THE LAST OF US Season 2 Trailer (NEW 2025)

THE LAST OF US Season 2 Trailer (NEW 2025)

THE LAST OF US Season 2 Trailer (NEW 2025) Abby, TLOU
© 2024 - Max

Joel and Ellie still have plenty of battles ahead of them in The Last of Us season 2.

On Monday, Jan. 6, HBO announced that the long-awaited second season of the series — based on the 2013 video game of the same name — will premiere in April on Max. The streamer also unveiled a thrilling new teaser, giving fans their first look at some newcomers to the cast and what's more to come.

"It doesn't matter if you have a code like me, there are just some things everyone agrees are just wrong," a voice says in the teaser announcement, which kicks off with a look at Kaitlyn Dever as Abby.

There are still zombies aplenty for Pedro Pascal (Joel) and Bella Ramsey (Ellie) to fight — as Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Maria (Rutina Wesley) continue to defend their settlement in Jackson, Wyoming — but this season, the risks are higher.

Ellie has a love interest in Dina (Isabela Merced) and viewers will also find out the fate of Tommy and Maria's baby, as she was revealed to be pregnant in season 1.

The Last of Us: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey Are Ready for Their Next Big Adventure in Season 2 First Look
Kaitlyn Dever, The Last Of Us Season 2 | April 2025 | Max
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in 'The Last Of Us' season 2. Max/YouTube
Per the official season 2 logline, season 2 takes place five years after the events of season 1 as "Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind."

Along with Dever and Merced, Jeffrey Wright will join the new season as Isaac while Danny Ramirez will appear as Manny. Other newcomers include Young Mazino Jesse, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora and Spencer Lord as Owen.

Catherine O'Hara will also guest star.

Bella Ramsey, The Last Of Us Season 2 | April 2025 | Max
Bella Ramsey in 'The Last Of Us' season 2. Max/YouTube
Filming for season 2 began early last year, and at the 2024 SAG Awards, Pascal, 49, told reporters in the press room that things were "going amazing" right from the get-go.

"It's sort of awe-inspiring, the kind of focus and dedication that everyone has going into season 2," he said. "[Co-creator] Craig Mazin and Bella Ramsey are, for me, this guide and leadership that I’ve not experienced before. So it’s incredible to be back with them."

"Everybody, our entire crew, they’re working harder than I can even imagine, even harder than our first season — which is close to impossible," Pascal, who was fresh off a win for outstanding male actor in a drama series for season 1, added.

The Last of Us Season 2 First Look: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey Appear in New Pics Ahead of Show's Big Return
Pedro Pascal in 'The Last of Us' season 2. Courtesy of HBO
HBO Unveils First Look Footage at New The Last of Us, And Just Like That... Seasons and Next GoT Spinoff: Watch!
Merced, 23, has similarly raved about what's to come in season 2. She teased the "romance" that will unfold between her and Ramsey's characters on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast in August.

"I think it's the romance between the two of us that really... Ugh, it brings a tear to my eye," she said when asked what she's most excited to see play out onscreen. "I have a whole playlist for Dina and Ellie. It's beautiful."

The Last of Us Season 2 First Look: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey Appear in New Pics Ahead of Show's Big Return
Bella Ramsey in 'The Last of Us' season 2. Courtesy of HBO
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Season 2 of The Last of Us premieres in April on HBO.
CES 2025 hit us with a curveball when Naughty Dog Studios' creative director Neal Druckmann unexpectedly stepped onto the Sony press conference stage to drop a brand new trailer for The Last of Us Season 2 — and yeah, it’s as intense as you’d hope.

It's the latest in a few teasers dropped over the last few months. In this one, not only do we get to see our favorite post-apocalyptic duo, Joel and Ellie (Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey), back in action, but we also learned that the new season is set to premiere on Max this April — with the exact date to come.

This time around, Season 2 dives deep into the emotionally charged storyline of The Last of Us Part II, following Ellie’s relentless quest for revenge after a devastating act of violence shakes her world. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, the trailer gives us another haunting glimpse of Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, a character shrouded in mystery but carrying some major emotional baggage — especially when it comes to Joel.

