HBO announced that The Last of Us has been officially renewed for season two. It comes after a debut that attracted 22 million domestic viewers and quickly went viral on social media.
After the announcement, executive producer and Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann stated in a tweet that the second season will be based on The Last of Us: Part 2 game, much like the first season was based on The Last of Us.
Even though The Last of Us has just aired two episodes, there were already rumours about a second season, led by actor Bella Ramsey who stated that a renewal was likely to happen if viewership remained strong.
The network apparently decided to lock in a second season after episode two garnered 22 per cent more viewers on its premiere night than episode one – the highest week two audience rise for any HBO original drama ever.
Executive producer Neil Druckmann said, “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 and crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations.”
Executive producer Craig Mazin added, “Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog and 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. 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.”
Starcast of season one include Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Melanie Lynskey, Storm Reid and others.