The Last of Us TV show: cast of HBO series video game adaptation, release date - and how to watch in UK

As one post-apocalyptic series about a plague that wipes out most of the world’s population (The Walking Dead) another one begins - The Last of Us is a new HBO show based on the popular video game of the same name.

HBO’s first video game adaptation series, The Last of Us, was filmed in Alberta, Canada over a 12 month shoot from summer 2021 to summer of this year. Ironically, the show which is set in the aftermath of a devastating pandemic was filmed in the latter stages Covid-19 outbreak.

Video game adaptations don’t tend to do well - see the movies Assassin’s Creed, Mortal Kombat, and Prince of Persia for dire examples - but recent series, such as The Witcher, prove that they can be a success. This is everything we know about the 2023 series The Last of Us:

What is The Last of Us about?

Based on the 2013 video game, the series is set in the United States after a horrific mutated pathogen has wiped out most of the population. It will follow a smuggler, Joel Miller, who escorts teenage girl Ellie across the hostile wreck of the country on a mission to save the last remnants of humanity.

Meanwhile, Joel’s younger brother Tommy is a leader in a resistance movement fighting to restore order in the chaotic world, risking death every day. Joel and Ellie trek across the country, encountering rabid humans who have been infected - these victims of a fungal parasite are not zombies although they look very zombie-esque.

Joel believes that Ellie, who appears resistant to the parasite, holds the key to a cure and is transporting her out west where survivors are working to bring an end to the epidemic. As he embarks on his quest, he must keep a watchful eye over his precious cargo to ensure that she comes to no harm, and they his theory of her immunity to the pathogen isn’t wrong.

Who is in the cast of The Last of Us?

• Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller
• Bella Ramsey as Ellie Williams
• Gabriel Luna as Tommy Miller
• Merle Dandridge as Marlene
• Jeffrey Pierce as Perry
• Anna Torv as Theresa ‘Tess’ Servopoulos
• Murray Bartlett as Frank
• Nick Offerman as Bill

Is there a trailer for The Last of Us?

Yes there is, and you can watch it right here:

When is The Last of Us release date?

The Last of Us will be released in the US on HBO and streaming service HBO Max on Sunday January 15. The series will arrive a day later in the UK. The show will technically be released at the same moment on both sides of the pond - but because of time differences it will land in the UK at 2am on Monday 16 on Sky Atlantic.

For those who won’t be up in the early hours, the show will also be available to watch in the UK on streaming service NOW. There are nine episodes in the first series and they are expected to be released at the same time weekly.