Topics HBO Trailers The Last of Us

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Chance Townsend
Assistant Editor, General Assignments
Currently residing in Chicago, Illinois, Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.
The Last of Us
Season 2
Showrunners
Craig Mazin
Neil Druckmann
Starring
Pedro Pascal
Bella Ramsey
Release
Original network HBO
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 1
List of episodes
The second season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series The Last of Us is set to premiere on HBO in April 2025. Based on the video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog, the series is set twenty years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, which causes its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and collapses society. The second season, based on the 2020 game The Last of Us Part II, follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) five years after the events of the first season, and introduces Abby (Kaitlyn Dever).

HBO renewed The Last of Us for a second season less than two weeks after the series premiere aired in January 2023. Series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann were joined in the writers' room by Halley Gross and Bo Shim; Druckmann wrote and co-directed the video games, and Gross co-wrote Part II. The season was filmed in British Columbia from February to August 2024. Druckmann, Mazin, and Peter Hoar returned as directors, alongside newcomers Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Mark Mylod, and Stephen Williams. The season is expected to span seven episodes.

Cast and characters
For a more comprehensive list, see Characters of The Last of Us (TV series).
41 year-old man smiling at something to the left of the camera.
18 year-old girl talking to something to the left of the camera.
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey portray the lead characters, Joel and Ellie.[1][2]
Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller, a hardened middle-aged survivor.[1][3] Joel is portrayed as more physically vulnerable in the series compared to the game—he is hard of hearing in one ear and his knees ache when he stands.[4]
Bella Ramsey as Ellie, who is immune to the Cordyceps infection.[2][3] Her relationship with Joel has become strained since the first season.[5] Ellie displays defiance and anger but has a private need for kinship and belonging.[2]
Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Joel's younger brother who maintains idealism in hoping for a better world.[6][7] A former Firefly, Tommy gave up on their cause and runs a commune with his wife.[8]
Rutina Wesley as Maria, a co-leader of the survivors in Jackson and Tommy's pregnant wife.[9][10] Formerly an assistant district attorney, Maria is calm and merciful in her decisions.[11][9]
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, a soldier who seeks vengeance for a loved one and subsequently has her worldview challenged.[12]
Young Mazino as Jesse, an important member of his community whose selflessness sometimes comes at a cost.[13]
Isabela Merced as Dina, Ellie's romantic interest and Jesse's ex. She is a freewheeling spirit with a loyalty towards Ellie, which is challenged by the world's brutality.[14]
Danny Ramirez as Manny, a loyal soldier who fears failing his friends. He maintains a jovial attitude despite the pain of his past.[15]
Ariela Barer as Mel, a doctor committed to her role while struggling with the realities of war.[15]
Tati Gabrielle as Nora, a military medic who has difficulty accepting her past behavior.[15]
Spencer Lord as Owen, a gentle person whose physical strength forces him to fight enemies he does not hate.[15]
Catherine O'Hara in an undisclosed guest role.[16] She is set to appear in three episodes alongside Pascal and Ramsey.[17]
Jeffrey Wright as Isaac Dixon, the leader of a militia who faces an ongoing war in their pursuit for liberty. Wright reprises his role from the video game.[18]
Production
Development
Craig Mazin smiling
Neil Druckmann smirking
The television series was created by Craig Mazin (left) and Neil Druckmann (right). Druckmann wrote and co-directed the video games.[19]
HBO renewed The Last of Us for a second season on January 27, 2023, less than two weeks after the premiere of the first season.[20] While the first season covers the events of Naughty Dog's video game The Last of Us (2013) and its downloadable expansion The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014),[21] the second season is set to cover the sequel, The Last of Us Part II (2020). Druckmann and Mazin wanted to avoid filler between the games.[22] Part II is expected to span multiple seasons,[23] and Mazin does not want the series to overtake the games.[24] While writing the first season, Mazin and Druckmann ensured characters remained true to their developments in Part II in case the show received more seasons.[25]

Upon the season's renewal, HBO named the returning executive producers as Mazin, Druckmann, Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Rose Lam.[20] Jacqueline Lesko, who co-executive produced the first season, was named an executive producer in March 2023,[26] followed by Cecil O'Connor, who produced the first season, by February 2024, replacing Lam.[16][27] In January 2024, Druckmann, Mazin, and Peter Hoar were announced as returning directors from the first season, alongside newcomers Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Mark Mylod, and Stephen Williams.[28] In June, Mazin and Druckmann revealed the season would consist of seven episodes, one of which was set to be "quite big" in runtime.[10]

