News

HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Renewed for a Second Season

The HBO drama “The Last of Us” has been renewed for a second season.

The series from co-creators Craig Mazin (Emmy Award-winning creator of HBO’s “Chernobyl”) and Neil Druckmann (creator and writer of the award-winning “The Last of Us” franchise and Naughty Dog Co-President) had HBO’s second-largest debut, behind only “House of the Dragon.” Episode one has surpassed 22 million viewers domestically, up nearly five times from its premiere night audience.
 
Episode two of the series tallied 5.7 million viewers across HBO Max and linear telecasts in the United States Jan. 22, based on Nielsen and first-party data, adding more than 1 million new viewers versus the series premiere. This 22% jump marks the largest week two audience growth for any HBO Original Drama Series in the history of the network.
 
“The Last of Us” was also a hit on social media, according to HBO, with the series trending No. 1 both in the United States and worldwide on Twitter during its series debut. To date, season one teasers and trailers have amassed more than 100 million views globally, according to HBO. Additionally, the first episode of the series’ companion podcast hit No. 1 on the Apple Podcast U.S. charts across all genres within 48 hours of its release.
 
“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,’” Francesca Orsi, EVP, HBO programming, head of HBO drama series and films, said in a statement. “After pulling off this unforgettable first season, I can’t wait to watch this team outshine themselves again with season two.”
 
Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter!

“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 and crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations,” executive producer Druckmann said in a statement. “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 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 Last of Us” takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, 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 United States and depend on each other for survival.
 
Season one stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, and Elaine Miles as Florence. Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker also star.
 
New episodes of the series debut Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and are available to stream on HBO Max, leading up to the finale on March 12. Starting today, the first episode of “The Last of Us” will be made available for free on HBOMax.com. Fans can also tune in to “The Last of Us” podcast, the series’ official companion podcast where host Troy Baker, who plays Joel in the video game, sits down with series creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for a scene-by-scene deep dive into each episode.
 
The series, based on the video game of the same name developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation platforms, is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and is executive produced by Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Rose Lam. Production companies include PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint and Naughty Dog.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

6 + five =

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.