The first season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series The Last of Us was originally broadcast on HBO between January and March 2023. 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 first season, based on the 2013 game The Last of Us, follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler tasked with escorting the immune teenager Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic United States.
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. One of the most expensive television series, the season was filmed in Alberta from July 2021 to June 2022. Neil Druckmann, who wrote and co-directed the games, assisted Craig Mazin with scriptwriting the season's nine episodes. The score was composed by Gustavo Santaolalla, who composed for the games, and David Fleming.
The Last of Us received acclaim from critics, who praised the performances, writing, production design, and score; several called it the best adaptation of a video game. It was nominated for several awards, including 24 Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. Across linear channels and HBO Max, the series premiere was watched by 4.7 million viewers on the first day—the second-biggest for HBO since 2010—and almost 40 million within two months; by May, the series averaged almost 32million viewers per episode, and became HBO's most watched debut season.
Cast and characters
Main
Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller, a hardened middle-aged survivor who is tormented by the trauma of his past. Joel is tasked with smuggling a young girl, Ellie, out of a quarantine zone and across the United States. Joel is portrayed as more physically vulnerable in the series compared to the gamehe is hard of hearing in one ear and his knees ache when he stands. Bella Ramsey as Ellie, a 14-year-old girl who displays much defiance and anger but has a private need for kinship and belonging. She is strong-willed but has not lost her playfulness, bonding easily with children, and has a fondness for puns. She is immune to the Cordyceps infection and may be the key to creating a vaccine.
Recurring Anna Torv as Tess, a hardened survivor and Joel's partner. Tess is respected in the Boston Quarantine Zone, largely out of fear. She is protective of Ellie during their escort mission.
Guest
Nico Parker as Sarah, Joel's 14-year-old daughter. She cares for her father, playfully teasing him over his behavior and attitude. John Hannah as Dr. Neuman, an epidemiologist who issues a warning about the threat of fungi during a talk show in 1968. 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. Christopher Heyerdahl as Dr. Schoenheiss, an epidemiologist on the 1968 talk show who is skeptical of Neuman's warning. Brendan Fletcher as Robert, a thug and black market arms dealer in the Boston Quarantine Zone. Robert fears Joel's retribution against his actions. Gabriel Luna as Tommy Miller, Joel's younger brother and who maintains idealism in hoping for a better world. A former Firefly, Tommy gave up on their cause and runs a commune with his wife.
Christine Hakim as Ratna Pertiwi, a mycology professor who advises the Indonesian government to bomb Jakarta to slow the spread of the infection, for which she feels hopeless.
Nick Offerman as Bill, a misanthropic survivalist. Bill's paranoia and distrust of the government left him prepared for the pandemic, protected in an underground bunker. Murray Bartlett as Frank, a survivalist living in an isolated town with Bill. Frank is friendlier and more trusting than Bill, forming a close bond with Tess and Joel.
Lamar Johnson as Henry Burrell, who is hiding from a revolutionary movement in Kansas City. Henry is hurt by his own actions but ultimately does them to protect his younger brother Sam. Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen Coghlan, the leader of a revolutionary movement in Kansas City. Kathleen is soft-spoken and outwardly sweet but an intelligent and fierce leader. Keivonn Montreal Woodard as Sam, a deaf, artistic eight-year-old child who is hiding with his brother Henry. Sam was diagnosed with leukemia at a young age. Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, a revolutionary rebel in a quarantine zone who is Kathleen's second-in-command. Pierce portrayed Tommy in the video games. Perry is a former military member. John Getz as Eldelstein, a Kansas City doctor who protects Henry and Sam from Kathleen and the rebels.
Rutina Wesley as Maria, a co-leader of the survivors in Jackson and Tommy's pregnant wife. Formerly an assistant district attorney, Maria is calm and merciful in her decisions. Graham Greene as Marlon, a Native American hunter who has lived with his wife Florence in the wilderness of Wyoming since before the pandemic. Marlon is resourceful and untrusting of strangers. Elaine Miles as Florence, who lives with her husband Marlon. Florence is calm and humorous. Unlike Marlon, she did not want to isolate in the wilderness.
Storm Reid as Riley Abel, an orphaned girl who is Ellie's best friend at military school in post-apocalyptic Boston. Riley ran away from military school to join the Fireflies, considering the former to be fascists.
Scott Shepherd as David, a preacher who leads a struggling community. David is calm and acts as a caring leader, but is manipulative and abusive. He claims to have found God after the outbreak and views the virus as a form of divine justice. Troy Baker as James, David's aide. Baker previously portrayed Joel in the video games. James lacks faith in David but wants to be considered his equal, feeling threatened when Ellie's capabilities threaten to usurp his position.