Casting
A 23-year-old woman smiling at the camera
A 20-year-old woman smiling at the camera
Kaitlyn Dever (left) and Isabela Merced (right) were cast as Abby and Dina, respectively, in the second season.[12][14]
Casting for the second season was put on hold in May 2023 due to the Writers Guild of America strike; actors had been auditioning with scenes from The Last of Us Part II due to an absence of scripts.[29] The production team wanted to start the second season's casting with Abby; Mazin suggested and the Los Angeles Times reported the role had been cast before the strike.[30][31][32] According to journalist Jeff Sneider, Dever was in talks to play Abby in November, following the response to her performance in No One Will Save You (2023);[33] her casting was announced on January 9, 2024,[12] followed by Mazino's as Jesse on January 10,[13] and Merced's as Dina on January 11.[14] O'Hara's casting was announced on February 2,[16] followed by Ramirez, Barer, Gabrielle, and Lord's on March 1,[15] and Wright's on May 24.[18]

Writing
A writers' room for the second season was established in Los Angeles by February 2023,[34] with Mazin and Druckmann joined by Halley Gross, who co-wrote Part II with Druckmann, and Bo Shim, a new writer.[35] Druckmann worked with Mazin on the second season's story during the development of The Last of Us Part II Remastered (2024), which he felt provided an opportunity to revisit the narrative's intricacies and analyze story decisions.[36] Scripts were being written by April,[37] with a full season outline mapped,[35] but writing was impacted by the writers' strike in May;[29] Mazin had only written and submitted the first episode about 90 minutes before the strike began,[38] and neither he nor Druckmann worked on the series while the strike was ongoing.[29] Instead, Mazin would mentally outline scenes while taking walks, described as "brain-writing", as he planned to quickly complete scripts after the strike to ensure a smooth production schedule.[35] The second season is set to feature themes of revenge, in contrast to the first season's unconditional love; Druckmann felt it was a "continuation of love from the first season, and this is just the dark side of that coin".[10]

Filming
Film set of a supermarket with the logo "Greenplace Market"
Distant film set with film members on snow
Distant film set of of in-construction building exteriors
Distant film set of of in-construction building exteriors
Film set of broken cars with growing foliage
Film set of an actor walking among broken cars
Filming took place in Kamloops (top) in February 2024,[39][40] Britannia Beach (center) in April,[41] and Downtown Vancouver (bottom) in July and August.[42][43]
The second season was filmed primarily in British Columbia.[37][44] Delayed by the writers' and actors' strikes,[38] principal photography began on February 12, 2024,[45][46] running under the working title Mega Sword.[47] Mazin directed his episode first;[48] the first day of production involved Ramsey and Merced.[49] A building in Kamloops was dressed to replicate the in-game Greenplace Market in February.[39][40] Production took place in Calgary, Alberta—where the first season was partly filmed—on March 5–6,[50][51] before moving to Mission, Fort Langley, and Langley, expected to replicate parts of Jackson, Wyoming.[51][52][53] Mazin's episode neared completion by March 12.[48][54] Production returned to Alberta for ten days from March 18, with filming in Exshaw and along Highway 1A from March 21–24 requiring snow and a 72-hour partial highway closure.[55] HBO denied rumors that Pascal had finished filming for the season in March.[56]

Mylod directed after Mazin in February,[54][57] followed by Herron and Hoar in April,[58][59] Williams and Druckmann in May,[60][61] and Lopez-Corrado in July.[62] Catherine Goldschmidt worked as cinematographer alongside Mylod, Herron, and Lopez-Corrado for episodes 2, 4, and 7,[63][64] and Ksenia Sereda returned to work alongside Druckmann.[65] Several town buildings were constructed in Britannia Beach for production in April.[41] Filming occurred in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside—expected to replicate a post-apocalyptic Seattle as featured in the game—with soldiers and military vehicles on May 4,[66][53] and with Ramsey and Merced on horseback on May 11;[67][68][69] production was planned late, with some businesses given four days' notice.[70]

