HBO’s The Last Of Us first episode is longer than some movies

We appear to have drifted into an age where people have decided it's okay for episodes of TV to run stupidly long.

A lot of Stranger Things 4 episodes happily ran past the one-hour mark and well into 90-minute territory. Hell, the final episode was over two hours long. I'm sorry, but if I wanted to watch a movie, I'd put on a movie. Sigh.

My own cynical whining aside, it's clear the age of the feature-length TV episode is going nowhere. Sure enough, HBO has confirmed that the first episode of The Last Of Us will clock in at a whopping 85 minutes. That's certainly not as indulgent as some Netflix shows have gotten in recent years, but it's not exactly on the short side either.

This meaty runtime was first spotted by Discussing Film over on Twitter, who note that this is one of HBO's longest premieres ever. Game Of Thrones' first episode came in at 61 minutes, while this year's prequel series House Of The Dragon was 66. Basically, you're going to need to bring a lot of snacks.

It's unclear how much ground The Last Of Us' debut episode will cover, although I suspect a good chunk of it will be focused on Outbreak Day, Joel's attempts to escape the mayhem with his daughter Sarah, and the ensuing tragedy. We'll also surely meet Bella Ramsey's Ellie before the credits roll, but I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't focus too heavily the first episode. Plenty of time to explore her backstory and relationship with Joel throughout the rest of the season.

The Last Of Us premieres on HBO on 15 January.

• The Last of Us Part 3 June Reveal Looks Likely As Clues Continue To Come
• The Last of Us Gamers Lose It As New Part 3 'Tease' Splits Opinion
• Steam Drops Free Taster For Impressive The Last of Us Successor
• The Last of Us Season 3 First Look Has Us Feeling Hopeful