The season finale of The Last of Us is just around the corner, bringing to a close one of the most successful TV shows in recent years. Based on the acclaimed 2013 video game of the same name, HBO’s post-apocalyptic drama takes place 20 years after modern civilisation has been destroyed.
It follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a hardened survivor, as he is hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey) out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they travel across America and depend on each other for survival.
The first episode of The Last of Us became HBO’s second biggest premiere since 2010 – behind House of the Dragon – attracting 4.7m viewers in the US across HBO and streaming platform HBO Max. Viewership of the second episode rose to 5.7m viewers – a 22 percent increase – marking the largest second-week audience growth for an original HBO drama series in the network’s history.
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The show’s ninth and final episode is set to air in the UK on Monday, March 13, in what promises to be an intense ending to its first chapter. So as the hugely popular show comes to an end, its many fans will be wondering if there will be a season two of The Last of Us.
Will there be a second season of The Last of Us?
Given the immense success of The Last of Us season one, it’s no wonder it was renewed for a second run before the third episode had even aired. On January 27, HBO and the show’s creators announced the news that The Last of Us season two had officially been greenlit.
Executive producer and writer/creator of the franchise Neil Druckmann said: “I’m humbled, honoured, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey. The collaboration with [series co-creator] Craig Mazin, our incredible cast and crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations.
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“Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog and PlayStation, thank you!”
Executive producer Mazin added: “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. 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.”
Will The Last of Us season two be based on the game?
No details about The Last of Us season two have been revealed. Pascal and Ramsey are expected to reprise their roles when it returns, while its plot will largely depend on where series one wraps up.
The TV show has so far been fairly faithful to its source material, and it has been reported that season one will encompass the entirety of the first game. Even still, there is a chance the TV show could move in a different direction for the finale and into the second season.
Luckily, the show’s creators have plenty of story to pull from, because The Last of Us video game got a sequel in 2020. Taking place five years after the events of the first game, The Last of Us: Part II follows Ellie as she embarks on another dangerous journey in the post-apocalyptic United States.
It also introduces new character Abby, a tough soldier who becomes involved in a conflict between her militia group and a religious cult. While Part II’s plot proved more divisive than its predecessor, it still received critical acclaim and sold more than four million copies worldwide, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation 4 exclusive ever.
Its main narrative was also quite lengthy as it followed two intertwining storylines and saw the characters travelling to several new locations around the western US. This means the show’s writers will have no shortage of material for a second season – perhaps even too much.
In an interview with Collider, Mazin suggested a third season of The Last of Us could be needed to do justice to the video game sequel’s story. He said: “The story that remains, that continues forth in the second game, is a lot.
“Probably the amount of remaining story would take us more than a season to tell.”
The season finale of The Last of Us airs on Monday, March 13 at 9pm on Sky Atlantic.
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