In the most obvious news of the year thus far, it’s now been formally announced that The Last of Us (HBO‘s adaptation of the game-changing PS4 title originally launched in 2013 by Naughty Dog) will indeed be back for a second season (though when it will debut is still not clear, possibly later in 2024 and what storyline/timeline it will follow seems open to question – there’s plenty of time between the two games).
“(Showrunner) Craig (Mazin) and Neil (Druckmann), alongside EP Carolyn Strauss, and the rest of our phenomenal cast and crew, have defined a genre with their masterful debut season of The Last of Us. After pulling off this unforgettable first season, I can’t wait to watch this team outshine themselves again with Season 2,” said Francesca Orsi, EVP of HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films.
“I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey. The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast & crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations. Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog & PlayStation, thank you!” said executive producer Neil Druckmann, who also co-created the original game.
“I’m so grateful to Neil Druckmann and HBO for our partnership, and I’m even more grateful to the millions of people who have joined us on this journey,” said Mazin, who had previously helmed the critically-acclaimed Chernobyl. “The audience has given us the chance to continue, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in.”
The opening salvo of the series that earlier this month quickly established the biggest viewing numbers in a decade, with the exception of House of the Dragon, for the network and consolidated numbers pushed it even higher. Viewership for the second episode, seen last Sunday in the US and a few hours later on SKY in the UK have also seen a notable increase as buzz about the series spread across social media and reviews.
Main stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey have been lauded for their central performances as the world-weary Joel and the virus-immune (but not immune from delivering snark) Ellie whom he is transporting across a post-apocalyptic America after a fungal virus reeked havoc and decimated humanity.
In the UK, new episodes of the series launch on Sky Atlantic at 2am every Monday (available on demand thereafter). SKY noted that three times the number of viewers were staying up to watch at 2am compared to the devotees who watched House of the Dragon‘s releases around the same hour in the past, The opening episode is currently available to sample for free via the Sky TV YouTube channel – rated for adult viewing. We predict that the third episode – which we’ll review right after its broadcast is so good it will likely see several emmy nominations for its performances…
