HBO gives season two order for ‘The Last of Us’ series

Los Angeles, Jan 28 (PTI) HBO has renewed its new series “The Last of Us”, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, for a second season.

The season two renewal of the series, based on PlayStation’s popular video game of the same name, comes ahead of the airing of the show’s 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. The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast & crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations,” executive producer Neil Druckmann, who was also the writer and creative director of the game, said in a statement.

“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,” he added.

Druckmann has co-created the show in collaboration with “Chernobyl” creator Craig Mazin.

Set 20 years after the destruction of modern civilisation, “The Last of Us” follows Joel (Pascal), a hardened survivor who is hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie (Ramsey) out of an oppressive quarantine zone.

What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the US and depend on each other for survival.

“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 characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in,” Mazin said.

“The Last of Us” also features Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Melanie Lynskey, Storm Reid and Merle Dandridge.

The series is a co-production between HBO and Sony Pictures Television. Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Rose Lam serve as the executive producers in addition to Druckmann and Mazin.

It is produced by PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog.