HBO has finally announced the premiere date of the second season of "The Last of Us", one of their most anticipated series. The show, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, broke all manner of streaming records upon its release and promises an action-packed second outing with new stars and conflicts.
When is the series premiering?
"The Last of Us: Part 2" premieres on Max this April 13.
The second season is based on the video game of the same name, which continues Joel (Pascal) and Ellie's (Ramsey) stories.
The series picks up after a five-year time-jump, finding Joel and Ellie relocated to a relatively safe encampment in Wisconsin as they both deal with a rift in their relationship and the fungal-infected zombies that plague the series' apocalyptic landscape.
Three alternate posters of the series were also shared, showcasing the leads of the second season: Joel, Ellie, and Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), a new character that will be introduced in future episodes.
Who stars in the second season?
Season 2's cast is made up of some of the characters explored in the previous seasons with plenty of new additions, including Dever as Abby, Isabela Merced as Dina, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Danny Ramirez as Manny, and more. Seasoned actors like Jeffrey Wright and Catherine O'Hara will also be featured, with the former playing the role of Isaac, which he played in the video game.
O'Hara was featured briefly in the teaser trailer, but her role has yet to be disclosed.
What the showrunners have said about the series
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Craig Mazin, one of the series' showrunners, explained that while the second season will have less episodes than the first, each episode will be packed with plenty of storylines.
“Each episode is like a meal. You can have a light dinner or you can go to a 12-course French restaurant,” said Mazin.
“We have seven episodes. They are high-calorie, dense episodes. If you consider action and drama and scope to be the things that create an epic nature, each one of these episodes packs quite a wallop. You will not be bored.”