Preparatory production work began in Nanaimo on April 22, with road closures from April 29.[71][72] Around six minutes of footage was filmed from May 13–14,[73] featuring Ramsey and Merced on horseback, expected to be set around Seattle's Capitol Hill and its fictional Serevena Hotel.[74][75] The horse used in production, named Jazzway, previously featured in the television series The 100 (2014–2020) and film Jurassic World Dominion (2022).[76] Several businesses were closed during filming and compensated by the production,[71] and some surrounding businesses saw an increase in shoppers and online traffic.[77] The crew vacated Nanaimo by May 31,[71][76] and the city was set to be gifted for its involvement in the series.[78] Filming occurred on a private property at Minaty Bay in Britannia Beach across five days—June 5, 7, 12, 13, and July 2—with smoke and flame pyrotechnics present.[79][80] Filming took place in Chinatown, Vancouver on July 8, with Ramsey, Merced, and the fictional Seraphites in a recreation of Seattle.[81][82][83] Druckmann's episode completed production by July 9.[65]

Additional photography took place in Downtown Vancouver in September 2024, featuring a convoy of military vehicles.[84]
Filming returned to Downtown Eastside on July 12, and moved to Stanley Park on July 13 and Downtown Vancouver on July 25.[85][42] A section of Harbour Green Park in Coal Harbour was closed from July 25–27 for production, featuring several abandoned cars and foliage.[42][86] Filming occurred in New Westminster on July 28, at the Orpheum theatre on July 29,[87] and around Cordova and Cambie Streets in Gastown from August 9–13.[43][88] The season's wrap party took place on August 18,[89] and principal photography was set to conclude August 21,[57] several weeks before September 9 as originally scheduled;[90] it finished on August 23.[91] Additional photography took place in Downtown Vancouver—including the exterior of the Guinness Tower and Oceanic Plaza—from September 13–17, featuring a convoy of military vehicles.[84][92][93] The production office closed on September 27.[91]

Post-production
Timothy A. Good and Emily Mendez are set to return as editors for the second season.[89][94]

Release
In December 2023, HBO announced the second season is set to premiere on its television network and streaming service Max in 2025;[95] according to Casey Bloys, the chairman and chief executive officer of HBO and Max, it is expected to air in the first half of the year—sometime between March and June—during the eligibility window for the following Emmy Awards.[96][97] HBO shared the first images of Pascal and Ramsey on May 15, 2024,[98] and the first footage from the season—featuring Dever, Merced, O'Hara, and Wright—on August 4, alongside the finale of House of the Dragon's second season.[99][100] For The Last of Us Day on September 26, HBO released the season's synopsis, posters by Greg Ruth of Joel, Ellie, and Abby, and the first teaser trailer, set to Pearl Jam's "Future Days", which was a pivotal song in Part II.[5][101][102] New footage was released on November 12, alongside The Penguin's finale,[103] and a preview was shown to audiences at a Max showcase in London on December 5.[104] Merced presented Best Adaptation at the Game Awards 2024 on December 12 alongside Shannon Woodward, who portrayed Dina in the game.[105] Druckmann announced the season's April premiere window as part of Sony's Consumer Electronics Show presentation on January 6, 2025, alongside a new trailer.[106]

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"Notice of filming at Minaty Bay". The Squamish Reporter. June 7, 2024. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
"Notification of filming – Bear and Pear Productions between June 5 and 13". Squamish-Lillooet Regional District. June 4, 2024. Archived from the original on July 30, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
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External links
Official website
vte
The Last of Us
Video games
The Last of Us
AccoladesCharactersDevelopmentMusicLeft BehindRemake
The Last of Us Part II
AccoladesCharactersDevelopmentMusic
Television series
Season 1
"When You're Lost in the Darkness""Infected""Long, Long Time""Please Hold to My Hand""Endure and Survive""Kin""Left Behind""When We Are in Need""Look for the Light"
Season 2AccoladesCharactersMusic
Other media
American DreamsEscape the Dark
Characters
AbbyEllieJoel
Category
Categories: The Last of Us (TV series)Television series set in 2023Television shows affected by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikeTelevision shows filmed in British ColumbiaTelevision shows filmed in VancouverTelevision shows set in SeattleTelevision shows set in WyomingUpcoming television seasons
The Last of Us

