(Photo by: HBO)

To no surprise, season one isn’t the last we’ll see of The Last of Us. The HBO drama series has been renewed for a second season. Only two episodes of the nine-episode first season have aired thus far.

A post-apocalyptic drama series airing on the HBO cable channel, The Last of Us TV show is based on the 2013 video game and stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey with Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Merle Dandridge, Jeffrey Pierce, Murray Bartlett, and Nick Offerman in recurring roles. The story takes place two decades after the destruction of modern civilization. Joel (Pascal) is a hardened middle-aged survivor who is tormented by trauma in his past. He’s tasked with smuggling a 14-year-old girl named Ellie (Ramsey) out of a quarantine zone and across the United States. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey. To survive, they are forced to depend on one another and endure both brutal circumstances and ruthless killers on a trek across a post-pandemic America.

Airing on Sunday nights, the first season of The Last of Us averages a 0.18 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 611,000 viewers. The first episode was HBO’s second-biggest premiere, behind last year’s House of the Dragon launch. With delayed viewing, the first episode of Last of Us has surpassed 22 million views domestically.

“Craig and Neil, alongside EP Carolyn Strauss, and the rest of our phenomenal cast and crew, have defined a genre with their masterful debut season of The Last of Us,” said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films. “After pulling off this unforgettable first season, I can’t wait to watch this team outshine themselves again with season two.”

“I’m humbled, honored, 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,” said executive producer Neil Druckmann. “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!”

“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,” said executive producer Craig Mazin. “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.”

What do you think? Have you been watching The Last of Us TV series on HBO? Are you glad that this drama has been renewed for a second season? Were you concerned that it might be cancelled?