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HBO’s The Last Of Us is gearing up for what could be a very successful awards season. This TV adaptation of Naughty Dog’s former Game Of The Year Award winner has been a huge hit and it’s really showing. TLOU could have a nice clean sweep in a wide range of categories.

Aside from a handful of outliers like The X-Files, a four-time Outstanding Drama Series nominee, the top Emmy drama category had not been very welcoming to genre shows. That changed in a big way with HBO’s fantasy series Game Of Thrones, which became a four-time drama series winner.

The Last Of Us is a beloved franchise, and a Part 3 is inevitable. Both previous titles have been massive hits for Sony and Naughty Dog. Interests in the franchise spiked earlier this year as HBO Max and Neil Druckmann nailed the TV adaptation of TLOU Part 1.

“The Last of Us” bosses originally had someone else in mind to play Joel Miller instead of Pedro Pascal.

It’s hard to imagine The Last of Us without Pedro Pascal, but cocreator Craig Mazin revealed that there was another contender for the role of Joel — Matthew McConaughey.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Before Pedro Pascal landed the male lead in HBO’s adaptation of the hugely popular “The Last of Us” video game, rumors swirled that co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann were trying to lure former “True Detective” stars Mahershala Ali and Matthew McConaughey back to the network to headline the series. Mazin finally sounded off on the casting rumors during a recent interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. “I actually never talked to Mahershala,” Mazin said before confirming that talks with McConaughey did in fact take place. However, it sounds like McConaughey’s casting never made it past early discussions about the project.

In HBO’s hit series The Last of Us, it’s the end of the world as most of humanity knows it, but Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey feel just fine. Long gone are the traces of the hardened survivor Joel (Pascal) and the teenage spitfire Ellie (Ramsey), who must endure the collapse of modern civilization due to a deadly mutable fungus that turns people into zombie-like creatures. Well, sort of. Comfortably sat within the confines of a secluded lounge at the Directors Guild of America, the pair are swapping inside jokes and bursting with laughter. While Pascal trades in Joel’s stoicism for passion, Ramsey can’t quite shake the penchant for Ellie’s habitual cussing.

The Last of Us started as a video game, became a hit TV series and is about to become not one but two live attractions: Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights will open Last of Us haunted houses at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood in September.

The Last of Us,” will have a spot at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights. The horror event, hosted every year in Universal Studios, will take inspiration from one of this year’s most famous TV shows, introducing the infected to the park over the course of Halloween.Pedro Pascal reveals he got an infection from fans taking selfies with their fingers in his eyesPedro Pascal recalled the time he got spit on during a road rage incidentNico Parker cast in live-action ‘How To Train Your Dragon’A post shared by The Last of Us (@thelastofus)“As a massive fan — and frequent attendee — of Halloween Horror Nights, we are honored to have The Last of Us included in this year’s lineup.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Beware: the merciless fungal virus in “The Last of Us” is making its way to Universal Studios as part of the theme park’s limited-run Halloween Horror Nights. The hit HBO show, adapted from Naughty Dog and Playstation’s award-winning video game, will be brought to life in the form of a haunted house, set in the same apocalyptic America as the one travailed by the game’s protagonists Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsay).

Please note: the screening and panel took place on April 28, before the start of the WGA Strike.

HBO’s The Last Of Us, is based on Naughty Dogs’ former Game of the Year award winner. Released back in 2014, The Last Of Us was an instant classic in its genre. Recently HBO’s Drama Chief, Francesca Oris hinted that The Last Of Us may not continue after Season 2.

The Last Of Us has been revealed as the most bloodthirsty TV series.In new data provided by IMDb and Cinemorgue Wiki (via BonusFinder), the post-apocalyptic drama was named as the most fatal show in the world, with 56.5 per cent of its characters being killed.The HBO series also has the highest mortality rate, with roughly 5.78 characters dying per episode.Created by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann (co-director of The Last Of Us games), the series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) 20 years after modern civilisation has been ravaged by a deadly infection.A synopsis reads: “The series takes place 20 years after modern civilisation has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone.“What starts as a small job soon become a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the US and depend on each other for survival.”According to BonusFinder‘s data, Starz historical drama Spartacus has the second highest death rate for a TV show, with 46.7 per cent of its characters being killed.

Editors note: Deadline’s It Starts On The Page features 10 standout drama series scripts in 2023 Emmy contention. It showcases the critical role writer’s work plays in a show’s success. All materials (the script and writers intro) were submitted before the WGA strike began on May 2.

HBO‘s The Last Of Us adaptation have reportedly been put on hold due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike.Per a new Variety report, sources close to the production of The Last Of Us have confirmed that the show had begun preparations for its casting process, but have been halted earlier this week.Other sources told the outlet that actors auditioning for season two were told to read lines directly from The Last Of Us Part II, the 2020 PlayStation game that season two of the HBO series will be based on. Variety also reports that though strikes are ongoing, with no end in sight at the moment, the production hopes to begin filming in Vancouver early next year.Craig Mazin – who co-wrote, co-directed and was showrunner on the HBO adaptation – has reportedly been spotted at ongoing strikes and is not currently involved in any writing, producing or casting work for season two due to the strike.Naughty Dog‘s Neil Druckmann, who created the gaming franchise and co-created, co-wrote and co-directed on the HBO show, is also reportedly not working on season two at this time.HBO’s adaptation of The Last Of Us premiered earlier this year and received rave reviews, with NME scoring it four out of five stars.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Last of Us” Season 2 is feeling the effects of the writers’ strike. Casting for the second season of the smash hit HBO series had been underway until earlier this week when it was put on hold, according to an individual with knowledge of the production. Prior to that, however, multiple sources say that the casting team was asking actors to read sides taken directly from “The Last of Us Part II,” the video game on which the second season will be based, due to the fact that there are no scripts for Season 2 at this time. The hope is for the season to begin shooting in early 2024 in Vancouver.

