Movies and shows like The Last of Us to watch after you’re done with HBO’s show
The Last of Us, the post-apocalyptic HBO drama adapted from Naughty Dog’s 2013 game of the same name by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and series co-creator Neil Druckmann, concluded its first season earlier this month.
The series stars Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones) as Joel, a middle-aged survivor of a deadly pandemic who is hired to shepherd Ellie (played by fellow Game of Thrones alum Bella Ramsey), a girl born with a mysterious immunity to the infection, across the country to a research outpost with the intent of finding a cure. Along the way, the pair are forced to contend with the myriad horrors of this strange new world — including zombie-like creatures, militant factions, and cannibalistic cult leaders — all while growing closer together. It may not be a story about love, but it certainly is one that resonated with audiences, with the first six episodes of the show averaging over 30 million viewers.
The ninth and final episode of the season, which has reignited debate about the ending between fans new and old, achieved a series high of over 8.2 million viewers despite competition from this year’s Oscars. Another season has already been greenlit, with star Bella Ramsey stating that we probably won’t see Joel and Ellie again until “end of 2024, early 2025” at the earliest.
If you’re looking for another show to fill the void left by The Last of Us’ finale, not to worry: We’ve tapped the mycelial network that is Polygon’s staff to create a list of the best post-apocalyptic-adjacent shows to watch while we patiently wait for the series’ next chapter. Obviously, everyone’s going to mention The Mandalorian — which also stars Pedro Pascal as a gruff no-nonsense father figure to a incorrigible
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