HBO‘s highly anticipated “The Last of Us” TV series, based on the popular PlayStation video game, will debut on Jan. 15, 2023, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, the company confirmed Wednesday. Season 1 will consist of nine episodes.
The official date announcement comes after eagle-eyed HBO Max users spotted an accidental leak on the streaming site Tuesday morning.
“The Last of Us” stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie, two survivors in a post-apocalyptic America overrun by zombie-like monsters called clickers. A deadly disease called the cordyceps fungus has ravaged the world and turned its victims into shambling husks with mushroom-like spores growing from their bodies. Just like the original video game, Joel must travel across the country with Ellie on an important mission, all while dodging clickers, bandits and all sorts of danger.
The cast includes Gabriel Luna as Joel’s brother Tommy; Merle Dandridge as Marlene, the leader of the rebel group called the Fireflies; Nico Parker as Joel’s daughter Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank; Nick Offerman as Bill; Jeffrey Pierce as Perry; and Anna Torv as Tess. Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who played Joel and Ellie in the “Last of Us” video game and its sequel, will also appear in the show in undisclosed roles.
“Last of Us” prosthetics designer Barrie Gower previously told PvNew that designing the clickers was “a bit of a dream come true” for a professional monster maker.
“From what I’ve seen of the show and what we shot, it’s very true and authentic to the game,” he said. “I’m hoping the fans will be over the moon with it and it will spawn a load of new fans who will be introduced to it through the show rather than the video game.”
Craig Mazin, the Emmy-winning creator of “Chernobyl,” is the co-creator and executive producer alongside Neil Druckmann, co-president of video game studio Naughty Dog, which created “The Last of Us.” Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan and Rose Lam are executive producers. Kantemir Balagov, Jasmila Žbanić, Ali Abbasi, Peter Hoar, Jeremy Webb and Liza Johnson are directors. The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television, and PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint and Naughty Dog produce.
