Hope in a grim world

The Last of Us debuted earlier this month on HBO, and over the first couple of episodes, it's gained a considerable amount of acclaim, which is particularly notable given that it's a post-apocalyptic zombie series based on a video game. We've had our run of zombie shows in recent years: The Walking Dead and its numerous spinoffs, Z-Nation, iZombie, Santa Clarita Diet, and Resident Evil, but video game adaptations are notoriously difficult to get right. I haven't played the games, but judging from the reviews, HBO seems to have figured it out. I'm not terribly surprised: the show was created by Craig Mazin, the guy behind HBO's other phenomenal series, Chernobyl.

How ‘The Last of Us’ changed gaming, strained relationships and spawned an empire

We trace the history of Naughty Dog’s pop culture phenomenon, from the video game’s 2013 debut to its adaptation as an HBO series 10 years later.

Los Angeles TimesTodd Martens

I'm coming in to the show blind, but I've enjoyed what I've seen thus far. The other week, The Los Angeles Times put together a lengthy exploration of why the original game was so groundbreaking: it was a game that put a lot of emphasis on avoiding violence a a means to survive, and put a lot of thought into how emotionally difficult a post-apocalyptic world might be. That's no easy task, and it's why the two games have really held up – and it seems like it's the reason for this adaptation that we now have coming out now. I haven't played the game: it's a PlayStation exclusive, and I've got an Xbox at home, but this feature provides a good insight into the game and how it came to be.