Genre
Post-apocalyptic
Drama
Thriller
Created by
Craig Mazin
Neil Druckmann
Based on The Last of Us
by Naughty Dog[a]
Showrunners
Craig Mazin
Neil Druckmann
Written by
Craig Mazin
Neil Druckmann
Starring
Pedro Pascal
Bella Ramsey
Theme music composer Gustavo Santaolalla
Composers
Gustavo Santaolalla
David Fleming
Country of origin United States
Original language English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 9
Production
Executive producers
Craig Mazin
Neil Druckmann
Carolyn Strauss
Rose Lam
Evan Wells
Carter Swan
Asad Qizilbash
Jacqueline Lesko
Cecil O'Connor
Producers
Greg Spence
Cecil O'Connor
Production location Canada
Cinematography
Ksenia Sereda
Eben Bolter
Christine A. Maier
Nadim Carlsen
Catherine Goldschmidt
Editors
Timothy A. Good
Mark Hartzell
Emily Mendez
Cindy Mollo
Running time 43–81 minutes
Production companies
The Mighty Mint
Word Games
PlayStation Productions
Naughty Dog
Sony Pictures Television Studios
Original release
Network HBO
Release January 15, 2023 –
present
The Last of Us is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO. Based on the video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog, the series is set twenty years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, which causes its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and causes the collapse of society. The first season, based on 2013's The Last of Us, follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler tasked with escorting immune teenager Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic United States. The second season, expected to partly adapt 2020's The Last of Us Part II, is set five years later and introduces Abby (Kaitlyn Dever).

Guest stars include Nico Parker as Joel's daughter Sarah, Merle Dandridge as resistance leader Marlene, Anna Torv as Joel's partner Tess, Gabriel Luna as Joel's brother Tommy, Lamar Johnson and Keivonn Montreal Woodard as brothers Henry and Sam, and Melanie Lynskey and Jeffrey Pierce as resistance leader Kathleen and her second-in-command Perry. The second season is set to introduce Isabela Merced as Ellie's romantic interest Dina and Young Mazino as Dina's ex Jesse.

The first season was filmed in Alberta from July 2021 to June 2022, while the second season was filmed in British Columbia from February to August 2024. 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 games, assisted Mazin with scriptwriting for the first season's nine episodes, joined by Halley Gross, who co-wrote the second game, and Bo Shim for the second season's seven episodes. The score was composed by Gustavo Santaolalla, who composed for the games, and David Fleming.

The Last of Us premiered on January 15, 2023. It received acclaim from critics, who praised the performances, writing, production design, and score; several called it the best adaptation of a video game. It won several awards, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards out of 24 nominations. Across linear channels and HBO Max, the series premiere was watched by almost 40 million viewers within two months; the series averaged almost 32 million viewers per episode by May, and it became HBO's most watched debut season. The second season is set to premiere in April 2025, and a third season is in development.

