The Last of Us is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO. Based on the 2013 video game developed by Naughty Dog, the series is set in 2023, twenty years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, which forces its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and collapses society. The series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler tasked with escorting the teenage Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic United States. Guest stars include Nico Parker as Joel's daughter Sarah, Gabriel Luna as Joel's younger brother Tommy, Merle Dandridge as resistance leader Marlene, and Anna Torv as Joel's smuggler partner Tess.
The Last of Us was filmed throughout Alberta from July 2021 to June 2022. It is the first HBO series based on a video game, and is a joint production by Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, Naughty Dog, the Mighty Mint, and Word Games. Druckmann, who wrote and co-directed the original game, assisted Mazin with scriptwriting for the nine episodes of the first season. The score was composed by Gustavo Santaolalla, who composed for the game, and David Fleming.
The Last of Us premiered on January 15, 2023, with episodes released weekly. It received acclaim from critics, who praised the performances, writing, production design, and score; several called it the best adaptation of a video game. Across linear channels and HBO Max, the series premiere was watched by 4.7 million viewers on the first day—the second-biggest for HBO since 2010—and over 22 million within twelve days; by March, the first five episodes averaged almost 30 million viewers. In January 2023, the series was renewed for a second season.
Production
Development
A film adaptation of Naughty Dog's 2013 video game The Last of Us was announced in March 2014, to be written by the game's writer and creative director Neil Druckmann; it had entered development hell by 2016, and the partnership ended and rights relinquished by 2019. Due to the extensive development of a film based on Uncharted, another game series by Naughty Dog, Druckmann ensured specific plot points were included when negotiating a deal with film and television studios; he felt more closely connected to The Last of Uss creation and development than Uncharteds and always wanted to be involved in its adaptation in some manner. In 2018, writer and director Craig Mazin was approached by PlayStation Productions with a list of video games for potential television adaptation; he was disappointed to discover The Last of Us was being adapted into a film at the time as he felt television was a better fit. A fan of the video game, having played it about twelve times, Mazin was introduced to Druckmann through Shannon Woodward, a mutual friend, in 2019. Druckmann, a fan of Mazin's series Chernobyl, agreed with Mazin that The Last of Us required the length and pacing of a television series. They pitched the series to HBO about a week after meeting.
In March 2020, a television adaptation was announced in the planning stages at HBO, expected to cover events of the first game. Mazin and Druckmann were named to write and executive produce the series, while television producer Carolyn Strauss and Naughty Dog president Evan Wells were named executive producers, and Gustavo Santaolalla, who worked on the games, the show's composer. The show was announced as a joint production of Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, and Naughty Dog; it is the first show produced by PlayStation Productions. It is produced under the company name Bear and Pear Productions. Johan Renck, Mazin's collaborator on Chernobyl, was announced as executive producer and director of the series premiere in June 2020; he dropped out by November due to scheduling conflicts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. HBO greenlit the series on November 20. PlayStation Productions's Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan were named executive producers, and Word Games a production company.
In January 2021, the Mighty Mint joined production, and Kantemir Balagov was announced as the pilot episode's director. He had been interested in adapting the game for years and was set to direct several opening episodes; in October 2022, Balagov said he left the project a year prior due to creative differences. Rose Lam was added as executive producer in February 2021. Pre-production in Calgary, Alberta, began on March 15; Mazin arrived in May. Ali Abbasi and Jasmila Žbanić were announced as directors in April. In July 2021, the Directors Guild of Canada revealed Peter Hoar was assigned to direct, followed in August by Mazin, in September by Druckmann, and in January 2022 by Liza Johnson and Jeremy Webb. In February, Druckmann confirmed he directed an episode and felt his experience reinforced and reflected his experience in directing games. After several months traveling between Calgary and Los Angeles, Druckmann struggled to fulfil obligations at Naughty Dog and returned home to advise remotely, feeling confident in Mazin. The season's original ten-episode count was reduced to nine during production; the first two were combined after HBO executives felt the first would not compel viewers to return.
