correlation between length of time between seasons and show quality, but I'm not seeing it. Maybe some of the technical elements are improved with more time to perfect them, but I don't see a noticeable difference in story or overall quality."

The wait for the new season only makes things messier, according to fans. With Season 3 seemingly set to focus on Abby, we'll have to wait until Season 4 to actually get the culmination of what happened in Season 2, which could be as far away as 2029/2030, if the release schedule stays the same.

In Defense Of The Last Of Us

While many are evidently unhappy with the expected two-year wait for Season 3, others came to the defense of The Last of Us and other similar series, saying that streaming has indefensibly altered the television landscape. Kylelonious perhaps summed up the debate best, saying, "Lost was able to do that because they could pay way more people way more money because they were milking that commercial money. Now with streaming models, everything is based off paid subscribers who don’t really increase or decrease based off the quality of the show. The economics aren’t there..."

Tlsrandy added, "I think this is a grass-is-always-greener situation, and, for me personally, I prefer shorter series with more time between episodes if it means the show itself is higher quality," saying that many of the longer shows were loaded with filler episodes.

3 Images 3 Images Custom Image By Yailin Chacon Custom Image By Yailin Chacon Close

Your Rating

close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10

Your comment has not been saved

Like Follow Followed

The Last Of Us

Drama 4.6/10 Release Date January 15, 2023

Cast

See All
  • Pedro Pascal
  • Bella Ramsey
Powered by Expand Collapse