The Last of Us is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO.

The first season, based on 2013's The Last of Us, follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler tasked with escorting immune teenager Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic United States.

It received acclaim from critics, who praised the performances, writing, production design, and score; several called it the best adaptation of a video game.

[84] HBO announced the series was in planning stages in March 2020, written by Mazin and Druckmann, also serving as executive producers with Carolyn Strauss and Evan Wells.

[61] In January 2024, Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Mark Mylod, and Stephen Williams were announced as directors for the second season alongside Druckmann, Hoar, and Mazin.

[106]: 14:42  Though both were featured on HBO's Game of Thrones, Pascal and Ramsey had not met before the filming of The Last of Us began but found they had instant chemistry, which developed over production.

[108] Guest roles were announced throughout 2021: Luna in April,[109] Dandridge in May,[17] Parker in June,[13] Pierce, Bartlett, and Torv in July,[30][21] and Offerman in December.

[103][112] Dever, Mazino, and Merced's casting was announced in January 2024,[57][58][59] followed by O'Hara's in February,[61] Ramirez, Barer, Gabrielle, and Lord's in March,[60] and Wright's in May.

[79] Druckmann was convinced Mazin was the ideal creative partner for the series after witnessing his passion for the game's story.

[122] He was open to changing aspects of the games but wanted a strong reason,[123] ensuring he and Mazin considered impacts on later narrative events.

[118] The writers removed spores—the vector through which infection is spread in the games—and replaced it with tendrils forming a unified network, inspired by the idea of mycelium.

[118] The writers found the series an opportunity to delve into backstories of characters who the game otherwise ignored, wanting to better understand their motivations.

[169] He said Latino viewers "will recognize touches" of his music,[170] and drew on his experiences in film and television, having composed the themes and some tracks for Jane the Virgin (2014–2019) and Making a Murderer (2015–2018).

[182] Five art directors and hundreds of technicians worked on the first season,[99] and the game's artists provided feedback on costumes and sets.

He created an image collage which included a photograph of reassembled chairs, which Mazin considered the show's mandate: "the built world is unbuilt and rebuilt".

[186]: 0:31 [187][188] Mazin wanted the clickers to resemble the in-game design through prosthetics; he felt using visual effects would have lessened their impact.

[200] The visual effects teams consulted with Naughty Dog's concept artists when creating the infected,[8] and used timelapse videos of Cordyceps growth as animation references.

[211][212] The first season was released digitally and on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on July 17,[213] and in the United States on July 18,[214] containing behind-the-scenes featurettes including a short film about adapting the game, a conversation with microbiology and parasitology experts, and the Inside the Episode series.

[217] Emily Giannusa, HBO vice president of marketing, planned promotional material to prove faithfulness to the source but discovered it was unnecessary as fans created it themselves.

[217] The first full trailer was released at CCXP in December,[110][223] marking the promotional campaign "kicking into high gear".

[216] HBO announced Baker would host a companion podcast alongside the series, featuring Mazin and Druckmann.

[62] HBO shared the first images of Pascal and Ramsey in the second season on May 15, 2024,[232] the first footage on August 4,[233] and the first trailer and posters on September 26.

[235] Several reviewers considered it the best adaptation of a video game;[236][237][238] GameSpot's Mark Delaney called it "the beginning of a new era" for the genre.

[241][240][242] Critics overwhelmingly considered the third episode the season's best,[243][244][245] and some named it among the greatest television episodes in recent years;[238][246] The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg felt it elevated the series to a new level,[247] and Empire's John Nugent called it "one of the finest hours of television in recent memory".

[248][249][245] The cast's performances in the first season received widespread acclaim, with critics singling out Pascal and Ramsey's chemistry.

[238][239][252] Guest performances were highly praised,[253][245][252] including Parker for her likeability,[254] Torv for being sophisticated and heartbreaking,[255] and Lynskey for juxtaposing humanity and viciousness.

[249] IGN's Simon Cardy lauded Lamar Johnson's emotional performance in his final scene,[262] and Total Film's Bradley Russell felt the naivety of Woodard's role intensified the narrative.

[268][269] The second episode had 5.7 million viewers on its first night, an increase of 22 percent from the previous week, the largest second-week audience growth for an original HBO drama series in the network's history.

[290] The series earned the biannual Seal of Authentic Representation from the Ruderman Family Foundation for Woodard's role as Sam.