Cast and characters
For a more comprehensive list, see Characters of The Last of Us (TV series).
Main
41 year-old man smiling at something to the left of the camera.
18 year-old girl talking to something to the left of the camera.
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey portray the lead characters, Joel and Ellie.[5][6]
Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller, a hardened middle-aged survivor who is tormented by the trauma of his past.[5][7] Joel is tasked with smuggling a young girl, Ellie, out of a quarantine zone and across the United States.[5] Joel is portrayed as more physically vulnerable in the series compared to the game—he is hard of hearing in one ear and his knees ache when he stands.[8]
Bella Ramsey as Ellie, a teenage girl who displays defiance and anger but has a private need for kinship and belonging.[6] She is strong-willed but playful, bonding easily with children, and has a fondness for puns.[9][10][11] She is immune to the Cordyceps infection and may be the key to creating a vaccine.[6] In the second season, her relationship with Joel has become strained.[12]
Guest
Nico Parker as Sarah, Joel's 14-year-old daughter.[13][14] She cares for her father, playfully teasing him over his behavior and attitude.[15]
John Hannah as Dr. Neuman, an epidemiologist who issues a warning about the threat of fungi during a talk show in 1968.[16]
Merle Dandridge as Marlene, the head of the Fireflies, a resistance movement hoping to gain freedom from the military. Dandridge reprises her role from the video games.[17]
Christopher Heyerdahl as Dr. Schoenheiss, an epidemiologist on the 1968 talk show who is skeptical of Neuman's warning.[18]
Brendan Fletcher as Robert, a thug and black market arms dealer in the Boston Quarantine Zone.[19] Robert fears Joel's retribution against his actions.[20]
Anna Torv as Tess, a hardened survivor and Joel's partner.[21] Tess is respected in the Boston Quarantine Zone, largely out of fear. She is protective of Ellie during their escort mission.[22]
Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Joel's younger brother and who maintains idealism in hoping for a better world.[23] A former Firefly, Tommy gave up on their cause and runs a commune with his wife.[24]
Christine Hakim as Ratna Pertiwi, a mycology professor who advises the Indonesian government to bomb Jakarta to slow the spread of the infection,[25] for which she feels hopeless.[26][27]
Nick Offerman as Bill, a misanthropic survivalist.[28] Bill's paranoia and distrust of the government left him prepared for the pandemic, protected in an underground bunker.[29]
Murray Bartlett as Frank, a survivalist living in an isolated town with Bill.[30] Frank is friendlier and more trusting than Bill, forming a close bond with Tess and Joel.[31]
Lamar Johnson as Henry Burrell, who is hiding from a revolutionary movement in Kansas City.[32] Henry is hurt by his own actions but ultimately does them to protect his younger brother Sam.[33]
Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen Coghlan, the leader of a revolutionary movement in Kansas City.[34] Kathleen is soft-spoken and outwardly sweet but an intelligent and often ruthless leader.[35][36]
Keivonn Montreal Woodard as Sam, a deaf, artistic eight-year-old child who is hiding with his brother Henry.[32][37][38] Sam was diagnosed with leukemia at a young age.[39]
Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, a revolutionary rebel in a quarantine zone and former military member, who is Kathleen's second-in-command.[30][40][41] Pierce portrayed Tommy in the video games.[30]
John Getz as Edelstein, a Kansas City doctor who protects Henry and Sam from Kathleen and the rebels.[42][43]
Rutina Wesley as Maria, a co-leader of the survivors in Jackson and Tommy's pregnant wife.[44][45] Formerly an assistant district attorney, Maria is calm and merciful in her decisions.[46][44]
Graham Greene as Marlon, a Native American hunter who has lived with his wife Florence in the wilderness of Wyoming since before the pandemic.[32][47] Marlon is resourceful and untrusting of strangers.[47]
Elaine Miles as Florence, who lives with her husband Marlon.[32] Florence is calm and humorous. Unlike Marlon, she did not want to isolate in the wilderness.[47]
Storm Reid as Riley Abel, an orphaned girl who is Ellie's best friend at military school in post-apocalyptic Boston.[48][49] Riley ran away from military school to join the Fireflies, considering the former to be fascists.[50]
Scott Shepherd as David, a preacher who leads a struggling community.[51] David is calm and acts as a caring leader,[52] but is manipulative and abusive.[53] He claims to have found God after the outbreak and views the virus as a form of divine justice.[53]
Troy Baker as James, David's aide.[54] James lacks faith in David but wants to be considered his equal, feeling threatened when Ellie's capabilities threaten to usurp his position.[51] Baker previously portrayed Joel in the video games.[55]
Ashley Johnson as Anna, Ellie's mother.[56] Anna is resourceful, killing an infected while giving birth. She is close with Marlene; upon giving birth to Ellie, she tasks Marlene with caring for Ellie after she becomes infected.[56] Johnson previously portrayed Ellie in the video games.[55]
Season 2
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, a soldier who seeks vengeance for a loved one and subsequently has her worldview challenged.[57]
Young Mazino as Jesse, an important member of his community whose selflessness sometimes comes at a cost.[58]
Isabela Merced as Dina, Ellie's romantic interest and Jesse's ex. She is a freewheeling spirit with a loyalty towards Ellie, which is challenged by the world's brutality.[59]
Danny Ramirez as Manny, a loyal soldier who fears failing his friends. He maintains a jovial attitude despite the pain of his past.[60]
Ariela Barer as Mel, a doctor committed to her role while struggling with the realities of war.[60]
Tati Gabrielle as Nora, a military medic who has difficulty accepting her past behavior.[60]
Spencer Lord as Owen, a gentle person whose physical strength forces him to fight enemies he does not hate.[60]
Catherine O'Hara in an undisclosed guest role[61]
Jeffrey Wright as Isaac Dixon, the leader of a militia who faces an ongoing war in their pursuit for liberty. Wright reprises his role from the video game.[62]
Episodes
Season 1 (2023)
Main article: The Last of Us season 1
No. Title Directed by Written by Original release date U.S. viewers
(millions)
1 "When You're Lost in the Darkness" Craig Mazin Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann January 15, 2023 0.588[63]
2 "Infected" Neil Druckmann Craig Mazin January 22, 2023 0.633[64]
3 "Long, Long Time" Peter Hoar Craig Mazin January 29, 2023 0.747[65]
4 "Please Hold to My Hand" Jeremy Webb Craig Mazin February 5, 2023 0.991[66]
5 "Endure and Survive" Jeremy Webb Craig Mazin February 12, 2023[b] 0.382[68]
6 "Kin" Jasmila Žbanić Craig Mazin February 19, 2023 0.841[69]
7 "Left Behind" Liza Johnson Neil Druckmann February 26, 2023 1.083[70]
8 "When We Are in Need" Ali Abbasi Craig Mazin March 5, 2023 1.039[71]
9 "Look for the Light" Ali Abbasi Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann March 12, 2023 1.040[72]
Season 2
Main article: The Last of Us season 2
Production
Development
A 51 year-old man with a grey beard smiling to the left of the camera.
44 year-old man with short black hair and a beard smirking to the left of the camera.
The Last of Us was created by Craig Mazin (left) and Neil Druckmann (right). Druckmann wrote and co-directed the video game.[73]
A film adaptation of Naughty Dog's 2013 video game The Last of Us was announced in 2014, to be written by original writer and creative director Neil Druckmann;[74] it entered development hell by 2016,[75] and the rights had relinquished by 2019,[76] when Druckmann met Craig Mazin.[76] They agreed The Last of Us required a television series' length and pacing.[77] HBO announced the series was in planning stages in March 2020, written by Mazin and Druckmann, also serving as executive producers with Carolyn Strauss and Evan Wells.[73] It is PlayStation Productions's first show,[73][78] announced as a joint production with Sony Pictures Television and Naughty Dog.[79] HBO greenlit the series in November, adding executive producers Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan and production company Word Games,[79] followed by production company the Mighty Mint in January 2021[80] and executive producer Rose Lam in February.[23] Produced by Greg Spence and Cecil O'Connor,[81] the first season's ten-episode count was reduced to nine during production.[82][83]

