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 causes the collapse of society.
The first season was filmed in Alberta from July to June , while the second season was filmed in British Columbia from February to August Druckmann, who wrote and co-directed the games, assisted Mazin with scriptwriting for the first season's nine episodes, joined by Halley Gross , who co-wrote the second game, and Bo Shim for the second season's seven episodes. The score was composed by Gustavo Santaolalla , who composed for the games, and David Fleming.
The Last of Us premiered on January 15, It received acclaim from critics, who praised the performances, writing, production design, and score; several called it the best adaptation of a video game. It won several awards , including eight Primetime Emmy Awards out of 24 nominations. Across linear channels and HBO Max , the series premiere was watched by almost 40 million viewers within two months; the series averaged almost 32 million viewers per episode by May, and it became HBO's most watched debut season.
The second season is set to premiere in April , and a third season is in development. A film adaptation of Naughty Dog 's video game The Last of Us was announced in , to be written by original writer and creative director Neil Druckmann ; [ 79 ] it entered development hell by , [ 80 ] and the rights had relinquished by , [ 81 ] when Druckmann met Craig Mazin.
On January 27, , less than two weeks after the premiere, HBO renewed the series for a second season. Casting took place virtually through Zoom due to the pandemic. Mazin and Thomas sought high-profile guest stars; Thomas said many of the actors "don't usually do one-episode guest spots". Casting for the second season was put on hold in May due to the Writers Guild of America strike ; actors had been auditioning with scenes from The Last of Us Part II due to an absence of scripts. The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic drama and thriller.
