The Last of Us (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The first season was filmed in Alberta from July 2021 to June 2022, while the second was filmed in British Columbia from February to August 2024.
• The score was composed by Gustavo Santaolalla, who composed for the games, and David Fleming.

Cast and characters

Pedro Pascal portrays Joel Miller, a hardened survivor who is hard of hearing in one ear and has aching knees, tasked with smuggling Ellie across the United States. Bella Ramsey plays Ellie, a teenage girl immune to the Cordyceps infection who bonds easily with children and has a fondness for puns; her relationship with Joel becomes strained in the second season. Gabriel Luna appears as Tommy Miller, Joel's younger brother and a former Firefly who runs a commune in Jackson, Wyoming, with his wife Maria and their son Benjamin.

Isabela Merced plays Dina, Ellie's girlfriend who is pregnant with her ex Jesse's child, while Young Mazino portrays Jesse, a selfless member of Jackson. Kaitlyn Dever plays Abby, a former Firefly seeking revenge against Joel for her father's death, who appears in the second season and becomes a focus in the third. Spencer Lord plays Owen, a gentle WLF member who witnessed Joel's massacre in Salt Lake City. Tati Gabrielle portrays Nora, a former Firefly and WLF medic, and Ariela Barer plays Mel, a former Firefly and WLF doctor reluctant to hurt others. Michelle Mao appears as Yara, a member of the Seraphites religious group in Seattle.

Production

A film adaptation of the 2013 game was announced in 2014 but entered development hell; by 2019, Neil Druckmann met Craig Mazin and they agreed a television series was better suited. HBO announced the series in March 2020, with Mazin and Druckmann writing and executive producing alongside Carolyn Strauss and Evan Wells. It is PlayStation Productions's first show, co-produced with Sony Pictures Television and Naughty Dog. The first season's episode count was reduced from ten to nine during production.

HBO renewed the series for a second season on January 27, 2023, less than two weeks after the premiere. The second season covers the first half of The Last of Us Part II, while the second half is set to span up to two more seasons. Halley Gross, co-writer of Part II, joined as a writer and co-executive producer for the second season and became an executive producer for the third. Druckmann and Gross stepped away from creative duties in July 2025, leaving Mazin as sole showrunner.

The third season is set to be longer and significantly larger; a fourth season was expected but not decided by July 2025, and HBO's Casey Bloys indicated the third would likely be the last.

Release

The first season premiered on January 15, 2023, on HBO and HBO Max, with a red carpet premiere in Westwood, Los Angeles, on January 9, followed by screenings in Budapest, Sydney, and New York City. Behind-the-scenes videos titled Inside the Episode were released after each episode, and Naughty Dog released Building The Last of Us. The first season was released on digital and physical formats in July 2023. The series is HBO's first original content with an American Sign Language version, performed by Daniel Durant and directed by Leila Hanaumi; the first season was released on Max on March 31, 2025, and the second season was released alongside each new episode starting April 13.

The second season had red carpet premieres in Hollywood, Sydney, Paris, and London. It was released for digital purchase in May 2025 and on physical formats in September 2025. The third season is expected to air in 2027.

Reception

The Last of Us has an average approval rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and a weighted average score of 83/100 on Metacritic. The first season holds a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 488 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10, and a Metacritic score of 84 based on 44 reviews. Several reviewers considered it the best adaptation of a video game. Critics praised the differences from the game's narrative, though some felt scenes lifted directly were among the weakest.

The third episode was overwhelmingly considered the season's best, with some calling it among the greatest television episodes in recent years. The production design was lauded for matching the game. Performances received widespread acclaim, with critics singling out the chemistry between Pascal and Ramsey; some considered Pascal's performance his career-best, and several found Ramsey gave the show's breakout performance. Guest performances by Anna Torv, Melanie Lynskey, Nick Offerman, and Murray Bartlett were highly praised.