On January 27, 2023, less than two weeks after the premiere, HBO renewed the series for a second season.[84] While the first season covers the events of the first game and its downloadable expansion The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014),[85] the second is set to immediately cover the sequel, The Last of Us Part II (2020), to avoid filler.[86] Part II is expected to span multiple seasons; Mazin confirmed plans for a "significantly larger" third season if the second is successful, and suspected the story may require a fourth.[87] The series' narrative is not set to overtake the games.[87] Jacqueline Lesko was named an executive producer in March 2023,[88] and O'Connor by February 2024.[61] In January 2024, Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Mark Mylod, and Stephen Williams were announced as directors for the second season alongside Druckmann, Hoar, and Mazin.[89] In June, Mazin and Druckmann revealed the season would consist of seven episodes.[87]

The Last of Us is the largest television production to be filmed in Alberta[90] and possibly the largest in Canadian history,[91][92][93] generating CA$182 million for Alberta and creating 1,490 jobs.[94] According to Canadian artists union IATSE 212, the production led to a 30 percent increase in union membership and employment.[95] The first season's budget of over CA$100 million—more than $10 million per episode[93][96]—exceeded that of each of Game of Thrones's first five seasons.[8] The budget is set to increase for the second season.[97]

Casting
Two men with dark hair, both wearing thick jackets, embracing each other
Pedro Pascal and Gabriel Luna filming the first season in Canmore in November 2021
Film set of an actor walking among broken cars
Bella Ramsey filming the second season in Downtown Vancouver in August 2024
Casting took place virtually through Zoom due to the pandemic.[98] Casting director Victoria Thomas wanted to honor the game without being limited by it.[99] On February 10, 2021, Pascal and Ramsey were cast as Joel and Ellie.[5][6] The producers sought actors who could embody Joel and Ellie individually and imitate their relationship.[100]: 14:42  Though both were 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 production.[101]

Mazin and Thomas sought high-profile guest stars; Thomas said many of the actors "don't usually do one-episode guest spots".[102] Guest roles were announced throughout 2021: Luna in April,[103] Dandridge in May,[17] Parker in June,[13] Pierce, Bartlett, and Torv in July,[30][21] and Offerman in December.[28] This was followed by Reid in January 2022,[48] Baker and Ashley Johnson in June,[55] Lamar Johnson, Woodard, Greene, and Miles in August,[32] Lynskey in September,[34] Shepherd in December,[104] and Wesley in January 2023.[45]

