The Last of Us, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, is a post-apocalyptic series on HBO Max based off of the 2013 Playstation game of the same name.

The series was created by Chernobyl’s showrunner, Craig Mazin, and Neil Druckmann, the creator of the original game. The series is set in 2023, twenty years after a pandemic caused by a dangerous fungal infection (based on the real ‘Cordyceps’ fungus that infects insects’ brains and controls them.) Which transforms people into zombie-like creatures and brings about the downfall of society as a whole. The series is about Joel (Pedro Pascal) a smuggler who has to take Ellie (Bella Ramsey) who is immune to the infection, across the infected United States.

The first episode premiered on January 15th, 2023 and caught a lot of attention from the media with 4.7 million viewers from the U.S. alone. The first season of The Last of Us concluded on March 12th, 2023. 

Compared to other apocalyptic shows and movies, The Last of Us has details that are very similar to other apocalyptic TV shows. For example, the series called “Z Nation” is not very popular, but the show is about a zombie virus that has affected all of the United States of America and a group of survivors of the virus have to take a prisoner who is immune to the virus from New York to California, where the last virus lab waits for his blood. Out of every zombie show, “Z Nation” is the most similar to The Last of Us because both of the series surround a character who is immune to the virus and both characters are being transported to a different destination during both of the series. The only difference is the infection in The Last of Us is a fungus and it has no cure while the other series is just a virus and has a cure.

The Last of Us was rated 4.4 stars, 96% from Rotten Tomatoes, 9/10 on IGN, and 9.1/10 IMDb. Many gamers who played and watched The Last of Us have had positive reviews too. Gamers have said that the series was almost like the game; from specific scenes to the clothes the characters wear.

After watching The Last of Us, I have to admit that it was fantastic! Even though there were some similarities from other shows that made the series not as special. What I enjoyed from the show is how similar it is to the game itself. I liked how they barely left out any details compared to some shows that would make a whole different storyline. Another thing I enjoyed was the acting which was phenomenal; the actors really got into their characters and made the show come to life and that has such a huge effect on the viewers of the show! Especially Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey’s acting! I am looking forward to seeing projects that they take part in in the future!