The Last of Us is believed to be the largest television production in Canadian history, expected to generate over in revenue for Alberta. Sources suggested the budget was between and per episode; The New Yorker claimed the series budget exceeded each of the first five seasons of Game of Thrones. Calgary film officials felt Alberta was chosen for production partly due to the government's 2021 decision to remove its tax credit cap of per project. Canadian artists union IATSE 212 claimed the production led to a 30 percent increase in union membership and employment. The first season covers the events of the first game and its downloadable expansion The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014); Druckmann and Mazin suggested a second season would immediately cover the sequel, The Last of Us Part II (2020), to avoid filler, though Mazin felt it would require more than one season. He does not want the series to overtake the games. The writers ensured characters remained true to their developments in Part II in case the show received more seasons. On January 27, 2023, less than two weeks after the series premiere, HBO renewed the series for a second season. A writers' room for the second season was established in Los Angeles by February.
Casting
Casting took place virtually through Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Casting director Victoria Thomas wanted to honor the game without being limited by it. Mazin and Thomas sought high-profile guest stars; Thomas said many of the actors "don't usually do one-episode guest spots". On February 10, 2021, Pascal and Ramsey were cast as Joel and Ellie. Earlier that day, it was reported Mahershala Ali was offered the role of Joel after Matthew McConaughey turned it down; The Hollywood Reporter noted Ali "did circle a role" in the show, but a deal was never formed. Any actresses considered for Ellie for the canceled film adaptation—such as Maisie Williams and Kaitlyn Dever—had aged out of consideration by the time the series was in production, resulting in a reset of candidates. The producers primarily sought actors who could embody Joel and Ellie individually as well as imitate their relationship. Though both were previously featured on HBO's Game of Thrones, Pascal and Ramsey had not met before the filming of The Last of Us began but found they had instant chemistry, which developed over the course of production.
Luna's casting as Tommy was announced on April 15, 2021, and Dandridge was confirmed to reprise her role of Marlene from the video games on May 27. In May, Classic Casting circulated a casting call for extras from Calgary, Fort Macleod, High River, and Lethbridge; anyone over 18 could apply, and those with vehicles from 1995 to 2003 were recommended. It was announced Parker was cast as Sarah on June 30. Pierce, Bartlett, and O'Neill's casting as Perry, Frank, and Bill was announced on July 15, followed by Torv's as Tess on July 22. On December 5, 2021, Bartlett claimed Offerman would appear on the show in a role close to his; two days later, Offerman was announced to be playing Bill, replacing O'Neill who was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. On December 9, Žbanić revealed the casting of Greene, Miles, and Wesley.
Reid's casting as Riley Abel was announced on January 14, 2022. In February, Mazin distributed a casting call for a boy aged 8–14 who is deaf, black, and proficient in American Sign Language or Black American Sign Language; Deaf West Theatre confirmed this was for the character of Sam, who will appear in two episodes filmed in March and April. In June, Druckmann announced Baker and Ashley Johnson would star in the series; their character names were revealed in December. Lamar Johnson and Woodard's casting as Henry and Sam was announced in August, alongside the official announcement of Greene and Miles as Marlon and Florence. Lynskey's casting as Kathleen was announced alongside the teaser trailer in September, while Shepherd's casting was revealed in the first trailer in December. Wesley's role as Maria was announced on January 9.
Writing
A post-apocalyptic drama and thriller, the series was written by Mazin and Druckmann. Druckmann was convinced Mazin was the ideal creative partner for the series after witnessing his passion for the game's story; Druckmann referred to Mazin as the story's "co-parent". Mazin said the series may represent a paradigm shift for film and television adaptations of video games due to the strength of the narrative, noting "it would only take [HBO executives] 20 minutes on Google to realize The Last of Us is the Lawrence of Arabia of video game narratives".