Casting for the second season was put on hold in May 2023 due to the Writers Guild of America strike; actors had been auditioning with scenes from The Last of Us Part II due to an absence of scripts.[105] The production team wanted to start the second season's casting with Abby.[97][106] Dever, Mazino, and Merced's casting was announced in January 2024,[57][58][59] followed by O'Hara's in February,[61] Ramirez, Barer, Gabrielle, and Lord's in March,[60] and Wright's in May.[62]

Writing

Halley Gross, who co-wrote The Last of Us Part II, joined the writers' room for the second season.[4]
A post-apocalyptic drama and thriller,[107][108][109] the series is written by Mazin and Druckmann;[73] Mazin wrote all first-season episodes except the premiere and finale, which he co-wrote with Druckmann, and the seventh episode, written by Druckmann.[110] A writers' room was established for the second season,[111] with Mazin and Druckmann joined by Halley Gross, who co-wrote Part II with Druckmann, and Bo Shim, a new writer.[4] Druckmann was convinced Mazin was the ideal creative partner for the series after witnessing his passion for the game's story.[86] The writers avoided making "a zombie show",[112] acknowledging the infected creatures were a vessel through which characters are pressured to make interesting decisions and reveal their true selves.[98] Content cut from the game was added to the show.[113] 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.[114] Mazin compared the process to adapting a novel, with identical emotional beats despite different narrative events.[115]

Druckmann felt the most important element of adapting the game was to "keep the soul", particularly character relationships, whereas gameplay and action sequences were of minimal importance.[116] He was open to changing aspects of the games but wanted a strong reason,[117] ensuring he and Mazin considered impacts on later narrative events.[85] The game's outbreak takes place in 2013 with its post-apocalyptic narrative in 2033; this was changed to 2003 and 2023 as the writers felt the events taking place simultaneously with broadcast was more interesting and did not fundamentally change the story.[118][119] They added the outbreak's origins to ground the narrative; following COVID-19, they recognized audiences are more knowledgeable about viral pandemics.[112] The writers removed spores—the vector through which infection is spread in the games—and replaced it with tendrils forming a unified network, inspired by the idea of mycelium.[112] The writers found the series an opportunity to delve into backstories of characters who the game otherwise ignored, wanting to better understand their motivations.[120]

Filming
A street with dirty, damaged cars and broken concrete, behind an orange and black "Road Closed" sign
A tall wooden gate covered in snow, with a traffic controller in midground and crane with crew members in background
Season 1 was filmed in Alberta from July 2021 to June 2022.[121]
The first season filmed for 200 days, with around 18–19 days per episode, amounting to 2–3 pages of script per day.[76] Filming began in Calgary, Alberta, on July 12, 2021.[121][122] It moved to High River and Fort Macleod in July,[123][124] and Calgary in August.[125] Around CA$372,000 was spent for a four-day shoot in Downtown Edmonton in October.[126] Filming moved to Calgary in October and November,[127][128] and Canmore in November.[129] Production took place in Okotoks and Waterton Lakes National Park in February 2022,[130][131] Calgary from March to May,[132][133][134] Olds in May and June,[135] and High River in June.[136] Production concluded on June 11,[137][138] followed by additional photography in Kansas City in October.[139]

Distant film set with film members on snow
Film set of broken cars with growing foliage
Season 2 filmed in British Columbia from February to August 2024.[140]
The second season was filmed in British Columbia under the working title Mega Sword.[141][142][143] Delayed by the writers' and actors' strikes,[144] production began on February 12, 2024,[140][145] with filming taking place in Kamloops, Mission, Fort Langley, and Langley.[146][147][148] Production returned to Calgary in March, including in Exshaw and along Highway 1A,[149] and moved to Britannia Beach in April, June, and July,[150][151] Downtown Eastside and Nanaimo in May,[152][153] Chinatown, Downtown Vancouver, and New Westminster in July,[154][155][156] and Gastown in August.[157] Production concluded on August 23,[158] followed by additional photography in Downtown Vancouver in September.[159]

According to Production Bulletin, the third season is expected to begin filming in Vancouver in mid-2025.[160]

Music
Main article: Music of The Last of Us (TV series)

Gustavo Santaolalla, who worked on the video games, composed the score for the television series.[161]
Gustavo Santaolalla and David Fleming composed the score for the television series;[161][162] Santaolalla, who worked on the video games, wrote its opening theme.[163] He said Latino viewers "will recognize touches" of his music,[164] 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).[164] He primarily recrafted his previous work instead of creating new music, focusing on elements he found interesting.[165] Fleming's work was inspired by r