‘The Last Of Us’ Co-Creator Craig Mazin Extends Overall Deal With HBO & Max

EXCLUSIVE: Craig Mazin, co-creator, writer, director and executive producer of HBO‘s breakout new drama series The Last Of Us, has re-upped his exclusive television deal with the network and sibling streamer Max for an additional four years.

No one is commenting but I hear the premium pact is in the eight figures. That should not come as a surprise as Mazin has delivered two back-to-back commercial and critical hits for HBO with the Emmy-winning limited series Chernobyl and drama series The Last Of Us.

Delayed by the strike, Season 2 of the post-apocalyptic drama starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey started in Vancouver last week for a 2025 premiere. Mazin co-created the adaptation of the popular PlayStation game with the game’s Neil Druckmann.

The two share writing, showrunning and episodic directing duties on the drama, which transcended genre to bring in large audiences beyond the game’s devoted followers. The Last Of Us‘ first installment was the most watched debut season of an HBO series ever, delivering an average of 31.8 million viewers per episode across the network and Max, with the premiere raking as HBO’s second-largest debut since 2010.

The Last Of Us also became the first live-action video game adaptation to earn major awards consideration, landing 24 Emmy nominations (+1 for The Last of Us: Inside The Episode), including Outstanding Drama Series and a Writing nom for Mazin’s work on the acclaimed Episode 3, “Long, Long Time.”

In its freshman season, The Last Of Us won eight Emmys, including sweeping the Guest Actor In a Drama Series categories with trophies for Nick Offerman from the “Long, Long, Time” episode and recurring guest star Storm Reid. Peter Hoar, who directed Mazin’s “Long, Long Time” script, won a DGA Award for his work.

The Last of Us was Mazin’s followup to his HBO limited series Chernobyl, for which he won a Golden Globe, BAFTA, WGA, PGA and Peabody Award.

In addition to his work in television, Mazin has written a number of feature films which have grossed over one billion dollars worldwide. Additionally, he can be heard on the popular screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes, which he co-hosts with fellow writer John August. Mazin is repped by CAA and attorney Gretchen Rush of Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.