HBO - The Last of Us

[Sure-Oz]

@HBO: Look for the light.

@clmazin and @Neil_Druckmann to develop the series adaptation of #TheLastOfUs, coming soon to HBO: http://itsh.bo/thelastofus https://twitter.com/HBO/status/12356...572032/video/1

The Last of Us' Series in the Works at HBO From 'Chernobyl' Creator Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann (Exclusive)

MARCH 05, 2020 9:30AMby*Borys Kit, Patrick Shanley

Craig Mazin, the creator of the acclaimed limited series*Chernobyl,*is reteaming with HBO adapt*The Last of Us, the massive Sony PlayStation video game franchise.
In a rare development in the world of video game adaptations, the writer and creative director of the game, Neil Druckmann, is also involved, and will work with Mazin to pen and executive produce what is intended to be a series.

Carolyn Strauss will also executive produce along with Evan Wells, the president of Naughty Dog, the Santa Monica-based developer of the game. The project is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and in association with PlayStation Productions and it will be the first television series from PlayStation Productions.
Originally launched in 2013, Sony and Naughty Dog’s*The Last of Us*garnered critical praise for its engrossing tale of the post-apocalypse centered on the relationship between Joel, a smuggler in this new world, and Ellie, a teenager who may be a key to a cure for the deadly pandemic.
Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle the14-year-old girl out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival. The HBO series will cover the events of the original game, which was written by Druckmann, with the possibility of additional content based on the forthcoming game sequel,*The Last of Us Part II, which will release on May 29, 2020.
Mazin, who is said to be an avid player of the game, stated, “Neil Druckmann is without question the finest storyteller working in the video game medium, and*The Last of Us*is his magnum opus. Getting a chance to adapt this breathtaking work of art has been a dream of mine for years, and I’m so honored to do it in partnership with Neil.”
“From the first time I sat down to talk with Craig I was equally blown away by his approach to narrative and his love and deep understanding of*The Last of Us,” said Druckmann in a statement. “With*Chernobyl, Craig and HBO created a tense, harrowing, emotional masterpiece. I couldn’t think of better partners to bring the story of*The Last of Us*to life as a television show.”
Last of Us*won numerous “game of the year” awards and went on to sell more than 17 million copies across both its original release on the PlayStation 3 and a remastered version on the PlayStation 4.
“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us to partner with Craig, Neil, Carolyn and the teams at Sony, Naughty Dog and PlayStation to bring the virtual world of this acclaimed game to life,” stated HBO programming president Casey Bloys.
“This is the first of many shows we intend to develop with our friends at PlayStation Productions,” said Chris Parnell, co-president of Sony Pictures Television Studios.*The Last of Us*is a brilliant achievement in storytelling and character development, and we are lucky to have the opportunity to work with this team to adapt it.”
Druckmann is a longtime vet of Naughty Dog, starting as a programming intern in 2004. In 2007, he was given the role of game designer on*Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, the first installment in the action adventure series. In 2013, he created*The Last of Us, based on a concept he developed as a student at Carnegie Mellon University.
Mazin’s*Chernobyl*tackled a bleak and complex true-life event and became a must-see show for HBO. The show won an Emmy for outstanding limited series and landed one for Mazin for outstanding writing. Mazin also won a PGA and a WGA Award.


Holy shit this is gonna be awesome.

[Hammock Parties]

Nah the show is still good enough that slogging through the really boring stuff is worth it to get to those peak Sheen moments. I'm looking forward to season 7.

Candidate Santos is a pretty interesting storyline, as is everyone having existential crises in leaving the White House.

I won't lie, though, I'm looking forward to the fresh take on DC from House of Cards. Soon!!

[-King-]

I think Bella is a solid actor but she was just given the biggest lie of bullshit to work with I've seen in a long time. Ellie this season might be the stupidest most incompetent main character I've ever watched.

The writing is what ****ed up this show, not the actors. Instead of doing a 2 part narrative with Ellie this season and Abby the next, they should have either added Abby scenes to the current show or alternated narratives between episodes somehow. As it stands, I wasn't really invested in Ellie killing Abby because they didn't show enough Abby and also, because Abby was justified in what she did. I think the writers ****ed up in letting us know who Abby was and why she killed Joel too early. If we didn't know and just thought some random girl killed him, we'd be more invested in Ellie finding her and getting revenge. As it is now...meh. Ellie is just bumbling around only surviving because of random deus ex machina moments in a story I don't really care about.

[ScareCrowe]

Originally Posted by -King-

I think Bella is a solid actor but she was just given the biggest lie of bullshit to work with I've seen in a long time. Ellie this season might be the stupidest most incompetent main character I've ever watched.

The writing is what ****ed up this show, not the actors. Instead of doing a 2 part narrative with Ellie this season and Abby the next, they should have either added Abby scenes to the current show or alternated narratives between episodes somehow. As it stands, I wasn't really invested in Ellie killing Abby because they didn't show enough Abby and also, because Abby was justified in what she did. I think the writers ****ed up in letting us know who Abby was and why she killed Joel too early. If we didn't know and just thought some random girl killed him, we'd be more invested in Ellie finding her and getting revenge. As it is now...meh. Ellie is just bumbling around only surviving because of random deus ex machina moments in a story I don't really care about.

