Following a slip-up, HBO has confirmed a release date for its long-expected The Last of Us TV series. The video game adaptation will debut through HBO and HBO Max on January 15th at 9PM Eastern. You’ll have something to watch while you wait for Succession, then, although you may want to pace yourself when there are 10 episodes in this initial season.
As you’re likely aware by this stage, The Last of Us stars The Mandalorian‘s Pedro Pascal as cynical survivor Joel and Game of Thrones‘ Bella Ramsey as Ellie, the teen Joel has to smuggle out of a quarantine zone 20 years after a fungal zombie plague wrecks civilization. Big names like Nick Offerman, Gabriel Luna and Anna Torv also star, while game voice actors Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker also make appearances.
To the edge of the universe and back. #TheLastOfUs premieres January 15 on @HBOMax. pic.twitter.com/TPJxOBZRBr
— The Last of Us (@TheLastofUsHBO) November 2, 2022
The show is expected to largely follow the plot of the original game, with Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann serving as writer and executive producer alongside Chernobyl‘s Craig Mazin. Unlike many game-based productions, The Last of Us will have both the creative input of the developer and critically acclaimed talent behind the cameras. It’s just a question of whether or not that combination works in practice, especially for newcomers who aren’t attached to the story.