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.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Following a bloody and harrowing season finale in March, “The Last of Us” is getting a digital and Blu-ray release, available to pre-order on Amazon today.

EXCLUSIVE: The Last of Us has zeroed in on its home base for season 2.

The Last of Us has become Sky’s biggest finale audience for a U.S. debut series of all time.

Jacqueline Lesko has been promoted to President of Production at Word Games — the production company founded by multiple Emmy-winning writer, producer and director Craig Mazin, which is best known for its work on HBO’s smash hit series Chernobyl and The Last of Us.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “The Last of Us” has become the most-viewed title ever on HBO’s subscription streaming service in Europe. Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Tuesday that the first season of the nine-episode apocalyptic-drama has smashed HBO’s SVOD European viewer ratings. This result comes after the season one finale set another ratings high in the U.S. on Sunday night, delivering 8.2 million viewers across HBO Max and linear telecasts, based on Nielsen and first party data. The series, which is based on the critically acclaimed video game of the same name developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation, has been a hit from the get go. “The Last of Us” is now averaging 30.4 million viewers in the U.S. across its first six episodes, according to HBO, with the first episode approaching 40 million viewers in the U.S. Outside of the U.S.. The show is now also the most-watched show ever on HBO Max in Latin America.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This contains spoilers from the Season 1 finale of “The Last of Us,” now streaming on HBO Max. Sunday’s season finale of “The Last of Us” tackled two of the video games most famous scenes: the giraffe moment and the final hospital shootout. Joel (Pedro Pascal) shoots his way through the Salt Lake City hospital as he upholds his commitment to saving Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and chooses her life over the future of humanity. In the final minutes of the episode, Joel decides to take Ellie away from the hospital, where her immunity to the deadly cordyceps fungus could’ve provided a cure, but in performing the operation, she would’ve died. Amid a hail of bullets from Firefly soldiers, Joel makes his choice to take Ellie back to Jackson, Wyo., and massacres nearly everyone in the hospital.

The Last of Us will take “more than one” season to adapt the video game’s sequel, The Last of Us: Part II. HBO’s post-apocalyptic drama was officially renewed for a second season in January, but its creators have revealed the events of Part II will span at least two seasons of television.

Jordan Moreau SPOILER ALERT: This contains spoilers from the Season 1 finale of “The Last of Us,” now streaming on HBO Max. “The Last of Us” was officially renewed for a Season 2 by HBO in January, but the creators are planning “more than one season” to tell the much larger story from the video game’s sequel, “The Last of Us: Part II.” Released on the PlayStation 4 in 2020, seven years after the original game debuted, “The Last of Us: Part II” tells a bigger, more complex story than its predecessor. There are many more characters, flashbacks and action set pieces, and the creators of the HBO adaptation, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, confirmed to GQ that the events of “Part II” will span more than one season.

The Last Of Us closes out season one with the death of a key character.Created by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and the original game’s co-director Neil Druckmann, the series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) 20 years after civilisation has been ravaged by a deadly infection.The season finale, titled Look For The Light, saw Joel make a crucial decision to save Ellie from the Fireflies – resulting in a string of murders.Unfortunately, she’s super dead. As Marlene (Merle Dandridge) attempts to convince Joel that his choice to save Ellie was wrong – preventing humanity from finding a cure to the Cordyceps infection – Joel shoots Marlene in the stomach.The show cuts forward to a scene later where Joel lies to Ellie about what happened with the Fireflies, saying they had found other people who were immune and had failed to create a cure from them.

The Last Of Us will return for a second season on HBO.Created by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and the original game’s co-creator Neil Druckmann, the series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) 20 years after modern civilisation has been ravaged by a deadly infection.The first episode became HBO’s second biggest premiere in over a decade, behind House Of The Dragon, with 4.7million viewers in the US across HBO and HBO Max.HBO announced the show will return for a second season in January ahead of the third episode.“I’m humbled, honoured and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey,” Druckmann said. “Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog & PlayStation, thank you!”The journey continues.

The Last Of Us faithfully adapts the acclaimed video game into a prestige post-apocalyptic drama series.Created by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and the original game’s co-creator Neil Druckmann, the series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) 20 years after modern civilisation has been ravaged by a deadly infection.The show also stars Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Merle Dandridge, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman.Unlike the game, the HBO series provides a clear answer to the reason behind Ellie’s immunity. In episode nine, Look For The Light, a flashback with Ellie’s mother Anna (Ashley Johnson) shows her giving birth to Ellie shortly after being bitten by the infected.When Marlene (Merle Dandridge) later finds Anna and notices the bite mark, Anna lies and states that she cut the umbilical cord before she was bitten.

 came to a (temporary) end on Sunday night with the release of its season 1 finale. Aligned with the conclusion of video game, creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have now officially brought the entirety of the game's first installment to the screen. Sunday night's release left fans reeling after a violent hospital shootout. Joel realized that the Firefly doctors' intended procedure — to analyze the cordyceps in Ellie's brain in the hopes of finding a cure -- would have killed her, and took out the surgeon and several Firefly guards in order to rescue Ellie off the operating table and get her out of the hospital.However, when she wakes up after his killing spree, Joel lies to Ellie — telling her that the doctors' science has failed and she is no longer part of their plan.

Now that The Last of Us has wrapped its first season on HBO Max, you probably have a few questions. Fortunately, series showrunner Craig Mazin and creator Neil Druckmann (who wrote the Sony Playstation Game on which the series is based) answered a few burning ones about the first nine episodes without giving anything away about season 2 (boo!). At least there will be one!