HBO’s The Last of Us is getting a season 2

HBO has officially confirmed that The Last of Us has been renewed for a second season.

Along with the reveal, the company also announced that the first episode of the critically-acclaimed TV show based on Naughty Dog’s video game series, surpassed 22 million viewers in the U.S., making it the network’s biggest debut next to House of the Dragon. In Canada, The Last of Us is available to stream through Bell’s Crave platform. Bell has yet to release the TV show’s Canadian streaming numbers.

“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 game director and executive producer of the show 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!”

The Last of Us stars Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie. Those who are familiar with The Last of Us Part II will know that the sequel introduces several new characters, including Abby. Though many think that Shannon Berry will play Abby in season 2, an official announcement hasn’t been made.

Part II —> HBO https://t.co/dJxiggcFDR

— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) January 27, 2023

Given I’m a big fan of The Last of Us video games, I went into the HBO adaptation cautiously optimistic. As Brad Shankar outlines in his review of the first few episodes of the TV show, mimicking everything in the TV show would make for uncompelling television, and I had hopes that this wasn’t the direction Druckmann and Mazin would rake the series.

Thankfully, at least so far, that hasn’t been the case, and if rumours are accurate, episode 3 is set to diverge even farther from the video game franchise.