THE LAST OF US Scores A Second Season From HBO
HBO is renewing hit series The Last Of Us for a second season, the broadcaster announced on Friday. The show takes its cues from the critically acclaimed video game of the same name developed by Naughty Dog, and is currently out with two episodes garnering major approval from fans and critics in the last few weeks.
Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann are the writers and executive producers on the show starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the respective roles of Joel and 14-year old Ellie, the survivors of a monstrous fungal pandemic that turns its victims into hosts for an incurable disease that transforms them into parasitic monsters. Twenty years after tragically losing his daughter in the fallout, once again Joel must take on a renewed role this time as Ellie’s protector when he learns of her weeks-old false-positive infection, which could lead to a possible cure.
According to the network, The Last Of Us marks HBO’s second largest debut, behind only House of the Dragon with the first episode surpassing 22 million viewers domestically, up nearly 5x from its premiere night audience. The second episode “tallied 5.7 million viewers across HBO Max and linear telecasts in the U.S. Sunday night, based on Nielsen and first party data, adding more than 1 million new viewers vs. the series premiere.” The numbers indicate this as a “22% jump” making it “the largest week two audience growth for any HBO Original Drama Series in the history of the network.” The success has also spread to the prolific chatter on social media as well as the show’s companion podcast hitting #1 on the Apple Podcast US charts across all genres in two days.
“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, HBO Programming, 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 executive producer Neil Druckmann. “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 executive producer Craig 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.”
The game itself is completely alien to me, but I’ve actually been onto this show since premiere night, and I’m with the fans all the way. Onward and forward to episode three this weekend!
Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO
Native New Yorker. Lover of all things pizza, chocolate, pets, and good friends. Karaoke hero. Left of center. Survivor. Fond supporter of cult, obscure and independent cinema - especially fond of Asian movies and global action cinema. Author of the bi-weekly Hit List. Founder and editor of Film Combat Syndicate. Still, very much, only human.
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