‘The Last Of Us’ Becomes HBO’s Second Biggest Launch After ‘House Of The Dragon’
It would seem HBO has another massive hit on their hands as the US broadcaster announces ‘The Last Of Us‘ has been its largest recent debut after ‘House of the Dragon’.
‘The Last of Us’ takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel (Pedro Pascal – ‘The Mandalorian’), a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey – ‘Game Of Thrones’), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
The series launch drew an audience of 4.7M viewers across linear and HBO Max, making it the second biggest launch after the ‘Game Of Thrones’ spin-off’s 9.98M, and the third largest since ‘Boardwalk Empire’ back in 2010.
“We are thrilled to see fans of the series and game alike experience this iconic story in a new way, and we extend our gratitude to them for helping to make it a success,” commented Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO & HBO Max Content. “Congratulations to Craig, Neil and the brilliant cast and crew who worked tirelessly to bring this show to life. We look forward to fans around the world enjoying the rest of the season.”
The drama has drawn critical acclaim from both fans and the media, and it is well-deserved praise. The BBC hailed it as “the best video game adaptation of all time”, which admittedly is something of a low bar, but it is so much more than that. In the same way that you don’t need to have read the books to enjoy ‘Game Of Thrones’, you don’t have to know the game to be blown away by ‘The Last Of Us’. It is a compelling and deeply emotional drama in its own right, which just happens to be based on a video game property. Showrunner/director Craig Mazin brings with him the same haunting atmosphere he had in the spectacular ‘Chernobyl’, and the episode one script from Mazin & game creator Neil Druckmann is tense, thrilling, and utterly heartbreaking.
It should be noted that Pascal and Ramsey are the only two characters listed as main cast, which should give you some idea of just how disposable the other characters will be in this show. Be warned, no one is safe… I’d also like to point out, any show which is prepared to utilise the wonderful talents of John Hannah, Christopher Heyerdahl and Josh Brener, just for a one-off, pre-credit, opening sequence, you know is going to be something special.
Pascal and Ramsey are joined by Gabriel Luna (‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’) as Tommy, Joel’s younger brother; Anna Torv (‘Fringe’, ‘Mindhunter’) as Tess, a hardened survivor and Joel’s smuggler partner; Merle Dandridge (reprising her role from the games) as Marlene, the head of the Fireflies resistance movement; Nico Parker (‘Dumbo’, ‘The Third Day’) as Sarah, Joel’s daughter; Murray Bartlett (‘The White Lotus’) as Frank, a survivalist living in an isolated town, alongside Bill, played by Nick Offerman (‘Parks and Recreation’); Melanie Lynskey (‘Yellowjackets’) as Kathleen, the leader of a revolutionary movement in Kansas City; Storm Reid (‘Euphoria’) as Riley, an orphaned girl who is growing up in post-apocalyptic Boston; Lamar Johnson (‘Your Honor’) as Henry, who is hiding from a revolutionary movement in Kansas, alongside Keivonn Woodard as Sam (‘Fractal’), his brother; And Graham Greene (‘Goliath’, ‘Longmire’) as Marlon, who lives in the wilderness of Wyoming with his wife Florence, played by Elaine Miles (‘Northern Exposure’).
‘The Last of Us’ is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin (‘Chernobyl’) and Neil Druckmann (‘The Last of Us’ video game). The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and is executive produced by Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Rose Lam. Production companies: PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog.
‘The Last of Us‘ Season 1 airs Mondays at 2am (simulcast with the USA), with a repeat airing in the evening, on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW. The series airs Sunday nights in the USA on HBO & HBO Max.
