‘The Last of Us’ Renewed For Season 2 By HBO
In news that I’m sure will shock exactly no one, HBO has renewed the brilliant, critically-acclaimed, massive smash-hit series ‘The Last of Us‘ for a 2nd Season.
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 has been a phenomenal hit for HBO. The day after episode one aired, HBO announced the series premiere drew an audience of 4.7M viewers across linear and HBO Max, making it the second biggest launch after the ‘House Of The Dragon’ with 9.98M, and the third largest since ‘Boardwalk Empire’ back in 2010. That opening episode has now amassed 22 million viewers in the USA, nearly five times the initial figure, and is still growing. Even more impressive, the second episode grew the overnight audience to 5.7 million, making it the largest second-week audience growth for an HBO Original drama series in the history of the network.
“Craig and Neil, 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,” commented Francesca Orsi, EVP, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films. “After pulling off this unforgettable first season, I can’t wait to watch this team outshine themselves again with season two.”
Not only have the numbers been through the roof, but the critical reception of the series has also been outstanding, with comments like “one of the finest TV shows you will see this year” from The Guardian, and “a masterpiece” from Empire. We have also been singing its praises both here at Geektown, and over on Entertainment Talk.
‘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.
“I’m humbled, honoured, 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,” said Druckmann. “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!”
“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,” adds Mazin. “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.”
In addition to Pascal and Ramsey, season one features 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‘ 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.
