‘The Last Of Us’ TV Bosses On “Moving The Bar Up” For Season 2 — Deadline FYC House + HBO MAX
02.05.2023 - 03:01
/ deadline.com
Award-winning writer-directors Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin joined the Deadline FYC House event on Friday to discuss their HBO record-breaking drama, The Last of Us.
Based on the video game series co-created by Druckmann, the TV series takes place two decades after modern civilization collapsed from exposure to a deadly mutable fungus. The story follows a hardened survivor named Joel (Pedro Pascal), hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone in hopes of uncovering the mystery—and potential cure for humanity—behind her immunity.
Since the show’s January debut, The Last of Us has continued to set records for both HBO and HBO Max. For the first four weeks, its audience grew consecutively larger after first amassing 4.7 million viewers just from its premiere episode alone, making it the largest same-day debut after House of the Dragon.
In gathering a staggering 8.2 million same-day viewers for the season finale, The Last of Us also holds the current title of attaining the largest same-day audience. (Not to mention, it became the most-watched show in history on HBO Max in both Latin America and Europe.)
On the red carpet, Druckmann reflected on the aftermath of the first season’s successful run. “My life has been insane. I don’t know how I ended up here,” he said. “This [concept] started as a small student project, turned into a video game, and now it’s this incredible TV show. I’m just incredibly grateful to be part of this journey.”
Considering the upcoming and highly anticipated season two, Druckmann explained the pressures of exceeding fan expectations and trying not to psyche himself out too much during the current production.
“There was a lot of self-imposed