The first season of HBO post-apocalyptic thriller ‘The Last of Us’ has concluded yet and fans are already anticipating the second season.
- The Last of Us premiered on HBO on January 15, 2023.
- On January 27, 2023, HBO renewed the series for a second season.
The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic drama series created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO. The show is based on the 2013 video game developed by Naughty Dog. The show stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as the main leads.
Debuted on Jan 15, 2023, HBO’s post-apocalyptic drama, The Last Of Us, takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel (Pedro Pascal), a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), 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 travel across America and depend on each other for survival.
It has only been a month since The Last of Us premiered on HBO, and yet excitement for a second season of the post-apocalyptic drama is already exploding. Well, HBO has already renewed the series and fans are now eager to know more about it. Here is all we know about the second season of The Last Of Us.
The Last Of Us Season 2 Release Date
HBO announced the news on 27 January 2023, revealing a follow-up season of The Last Of Us is definitely happening. “The journey continues. #TheLastOfUs will return for another season on @HBOMax,” they wrote on Instagram.
The co-creator Neil Druckmann announced, “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,” He added, “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,” said Craig Mazin, co-creator on the show. “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.”
Beginning in July 2021, The Last of Us season 1 took around a year to shoot before airing on HBO in January 2202. Therefore the earliest season 2 may debut is late 2024 or early 2025 if Mazin and Druckmann follow a similar approach in adapting Part II, possibly taking much longer given the ongoing writers’ strike. However, HBO hasn’t confirmed anything yet, so fans will have to wait a little longer.
The Last Of Us Season 2 Plot
As the series is following the events of the game, the second season will have the same plot as The Last of Us II game. Set five years after The Last of Us events, the viewers will find Ellie and Joel settled down in Wyoming. They live amongst a group of survivors. However, their peace is soon threatened by a violent event. The season will also introduce a new character, Abby, a soldier in a militia group based in Seattle, and viewers will watch her story intertwine with Ellie’s.
Recently, Showrunner Craig Mazin announced that the highly anticipated HBO series will be split into two thrilling seasons, delivering a double dose of post-apocalyptic drama. This is an exciting development for fans of The Last of Us: Part II. The recent comment from Mazin seems to imply that there may be a few more seasons on the road, even though we already knew that HBO’s The Last of Us wouldn’t end with Season 2.
The Last Of Us Season 2 Cast
Currently, only Bella Ramsey is scheduled to reprise her role as Ellie, and Pedro Pascal will undoubtedly return as Joel. Ellie will be 19 years old, not 14 as she was in the first season. The co-creator of the show has stated that Bella Ramsey is expected to return unless she changes her mindd.
Other than Pascal and Ramsey, Season 1 also stars Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, and Elaine Miles as Florence. Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker also star. So fans can expect many members return for season 2.
The Last Of Us Season 1 Review and Ratings
The series received universal acclaim from critics, who praised the performances, writing, production design, and score; several called it the best live-action video game adaptation.
Rotten Tomatoes, reviewed The Last of Us and the series has an approval rating of 97% based on 282 reviews, with an average rating of 8.85/10. The website’s general consensus reads, “Retaining the most addictive aspects of its beloved source material while digging deeper into the story, The Last of Us is binge-worthy TV that ranks among the all-time greatest video game adaptations.”
Metacritic calculated an average of 84 out of 100 based on 41 reviews, indicating “universal acclaim”.
The first episode of The Last Of Us became HBO’s second biggest premiere in over a decade after House Of The Dragon, racking up 4.7 million viewers in the US across HBO and streaming service HBO Max. Viewership of the second episode jumped up to 5.7 million viewers, a 22 per cent increase.
Episode 3 starring Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett recorded 6.4 million viewers, a 12 per cent increase from Episode 2’s viewership, according to Variety.
The Last Of Us Season 2: Where to watch?
The Last of Us Season 1 premiered on HBO and HBO Max. Therefore, the same is expected to be the release pattern for the next season.
Neil Druckmann, the creator of The Last of Us, stated on Twitter that production on season 2 has already begun, so formal updates will be arriving shortly. STAY TUNED.
