The Last of Us
Created by Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann
Based on The Last of Us by Naughty Dog[a]
Written by Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann
Starring
Pedro Pascal
Bella Ramsey
Nico Parker
John Hannah
Merle Dandridge
Josh Brener
Christopher Heyerdahl
Bredan Fletcher
Anna Tory
Gabriel Luna
Christine Hakim
Nick Offerman
Murray Bartlett
Lemar Johnson
Melanie Lynsky
Kelvonn Montreal Woodard
Jeffrey Pierce
John Getz
Rutina Wesley
Graham Green
Elaine Miles
Storm Reid
Troy Baker
Ashley Johnson
Theme music composer Gustavo Santaolalla
Opening theme “The Last of Us”
Composers Gustavo Santaolalla, David Fleming
Executive producers Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann, Carolyn Strauss, Rose Lam, Evan Wells, Carter Swan, Asad Qizilbash
Producers Greg Spence & Cecil O’Connor
Production locations Alberta, Canada
Cinematography Ksenia Sereda, Eben Bolter, Christine A. Maier, Nadim Carlsen
Editors Timothy A. Good, Mark Hartzell, Emily Mendez
Running time 45–81 minutes
Production companies The Mighty Mint, Word Games, PlayStation Productions, Naughty Dog, Sony Pictures Television
Distributor Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Release
Original network HBO
I’m not a big fan of zombie shows, except the ones that could be described as ‘apocalyptic comedy’ – Z Nation, or Zombieland, for instance. And traditional zombies were slow, dumb, and couldn’t be taken more seriously than the attacking ships in the first round of a computer game. Then there were the myriad logical problems. Recent versions—fast zombies, powered by fungus using photosynthesis—made them faintly more credible, at least for dramatic purposes.
Similarly, I long avoided shows based on computer games. Most were lame, one-dimensional knockoffs. Shows based on card RPGs were particularly dire. The live action ones were the worst, since you had actors doing absurd, repetitive things as characters with the emotional and intellectual depth of soap bubbles.
It was only in the past couple of years that decent shows that grew from the games rather than just marketing them first appeared. Castlevania. Arcane. Vox Machina. All US animations done in anime style, all good.
Now there’s a live-action show, based on a computer game, about the zombie apocalypse. A couple of years back, I would have approached this with the sort of rabid delight normally reserved for root canal work. Strike three, yer out! A few years ago, I would have been right to do so.
But times have changed. The Last of Us is all those things, and also happens to be a superior television show.
In part the actors playing the two main characters, Joel and Ellie, are played by two outstanding actors, both alumni of Game of Thrones. Pedro Pascal was the ill-fated Oberyn Martell, who got crushed by the Mountain but not before he poisoned the Mountain, which caused him to become a … zombie. OK, so Pascal has some professional background for the show. He was also the title character in The Mandalorian, although most of us didn’t know it. They really should have painted a moustache on that helmet. He was also Nick Cage’s acclaimed foil, Javi, in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, nearly stealing the show.
Bella Ramsey played Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones, and was an extraordinarily adult presence as a 13 year old playing a character even younger. She was the lead character in The Worst Witch, a terrible show but one she gamely kept to her own high standards. And she played a small but pivotal role in season two of His Dark Materials.
As formidable a pair as those two are, they are only one element of the things that make this show potentially the best series of the year. While Game of Thrones was an “anyone can die” universe, it avoided Killing the Cutie. In the first episode, near the end, Joel’s 13 year old daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) is bitten by a zombie and subsequently shot and killed by some surviving humans. It’s not the only time a child role achieves prominence in the series and is killed off. It takes courageous and brilliant writing to achieve that.
Nick Offerman has a single-episode role as a survivalist who teams up with a straggler in one of the most affecting and beautifully-staged episodes here or anywhere. The idea of Nick Offerman doing a cover of Linda Rondstadt’s “Long, Long Time” might bring tears to your eyes, but when you see it, the tears will form, but for an entirely different reason. It’s just a lovely, lovely episode, unforgettable.
We’re only six episodes in with three to go, but between the acting, the courageous writing, and the fantastic technical and production standards, I don’t see this falling apart. It’s possible HBO has finally found a successor to Game of Thrones.