The highly anticipated second season of HBO’s post-apocalyptic video game adaptation The Last of Us, which was released on 14 April, is off to a promising start with viewership that outpaces its first season by around 10%.
Episode one premiered to 5.3 million same-day cross-platform viewers in the United States, up from the 4.7 million viewers of its debut episode back in January 2023. The second season also led to season one’s viewership surging by 150% over the week prior to its premiere as audiences caught up on the events of the show.
Season two, which adapts Naughty Dog and PlayStation’s The Last of Us: Part II, takes place five years after the events of the first season, and sees Pedro Pascal’s Joel Miller and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie Williams settling down in Jackson, Wyoming. But this temporary peace is shattered by both the increasing conflict between the duo due to Joel’s actions in season one and the imminent arrival of Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby Anderson, a woman who holds an immense grudge against Joel.
In addition to Pascal and Ramsey, season two’s returning cast includes Gabriel Luna as Joel’s brother Tommy and Rutina Wesley as Tommy’s wife Maria. Dever joins the season’s new faces alongside Isabela Merced as Dina, Young Mazino as Jesse, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Spencer Lord as Owen, Danny Ramirez as Manny and Jeffrey Wright, who reprises his role from the game, as Issac.
Written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Naughty Dog head Neil Druckmann, the series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and was recently greenlit for a third season, with the storyline of the second game set to be greatly expanded upon, with the goal for a series total of four seasons.
The Last of Us season two premiered with episode one on 14 April 2025 and is now available on HBO and Max.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Natalie
