HBO’s acknowledging the dilemma presented to audiences of choosing between watching The Last of Us and Super Bowl LVII – which pits the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles – by upping the release of episode five. Instead of having to wait until Super Bowl Sunday to check it out, fans can catch episode five on HBO Max and HBO On Demand beginning on Friday, February 10, 2023 at 9pm ET/6pm PT.
Episode five will debut on HBO on Sunday, February 12th at 9pm ET/PT. Episodes six and on, leading up to the March 12th season finale, will air on HBO and HBO Max in their regular Sundays at 9pm ET/PT timeslot.
The Last of Us is one of the best video game adaptations in television – or film, for that matter – history. The series is based on the PlayStation games developed by Naughty Dog and was co-created by Emmy Award winner Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann (creator/writer of “The Last of Us” franchise and Naughty Dog Co-President) who serve as writers and executive producers. Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Rose Lam also executive produce.
Pedro Pascal (the host of the funniest episode of SNL this season) and Bella Ramsey lead the cast as Joel and Ellie, respectively. Gabriel Luna is Tommy, Anna Torv played Tess, Nico Parker is Sarah, Murray Bartlett played Frank, Nick Offerman played Bill, and Melanie Lynskey is Kathleen. Storm Reid is Riley, Merle Dandridge is Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce is Perry, Lamar Johnson is Henry, Keivonn Woodard is Sam, Graham Greene is Marlon, and Elaine Miles is Florence. Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker also star.
The nine-episode first season premiered on Sunday, January 15, 2023. HBO renewed the popular, critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic drama for a second season in January 2022 but has not announced a target date for its premiere.
The Plot: The Last of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
