The Last of Us has officially been renewed for a second season by HBO, within two weeks of its television premiere. The show, based on the hit video game of the same name, has been able to garner huge viewership within a short span of time, which led to the network announcing its renewal on January 27.
The series follows a post-apocalyptic world where the spread of a fungus has destroyed humanity. Apart from massive viewership numbers, the show has also become a hot topic of discussion and memes on social media.
HBO Renews The Last of Us for Season 2
Announcing the development, the showrunners revealed that the second season would be based on The Last of Us: Part 2 game, just like the first season followed the first part. Executive producer Neil Druckmann said, “I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey.”
“The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast and crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations. Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with Season 2! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog and PlayStation, thank you,” he added.
Co-executive producer Craig Mazin stated, “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 world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in.”
The Series Premiere has been Watched by 22 Million Viewers
The Last of Us series premiere on January 15 attracted a viewership of 4.7 million, becoming the second-highest watched debut on HBO after House of the Dragon, which clocked in close to a million views. The second episode reached 5.7 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max.
The growth between the two weeks was estimated to be 22%, the highest ever for any HBO drama in history. The network has now stated that since its premiere, the first episode has been watched by over 22 million viewers domestically.
The series stars Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie and follows “a hardened survivor who is hired to smuggle a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.”
The Show’s Star had Hinted at a Potential Season 2 Recently
The renewal does not come as a shock, as Bella Ramsey had teased that the show will be back with another season if it continues to achieve good ratings. “If people keep watching, I think [a second series] is pretty likely. It’s down to the guys at HBO. We’ll have to wait and see,” she had said.
Neil Druckmann had also added that they planned to continue the show till the story of the video games ends. “We have no plans to tell any stories beyond adapting the games. We won’t run into the same issue as Game of Thrones since Part II doesn’t end on a cliff-hanger,” he said.
The Last of Us airs new episodes on Sundays at 9 pm ET. Stay tuned for more news and updates.
