After taking the world by storm with its emotionally devastating first season, zombie drama The Last of Us is finally back on our screens, and the season 2 release date is just around the corner.
Set to premiere on HBO and Max very soon, this new season dives headfirst into the heart-wrenching events of The Last of Us Part II, the video game sequel that left players shattered.
Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie are back, but their relationship is far from what it once was.
The fallout from season 1’s finale still looms over them, and as they navigate a post-outbreak world that seems to offer nothing but heartbreak, a new figure enters the fray: Abby, played by Kaitlyn Dever.
In The Last of Us Part 2, the game that season two of the show will be based on, much-hated character Abby causes chaos in the lives of Joel and Ellie.
A character whose presence will change everything, Abby’s arrival has been one of the most hotly debated aspects of the upcoming season. Dever has spoken out about the realities and challenges of taking on the portrayal of such a disliked character, explaining in an interview with Screen Rant: “It’s hard not to see those things on the internet. It’s hard to stop myself looking at it every once in a while. And I want to do this character justice and make the fans proud, by bringing her to life.”
The Last of Us season two is also expected to feature Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Wright, and Isabela Merced in new additions to the show’s cast.
The series’ creators have assured fans that they are handling the adaptation with the same emotional depth and care that made Season 1 so compelling.
Co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann previously told Deadline that season 2 will be shorter than season 1, featuring only seven episodes, but fans need not worry as they are planning to continue the story into a third season by tapping into the extensive source material.
Mazin said: “The story material that we got from Part II of the game is way more than the story material that was in the first game, so part of what we had to do from the start was figure out how to tell that story across seasons.”
“When you do that, you look for natural breakpoints, and as we laid it out, this season, the natural breakpoint felt like it came after seven episodes.”
They added that every episode will (hopefully) “feel like its own blockbuster” and that season 2 will show a “continuation of love from the first season”.
The Last of Us season 2 plot
The Last of Us season 2 is largely based on the events of the 2020 video game The Last of Us Part II, so quite a bit is already known about the plot so far, though of course the TV series could diverge from the game’s narrative.
We do know that season 2 will start five years on from the events of season 1, and will introduce Isabella Merced as Dina, Ellie’s romantic interest and Jesse’s ex. The casting information describes her as “a freewheeling spirit with a loyalty towards Ellie, which is challenged by the world’s brutality.”
The pair meet in the Jackson commune in which Ellie and Joel now reside, alongside Joel’s brother Tommy (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Gabriel Luna) and Tommy’s pregnant wife Maria (True Blood’s Rutina Wesley).
In a minute-long teaser trailer, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot lifted directly from the The Last of Us Part II video game shows Dina with her arms wrapped around Ellie as the pair slow dance.
The plot will “explore themes of tribalism and the impact of losing loved ones from within one’s group,” the official synopsis reads. It has also been confirmed that spores: the method through which infection is spread in the games, will return in season 2 after they were initially replaced by tendrils.
The Last of Us season 2 release date
The Last of Us season two premieres on HBO on 13 April, 2025. Series 1 is available to stream on Max. For UK viewers, the series is expected to air on Sky Atlantic and NOW from 13 April onwards. The first episode has been titled “Future Days”.
With gut-wrenching storytelling, jaw-dropping performances, and a world that only grows more dangerous, The Last of Us season 2 is set to be a rollercoaster of emotions.
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