section_path: Production/Development
section_name: Development
paragraph_text: Development
  
  A film adaptation of Naughty Dog 's video game The Last of Us (2013) was announced in 2014, to be written by its creative director and writer Neil Druckmann; it entered development hell by 2016 and the rights had relinquished by 2019, when Druckmann met Craig Mazin. They agreed an adaptation required a television series's length and pacing. HBO announced the series was in planning stages in March 2020, written by Mazin and Druckmann, also serving as executive producers with Carolyn Strauss and Evan Wells. It is PlayStation Productions 's first show, announced as a joint production with Sony Pictures Television and Naughty Dog. HBO greenlit the series in November, adding executive producers Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan and production company Word Games, followed by production company the Mighty Mint in January 2021 and executive producer Rose Lam in February. Produced by Greg Spence and Cecil O'Connor, the first season 's ten-episode count was reduced to nine during production.
  
  On January 27, 2023, less than two weeks after the premiere, HBO renewed the series for a second season. While the first season covers the events of the first game and its downloadable expansion The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014), the second covers the first half of the sequel, The Last of Us Part II (2020); the second half is set to span up to two more seasons. The series's narrative is not set to overtake the games. Jacqueline Lesko was named an executive producer in March 2023, and O'Connor by February 2024. In January 2024, Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Mark Mylod, and Stephen Williams were announced as directors for the second season alongside Druckmann, Hoar, and Mazin. In June, Mazin and Druckmann revealed the season would consist of seven episodes. HBO renewed the series for a third season on April 9, 2025, ahead of the premiere of the second. Halley Gross, who co-wrote Part II with Druckmann, joined the second season as a writer and co-executive producer, and became an executive producer for the third. The third season is set to be "significantly larger", and a fourth season is expected.
  
  The Last of Us is the largest television production to be filmed in Alberta and possibly the largest in Canadian history, generating CA$182 million for Alberta and creating 1,490 jobs. According to Canadian artists union IATSE 212, the production led to a 30 percent increase in union membership and employment. The first season's budget of over CA$100 million —more than $10 million per episode —exceeded that of each of Game of Thrones ' s first five seasons, making it one of the most expensive television series. The budget increased for the second season.
  
  A film adaptation of Naughty Dog 's video game The Last of Us (2013) was announced in 2014, to be written by its creative director and writer Neil Druckmann; it entered development hell by 2016 and the rights had relinquished by 2019, when Druckmann met Craig Mazin. They agreed an adaptation required a television series's length and pacing. HBO announced the series was in planning stages in March 2020, written by Mazin and Druckmann, also serving as executive producers with Carolyn Strauss and Evan Wells. It is PlayStation Productions 's first show, announced as a joint production with Sony Pictures Television and Naughty Dog. HBO greenlit the series in November, adding executive producers Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan and production company Word Games, followed by production company the Mighty Mint in January 2021 and executive producer Rose Lam in February. Produced by Greg Spence and Cecil O'Connor, the first season 's ten-episode count was reduced to nine during production.
  
  On January 27, 2023, less than two weeks after the premiere, HBO renewed the series for a second season. While the first season covers the events of the first game and its downloadable expansion The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014), the second covers the first half of the sequel, The Last of Us Part II (2020); the second half is set to span up to two more seasons. The series's narrative is not set to overtake the games. Jacqueline Lesko was named an executive producer in March 2023, and O'Connor by February 2024. In January 2024, Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Mark Mylod, and Stephen Williams were announced as directors for the second season alongside Druckmann, Hoar, and Mazin. In June, Mazin and Druckmann revealed the season would consist of seven episodes. HBO renewed the series for a third season on April 9, 2025, ahead of the premiere of the second. Halley Gross, who co-wrote Part II with Druckmann, joined the second season as a writer and co-executive producer, and became an executive producer for the third. The third season is set to be "significantly larger", and a fourth season is expected.
  
  The Last of Us is the largest television production to be filmed in Alberta and possibly the largest in Canadian history, generating CA$182 million for Alberta and creating 1,490 jobs. According to Canadian artists union IATSE 212, the production led to a 30 percent increase in union membership and employment. The first season's budget of over CA$100 million —more than $10 million per episode —exceeded that of each of Game of Thrones ' s first five seasons, making it one of the most expensive television series. The budget increased for the second season.