Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
As the Hollywood Machine chugs along we are getting an increasingly insane amount of Video Game adaptions....and they all mostly suck. Let's talk about it.
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. It follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), who travel across the United States in the first season, based on 2013's The Last of Us. In the second season, based on 2020's The Last of Us Part II, they have settled in Jackson, Wyoming, with Joel's brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Ellie's friends Dina (Isabela Merced) and Jesse (Young Mazino).
Guest stars include Rutina Wesley as Tommy's wife Maria, while the first season features Nico Parker as Joel's daughter Sarah, Merle Dandridge as resistance leader Marlene, Anna Torv as Joel's partner Tess, 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 introduces Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, who seeks revenge against Joel, and Spencer Lord, Tati Gabrielle, Ariela Barer, and Danny Ramirez as her friends Owen, Nora, Mel, and Manny, respectively.
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. One of the most expensive television series, it 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, direction, 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 premiered on April 13, 2025, and a third season is in development.
As the Hollywood Machine chugs along we are getting an increasingly insane amount of Video Game adaptions....and they all mostly suck. Let's talk about it.
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. It follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), who travel across the United States in the first season, based on 2013's The Last of Us. In the second season, based on 2020's The Last of Us Part II, they have settled in Jackson, Wyoming, with Joel's brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Ellie's friends Dina (Isabela Merced) and Jesse (Young Mazino).
Guest stars include Rutina Wesley as Tommy's wife Maria, while the first season features Nico Parker as Joel's daughter Sarah, Merle Dandridge as resistance leader Marlene, Anna Torv as Joel's partner Tess, 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 introduces Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, who seeks revenge against Joel, and Spencer Lord, Tati Gabrielle, Ariela Barer, and Danny Ramirez as her friends Owen, Nora, Mel, and Manny, respectively.
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. One of the most expensive television series, it 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, direction, 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 premiered on April 13, 2025, and a third season is in development.