Druckmann felt the most important element of adapting the game was to "keep the soul", particularly the character relationships, whereas the gameplay and action sequences were of minimal importance. Mazin said the changes were "designed to fill things out and expand, not to undo, but rather to enhance". He said the series would avoid episodic storylines, such as random encounters not present in the original story. Content cut from the game would be added to the show, including one "jaw-drop" moment Druckmann described to him. Druckmann said some scripts borrow dialogue directly from the game, while others deviate; some of the game's action-heavy sequences were changed to focus on character drama at the encouragement of HBO. Druckmann said the series was taking the opposite approach to adaptation than the film Uncharted (2022); while Uncharted tells a new story with moments from the games to give "an Uncharted flavor", The Last of Us is a closer adaptation, allowing alterations such as changing character perspectives in a manner unachievable in an immersive game. Unlike creating the games, Druckmann felt he was able to "unplug" from the characters when writing the show due to the immersive nature of video games. The writers found the series an opportunity to delve into backstories of characters who the game otherwise ignored, wanting to better understand their motivations.
Druckmann was open to changing any aspects of the games but always wanted a strong reason, ensuring he and Mazin considered the impacts on events later in the narrative. The game's outbreak takes place in 2013, while its post-apocalyptic narrative occurs in 2033; this was changed to 2003 and 2023, as the writers felt the story taking place simultaneously with the show's release was more interesting and real, and did not fundamentally change the story. The writers added the outbreak's origins to the series to ground the narrative; following COVID-19, they recognized audiences are more knowledgeable about viral pandemics than they once were. Borrowing from an approach he had used in writing Chernobyl, Mazin began the series with a segment of a fictional 1960s talk show explaining the origins of a fungal infection, implying humanity knew of the potential risk for some time. For the show, the writers removed spores as the vector through which the infection is spread in the games, replacing it with tendrils that form a unified, interconnected network, inspired by the idea of mycelium. The writers felt the game's gas masks did not translate well into television and spores were not a realistic threat, and found replacing it with an interconnected network increased tension. Visually, the fungal infection was inspired by jellyfish stings after Žbanić sent an image to Mazin during preproduction. The writers avoided making "a zombie show", acknowledging the infected creatures were ultimately a vessel through which the characters are pressured to make interesting decisions and reveal their true selves.
Filming
Supervising location manager Jason Nolan began preparation work for the series in January 2021, leading a 115-person team that found and transformed more than 180 locations. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cast and crew quarantined for two weeks after entering Canada. Ksenia Sereda worked as cinematographer alongside Balagov, Mazin, Druckmann, and Johnson, Eben Bolter with Hoar and Webb, Christine A. Maier with Žbanić, and Nadim Carlsen with Abbasi. Sereda used an Alexa Mini with Cooke Optics S4 lenses; Bolter used the same as he felt it was effective for handheld shots while emulating 35 mm film. The series filmed for 200 days, with around 18–19 days per episode, amounting to 2–3 pages of script per day.
Filming began in Calgary, Alberta, on July 12, a week later than originally scheduled. It moved to High River and Fort Macleod throughout the month—replicating Austin, Texas, for the first episode—before moving to Calgary in August. Balagov's work completed production by August 30, and Hoar's on October 5. Around was spent for a four-day shoot in Downtown Edmonton in October, including at Rice Howard Way and the Alberta Legislature Building. Filming took place in downtown Calgary and Beltline later in October. Druckmann's episode was completed by November 7. In November, production occurred in Canmore, Alberta, replicating Jackson, Wyoming, and at Mount Royal University and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. Žbanić's episode completed production by December 9.
In January 2022, Northland Village Mall in northwest Calgary was decorated for production. Filming took place in Okotoks and Waterton Lakes National Park in February, and Airport Trail in northeast Calgary saw closures for three days in March. Webb's episodes entered production in March 2022 and continued until the end of principal photography in June. Calgary was used to replicate Kansas City, Missouri in March. Production continued in Calgary in April and May, including around the Calgary Courts Centre, Kensington, and Victoria Park. Reshoots for Texas scenes took place in Olds in late May and early June, and High River in June. Production concluded in the early hours of June 11, two days later than originally scheduled; Additional photography took place in Kansas City on October 4.
