We’ll soon be seeing Joel and Ellie fight off zombies on the small screen. Developer Naughty Dog has partnered with HBO to create a full TV show adaptation of the critically acclaimed game franchise, The Last of Us. Naughty Dog’s own Neil Druckmann will act as executive producer for the series and will assist in writing alongside Craig Mazin, creator of the award-winning HBO miniseries, Chernobyl. Naughty Dog President, Evan Wells and HBO’s Carolyn Strauss will also work alongside Druckmann and Mazin as executive producers.
The Last of Us adaptation will follow the storyline of the first game which tells the story of post-apocalypse survivors Joel and Ellie. In their world, a brain-altering virus had spread and infected more than half of the population. Joel is tasked smuggle a special girl, Ellie, out of the government-enforced quarantine zone and take her to the anti-government organization, Fireflies. This leads them on a cross-country adventure fighting off infected humans who have become zombie-like and creating a strong bond in the process. It’s possible that the show will also touch on events from the game’s sequel but that has yet to be confirmed.
The Last of Us franchise is already designed as a cinematic type of game, which should make its port to the small screen pretty seamless. Plus, its mature storytelling and fleshed out characters gives HBO a good foundation to build the show and translate the game into a full narrative.
This will be Sony’s first television series to be produced in association with Playstation Production, but Chris Parnell, co-president of Sony Pictures Television Studios, told The Hollywood Reporter that this will be but “the first of many shows we intend to develop with our friends at PlayStation Productions.”