The Last of Us

CAUTION: Designated as “strong content,” subject matter regularly discusses and sometimes depicts violence and abuse. Viewer discretion is advised.

Ways to Watch: HBO Max Hulu Amazon

Overview

The Last of Us is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO. Based on the 2013 video game developed by Naughty Dog, the series is set in 2023, twenty years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, which forces its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and collapses society. The series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler tasked with escorting the teenage Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic United States. Guest stars include Nico Parker as Joel’s daughter Sarah, Gabriel Luna as Joel’s younger brother Tommy, Merle Dandridge as resistance leader Marlene, and Anna Torv as Joel’s smuggler partner Tess.

The series guest stars Nico Parker as Sarah, Joel’s 14-year old daughter; Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) as Frank and Bill, two post-pandemic survivalists living alone in their own isolated town; Storm Reid as Riley, an orphan in Boston; and Jeffrey Pierce (The Last of Us video games) as Perry, a rebel in a quarantine zone. Lamar Johnson guest stars as Henry and Keivonn Woodard as Sam, brothers in Kansas City hiding from a revolutionary movement seeking vengeance. Graham Greene guest stars as Marlon and Elaine Miles as Florence, a married couple surviving alone in the wilderness of post-apocalyptic Wyoming.

Notable Queer-Centric Episodes

Season 1 Episode 7 “Left Behind” – In a flashback episode, we meet Riley, Ellie’s best friend at school. Riley takes Ellie on an extravagant “date” at an abandoned mall right before they are both bitten by an infected.