Music
Santaolalla and David Fleming composed the score for the television series; the former wrote its opening theme. He said Latino viewers "will recognize touches" of his music, and drew on his experiences in film and television, having composed the themes and some tracks for Jane the Virgin (2014–2019) and Making a Murderer (2015–2018). He primarily recrafted his previous work instead of creating new music, focusing on elements he found interesting. Fleming's work was inspired by real-world sounds within a decayed civilization. A 66-track soundtrack album for the series was released digitally on February 27.
The first episode uses songs like "Tomorrow" by Avril Lavigne and "White Flag" by Dido to foreshadow Sarah's fate and Joel's character arc. Its final scene and credits feature the song "Never Let Me Down Again" by Depeche Mode, which Mazin chose due to its blend of upbeat sounds and dark lyrics; the song returned in the sixth episode, performed by Mazin's daughter Jessica, to demonstrate Ellie feeling let down by Joel. The third episode uses "Long, Long Time" by Linda Ronstadt, which exhibits themes of unfulfilled love and how time heals wounds, echoing Bill and Frank's relationship. Streams of the song increased significantly following the episode's broadcast; several outlets compared it to the 2022 resurgence of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" after its use in the fourth season of Stranger Things.
The fourth episode's title references the lyrics of "Alone and Forsaken" by Hank Williams, which is used in the episode and original game. The seventh episode features "All or None" by Pearl Jam to represent Ellie's loneliness and uncomfortability, reuses Etta James's version of "I Got You Babe" from The Last of Us: Left Behind as its romantic lyrics hidden by joyous music mirrored the feelings of Ellie and Riley, and uses A-ha's "Take On Me" to reflect their feelings towards each other and illustrate Ellie's journey; a cover version of "Take On Me" was used in a trailer for the series, and Ellie performs the song in The Last of Us Part II.
Design
The production team included five art directors and hundreds of technicians. The game's art director, concept artists, and environment artists provided feedback on costumes and sets. Costume designer Cynthia Ann Summers found the series more difficult than outfit-focused media like fantasy or period pieces as the costumes had to be integral to the story without standing out. She ensured Joel's outfits demonstrated a lack of consideration, as he would place little thought into his appearance; Mazin demanded specific colours. Summers required around 30 duplicates of each outfit to account for elements like blood and dirt progression, stunt doubles, and reserves. The breakdown department, responsible for disfiguring outfits as required by the story, was led by Sage Lovett. At the request of Mazin, Summers and her team focused on minor details relevant to an apocalyptic setting, like shoelaces replacing belts. Pascal and Ramsey were happy to wear regular outfits as they had both worked on science-fiction and period pieces.
Production designer John Paino referenced the video game but focused on references used by Naughty Dog during development. He created an image collage which included a photograph of reassembled chairs, which Mazin considered the show's mandate: "the built world is unbuilt and rebuilt". Paino found several Canadian towns had similarities to American architecture, particularly Texas. He was unable to locate empty and abandoned buildings or location imitating Boston's brick-lined streets for the first two episodes, requiring manual transformation and constructions. Paino and his team constructed the Boston quarantine zone near Stampede Park over several months for the first episode, the town of Lincoln in around six to twelve weeks for the third, and the Kansas City cul-de-sac in nine weeks for the fifth.