Ashley Johnson as Anna, Ellie's mother. Johnson previously portrayed Ellie in the video games. 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.
Episodes
Production Development
A film adaptation of Naughty Dog's 2013 video game The Last of Us was announced in March 2014, to be written by the game's writer and creative director Neil Druckmann; it had entered development hell by 2016, and the partnership ended and rights relinquished by 2019. Due to the extensive development of a film based on Uncharted, another game series by Naughty Dog, Druckmann ensured specific plot points were included when negotiating a deal with film and television studios; he felt more closely connected to The Last of Uss creation and development than Uncharteds and always wanted to be involved in its adaptation in some manner.
Writer and director Craig Mazin was approached in 2018 by PlayStation Productions with a list of games for potential television adaptation; he was disappointed to discover The Last of Us was being adapted into a film at the time as he felt television was a better fit. A fan of the game, having played it about twelve times, Mazin was introduced to Druckmann through Shannon Woodward, a mutual friend, in 2019; Druckmann first showed Mazin in-development scenes from The Last of Us Part II (2020) on July 3, 2019. Druckmann, a fan of Mazin's series Chernobyl, agreed that The Last of Us required a television series's length and pacing. They pitched it to HBO about a week later. HBO chairman and chief content officer Casey Bloys and head of drama programming Francesca Orsi were unfamiliar with the game but trusted Mazin due to his work on Chernobyl and his investment in the story and world.
A television adaptation was announced in the planning stages at HBO in March 2020, expected to cover events of the first game. Mazin and Druckmann were named to write and executive produce the series, while television producer Carolyn Strauss and Naughty Dog president Evan Wells were named executive producers, and Gustavo Santaolalla, who worked on the games, the show's composer. The show was announced as a joint production of Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, and Naughty Dog; it is the first show produced by PlayStation Productions. It is produced under the company name Bear and Pear Productions. Johan Renck, Mazin's collaborator on Chernobyl, was announced as executive producer and director of the series premiere in June 2020; he dropped out by November due to scheduling conflicts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. HBO greenlit the series on November 20. PlayStation Productions's Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan were named executive producers, and Word Games a production company.
The Mighty Mint joined production in January 2021 and Kantemir Balagov was announced as the pilot episode's director. He had been interested in adapting the game for years and was set to direct several opening episodes; in October 2022, Balagov said he left the project a year prior due to creative differences. Rose Lam was added as executive producer in February 2021. Pre-production in Calgary, Alberta, began on March 15; Mazin arrived in May. Ali Abbasi and Jasmila Žbanić were announced as directors in April.
In July 2021, the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) revealed Peter Hoar was assigned to direct, followed in August by Mazin, in September by Druckmann, and in January 2022 by Liza Johnson and Jeremy Webb. In February, Druckmann confirmed he directed an episode and felt his experience reinforced and reflected his experience in directing games. After several months traveling between Calgary and Los Angeles, Druckmann struggled to fulfil obligations at Naughty Dog and returned home to advise remotely, feeling confident in Mazin.
The Last of Us is the largest television production to be filmed in Alberta and possibly the largest in Canadian history, generating for Alberta and creating 1,490 jobs. The first season's budget of over —more than $10 million per episode—exceeded that of each of Game of Throness first five seasons, making it one of the most expensive television series. According to Canadian artists union IATSE 212, the production led to a 30% increase in union membership and employment. The season covers the events of the first game and its downloadable expansion The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014). The season's original ten-episode count was reduced to nine during production; the first two were combined after Bloys felt the first would not compel viewers to return. The first season was produced by Greg Spence and Cecil O'Connor. The series was renewed for a second season on January 27, 2023, less than two weeks after it premiered.
Casting
Casting occurred virtually through Zoom due to the pandemic. Casting director Victoria Thomas wanted to honor the game without being limited by it. On February 10, 2021, Pascal and Ramsey were cast as Joel and Ellie. Mahershala Ali was reportedly considered for Joel, and Mazin spoke with Matthew McConaughey for the role. Candidates considered for Ellie for the canceled film adaptation—such as Maisie Williams and Kaitlyn Dever—had aged out of consideration by the time the series was in production. The producers sought actors who could embody Joel and Ellie individually and imitate their relationship. Though both featured on HBO's Game of Thrones, Pascal and Ramsey had not met before filming The Last of Us but found they had instant chemistry, which developed over production.