Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey lead the video game adaptation, which has earned an early pickup.
The Last of Us has more battles to fight. The HBO drama, adapted from the popular 2013 Naughty Dog video games, has been renewed for a second season, it was announced Friday.
From executive producers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the latter of whom co-created the video game, 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 both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
According to HBO, the series marks its second-highest series debut behind Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, crossing 22 million viewers.
“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,” said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President of HBO Programming and 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.”
“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,” said Druckmann. “Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season 2! 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 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."
Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Melanie Lynskey, Storm Reid, Merle Dandridge, Jeffrey Pierce, Lamar Johnson, Keivonn Woodard, Graham Greene and Elaine Miles round out the ensemble, alongside original video game voice actors Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker.
While the nine-episode first season of The Last of Us follows the narrative of the first game, ET spoke with Mazin about continuing to dive deeper into this world for future seasons to come. A sequel game, 2020's The Last of Us Part II, and additional downloadable content followed.
"We have definitely talked about seasons to come," he revealed. "I think everybody at HBO is excited about keeping it going, we want to keep it going. So as long as the audience is there and the desire's there for more, we're ready to go."
The Last of Us drops new episodes Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
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