Barrie and Sarah Gower, with whom Mazin had worked on Chernobyl, were engaged to create the prosthetics for the infected. Barrie Gower appreciated the series avoided "stereotypical zombies—the pronounced cheekbones, sunken eyes, lots of blood and gore". The production team created a large reference library for "fuzz, slime mold, shelf mushrooms, button mushrooms, different textures and colors". Mazin wanted the clickers to resemble the in-game design through prosthetics; he felt using visual effects would have lessened their impact. Their team found themselves continually referring to the original concept art from the game. For the approximately 70 actors portraying the infected mob in the fifth episode, 70 artists applied prosthetics to about 30 people in each three-hour shift. The 40 kg bloater suit was coated in an gel-like liquid during filming to appear wet and reflective. Paul Becker and Terry Notary choreographed the series. Notary wanted the creatures' movements to imitate each other, akin to schools of fish; for the fifth episode, he set up a boot camp to prepare the actors for the role.
Post-production
The series was edited by Timothy A. Good and Emily Mendez; Mark Hartzell edited the second episode, and Cindy Mollo edited the eighth. After Mazin worked on Chernobyl, Good expressed interest in collaborating; the two had been friends for some time. A different editor was employed for The Last of Us but departed due to scheduling conflicts; Good joined the series after finishing work on the third season of The Umbrella Academy. Mendez worked on the third episode as Good's assistant editor; he showed her work to Mazin, and they agreed for Mendez to co-edit the seventh episode as it adapted Left Behind, her favorite part of the games. She continued as Good's co-editor for the fifth, sixth, and ninth episodes. Good chose not to play the game and let the dailies instruct his emotional instincts; Mendez and Mazin gave him details when necessary. Mendez was tasked with the temporary sound design, using her own library and sound effects from the game. Good used Santaolalla's soundtrack from the game as the temp score during editing and found it influenced his decisions.
Sixteen visual effects teams worked on the series, supervised by Alex Wang. The season averaged around 250 visual effects shots per episode. The 650-person team at DNEG worked on 535 shots for the series over 18 months, primarily focusing on environmental effects, including the scenes set in Boston, Kansas City, Jackson, and Salt Lake City; field trips were conducted to gather resources, and the team regularly referenced the video games. The visual effects teams consulted with Naughty Dog's concept artists when creating the infected, and used timelapse videos of Cordyceps growth as animation references. All studios worked on the fifth episode's action sequence; the episode had around 350 to 400 visual effects shots. Wētā FX created the infected effects; 50 to 70 creatures were digitally added to the horde. Design studio Elastic created the show's title sequence to demonstrate the "unrelenting nature" of the fungus; creative directors Andy Hall and Nadia Tzuo researched fungi to ensure an accurate depiction and movement. They pitched several ideas to Mazin and Druckmann before settling on the realistic depiction; Mazin enjoyed the idea of the fungus appearing beautiful despite its destructive nature.
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Last of Us has an approval rating of 96% based on 390 reviews, with an average rating of 8.75/10. 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 bingeworthy TV that ranks among the all-time greatest video game adaptations." Metacritic calculated an average of 84 out of 100 based on 42 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Several reviewers considered it the best adaptation of a video game, with GameSpots Mark Delaney saying it "feels like the beginning of a new era" for the genre.
Reviewers praised the differences from the original game's narrative implemented by Mazin and Druckmann, and some believed the scenes lifted directly from the game were among the weakest and led to issues with pacing. Varietys Daniel D'Addario felt the show relied too heavily on action sequences, while TechRadars Axel Metz wanted more action. IGNs Simon Cardy wrote the series "often shines brightest" during its quietest moments. Critics overwhelmingly considered the third episode the season's best, and some named it among the greatest episodes of television overall. The Hollywood Reporters Daniel Fienberg felt it elevated the series to a new level, and Empires John Nugent called it "moving, surprisingly romantic, and one of the finest hours of television in recent memory". Some critics found the first episode well-made but too familiar, and /Films Valerie Ettenhofer considered it the season's weakest. RogerEbert.coms Brian Tallerico found the final two episodes rushed.
