HBO Renews ‘The Last of Us’ for Season 2

HBO’s latest drama, The Last of Us has been renewed for a second season.

The news arrives following the show’s premiere in early January, which, according to The Hollywood Reporter, became the premium channel’s second most-watched series debut in 10 years—and in total, the premiere saw 22 million viewers. The Last of Us stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, a smuggler, and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, a teenager, who make their way together in a post-apocalyptic world, and is based on a PlayStation video game.

“I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey,” executive producer Neil Druckmann said, per the outlet. “The collaboration … exceeded my already high expectations. Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two!”

The series was renewed before its third episode airs on Sunday. The Last of Us screenwriter Craig Mazin told THR that he’s “grateful to the millions of people who have joined us on this journey.” He continued, “The audience has given us the chance to continue, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in.”