That's debatable IMO. Her whole thing is Joel killed her father who was unarmed & couldn't defend himself. First of all this is wrong because he picked up a scalpel & threatened Joel. Furthermore Abby's father was going to kill Ellie who also has no way of defending herself (without telling her that the process of trying to make a cure will kill her, or that they weren't sure the process would even work). Finally Abby wouldn't be alive to kill Joel if Joel doesn't save her.

Abby doesn't know the full story & just decides to go full revenge mode despite not really knowing if Joel was justified in what he did or not with no regard for how it affects anyone else in her group.

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by -King-

I think Bella is a solid actor but she was just given the biggest lie of bullshit to work with I've seen in a long time. Ellie this season might be the stupidest most incompetent main character I've ever watched.

The writing is what ****ed up this show, not the actors. Instead of doing a 2 part narrative with Ellie this season and Abby the next, they should have either added Abby scenes to the current show or alternated narratives between episodes somehow. As it stands, I wasn't really invested in Ellie killing Abby because they didn't show enough Abby and also, because Abby was justified in what she did. I think the writers ****ed up in letting us know who Abby was and why she killed Joel too early. If we didn't know and just thought some random girl killed him, we'd be more invested in Ellie finding her and getting revenge. As it is now...meh. Ellie is just bumbling around only surviving because of random deus ex machina moments in a story I don't really care about.

Ellie definitely has been written poorly compared to the source this season. This season was already going to be hard on viewers with how divisive it is with the game. Even people I've seen reviewing that liked the game and s1 are saying it's not a great season. I enjoyed it and agree with that too. It's gonna be hard to wait 2 years esp with the ok finale and how rushed this season was. They need to get Ellie figured out and not just her looks cause they didn't bother people really in s1.

[Sassy Squatch]

I have no earthly idea why they wrote Dina as the more vindictive one for the TV show. Ellie getting progressively more unhinged and hellbent on revenge and the fallout of that is the driving force of the whole story in the game. Very odd choice.

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by Sassy Squatch

I have no earthly idea why they wrote Dina as the more vindictive one for the TV show. Ellie getting progressively more unhinged and hellbent on revenge and the fallout of that is the driving force of the whole story in the game. Very odd choice.

Dina definitely seems to be smarter than Ellie as well. Ellie is reckless and comes off stupid compared to the game. I'm hoping we get better Abby in s3 but we need Ellie to be better. I can hate Ellie or not want her to do certain things like the game but the game is far more believable than this season. Hopefully s3 fleshes out Abby's side to care more. They need to listen to feedback

[BWillie]

I really hope Ellie is dead!

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

Hopefully s3 fleshes out Abby's side to care more. They need to listen to feedback

No one wants to watch more lesbian girl drama set in an otherwise incredible post apocalyptic plant zombie world. A sandbox. In which something amazing could have been created.

Showrunners could have expanded on this theme immensely and made an all-time great TV show.

Instead we got lesbian girl drama.

STOP WATCHING IT. There are actual good shows to watch.

[notorious]

How does a show with little momentum make it two years until the next episode?

Think about the 80s and 90s. 26 episodes that ran half the year and was ready for another 26 in 6 months.

[BigBeauford]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

No one wants to watch more lesbian girl drama set in an otherwise incredible post apocalyptic plant zombie world. A sandbox. In which something amazing could have been created.

Showrunners could have expanded on this theme immensely and made an all-time great TV show.

Instead we got lesbian girl drama.

STOP WATCHING IT. There are actual good shows to watch.

They ****ed up by not going the Fallout route and creating an original story set in this sandbox. Say what you will, Episode 3 of Season one (Bill's story) was easily the best thing to come out of the show.

[ThaVirus]

Yeah, but two dudes kissed. Gross!

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by notorious

How does a show with little momentum make it two years until the next episode?

Think about the 80s and 90s. 26 episodes that ran half the year and was ready for another 26 in 6 months.

Most of the modern shows have much higher budgets and production values than the old episodic shows from the 70s and 80s.

Better overall everything. That takes time.

This is different than cranking out 30 episodes of The A Team a year.

[Gravedigger]

The story is just not good, wasn't in the game, isn't now in the show, no matter how many little things they change. You've turned Ellie into a revenge story, losing all semblance of character growth she had in the first game and the characters you introduce in the second game aren't interesting enough to carry the story. Isabela Merced does a great job as Dina, love her as an actress, but Jesse is actually more interesting in the show than the game but what happens is the same as in the game, so any potential he could've had is wasted quickly. Spoiler alert, next season isn't going to improve Abby, nobody liked Abby in the game, it's not going to change in the show. Leaving her and Tommy out of this season all together was a mistake because even though there are cool set pieces in the next season, splitting this season up into two was just annoying and only gives Druckmann, the man who killed the franchise story in the second game by doing Joel dirty in the first hour of the game, can get a third game out. Honestly this franchise was so promising, one of my favorite games of all time, but the second game derails everything the first one setup. I get why Druckmann did what he did to try and shock the audience and do something unexpected, but it backfired in such a massive way, I'm not sure a third game would be good. There was hope that Bill would've been back in a third game, but the shows changes to his story with Frank killed that. I'll watch the next season for the great set pieces they still have to go over, but the ending of it all is just going to piss me off all over again.

[Pepe Silvia]

Originally Posted by BWillie

I really hope Ellie is dead!

You always hope that the main characters on every show die, it's hilarious.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Pepe Silvia

You always hope that the main characters on every show die, it's hilarious.