Several critics lauded the production design. Digital Spys David Opie wrote "every set feels like it was ripped straight out of the game". Conversely, Slant Magazines Pat Brown felt environments appeared too manicured and carefully placed. Inverses Dais Johnston praised the use of lighting to highlight the humanity of both the characters and creatures, and called the cinematography "something other video game adaptations could only dream of". TV Guides Keith Phipps called the series "visually striking", and IGNs Cardy wrote it "is often a sight to behold". Santaolalla's score received praise, with CNETs Sean Keane feeling it added "a yearning of sadness to the narrative".
The cast's performances received widespread acclaim, with critics singling out the chemistry between Pascal and Ramsey for praise. Evening Standards Vicky Jessop said the two "steal every scene they're in", while Rolling Stones Alan Sepinwall called them "compulsively watchable and almost instantly endearing". Empires Nugent and /Films Ettenhofer referred to Pascal's performance as the best of his career, citing his ability to portray nuance and rare vulnerability. TechRadars Metz described him as the "perfect real-world manifestation" of Joel. Several critics found Ramsey gave the show's breakout performance for her balance of comedy and emotion, with Times Judy Berman calling her "the show's greatest asset" and IGNs Cardy applauding her for "making her mark" on Ellie, a character already considered iconic long before Ramsey's portrayal. Some critics considered the seventh episode Ramsey's strongest.
Guest performances throughout the season were highly praised. For the premiere, Rolling Stones Sepinwall lauded Parker for "holding the screen" and establishing Sarah as likeable, and Push Squares Aaron Bayne wrote Luna flawlessly "slips into the role" with little screen time. Den of Geeks Bernard Boo found Torv in the second episode sophisticated and heartbreaking. Offerman and Bartlett's performances were described by Complexs William Goodman as "career-best" and by Inverses Johnston as Emmy-worthy. Lynskey's performance in the fourth and fifth episodes was praised for juxtaposing humanity and viciousness. For the fifth episode, IGNs Cardy lauded Johnson's emotional performance in his final scene, and Total Films Bradley Russell felt the naivety of Woodard's role intensified the narrative. Critics enjoyed Pascal and Luna's chemistry in the sixth episode, and Ramsey and Reid's in the seventh; Bleeding Cools Tom Chang called the latter two "award-worthy", and Push Squares Bayne felt Reid effectively captured Riley's sense of "youthful pride". The A.V. Clubs David Cote called Shepherd's performance "masterful in its wry, understated charm".
Ratings
The premiere episode had 4.7 million viewers in the United States on its first night of availability, including linear viewers and streams on HBO Max, making it the second-largest debut for HBO since 2010, behind House of the Dragon. It was streamed for a total of 223 million minutes in its first three hours. The total viewing figure increased to over 10 million viewers after two days, 18 million after a week, and 22 million within twelve days. In Latin America, the series premiere was the biggest HBO Max debut ever. The second episode had 5.7 million viewers on its first night, an increase of 22 percent from the previous week, the largest second-week audience growth for an original HBO drama series in the network's history.
From January 16 to 22, the series was streamed for 837 million minutes, ranking sixth for the week and outpacing House of the Dragons first two episodes in the same interval; it maintained its sixth position with 877 million the following week. By January 31, the first two episodes averaged 21.3 million viewers. The third episode had 6.4 million viewers on its first night, a 12 percent increase. The series was streamed for 1.19 billion minutes from January 30 to February 5, ranking fourth for the week, and 1.1 billion minutes the following week, ranking third. The fourth episode had 7.5 million viewers, a 17 percent weekly increase and 60 percent increase from the first episode. By March 6, the first five episodes averaged almost 30 million viewers across linear viewers and streams. HBO did not release same-day viewership figures for the fifth, sixth, and seventh episodes. The eighth had 8.1 million viewers, a 74 percent increase from the first.
Commercial impact
In the United Kingdom, the video games increased their sales following the premiere: The Last of Us Remastered by 337 percent over the previous week and The Last of Us Part I by 305 percent, with both reentering the charts as a result. The following week, Part I saw another 32 percent increase at retail, and Remastered 27 percent. In the United States, Part I reentered the January charts at 11th, climbing 25 positions from the previous month.
