Skeptical fans of “The Last of Us” can release a breath of fresh air; the show has become HBO’s newest hit. The TV Show has quickly cemented itself as one of the best video game adaptations ever. 

When the show premiered on Jan. 15, 2023, the reviews promptly made it the highest-rated show on IMDb with a 9.6/10 rating. Currently, “The Last of Us” is certified “fresh” on the Rotten Tomatoes website with a critic rating of 97% and an audience rating of 96%.

This is a relief to video game fans everywhere due to a track record of lackluster video game adaptations. For example “Alone in the Dark” received a 2.4 rating on IMDb, “House of the Dead” received a 2.1, “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” received a 3.6, and “Street Fighter” received a 3.9.

The show garnered 4.7 million viewers on its premiere. The viewership increased by 22% for the second episode, gaining 1 million viewers for a total of 5.7 million.

“The Last of Us” is an adaptation of the fourth best-selling PlayStation game of the same name. Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley created the video game. Naughty Dog developed the game with Druckmann’s directing. 

The game was first released on June 14, 2013, exclusively for Sony’s PlayStation 3. The sequel, The Last of Us Part II, was released on June 19, 2020, and was made under the same team.

Although the show differs slightly from the video game, they both keep the same premise. IMDb’s plot summary states “20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed, Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-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 the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.”

The show’s fungus outbreak takes inspiration from the real-life Cordyceps fungus that hijacks small insects and takes control of their mind and body. In the show, the fungus has figured out a way to transfer to humans due to global warming. 

Amongst the popularity “The Last of Us” has received, the show has already received the green-light for season two. Longtime fans of the franchise can rejoice that “The Last of Us” is on track to be the best video game adaption ever. A new episode is released every Sunday at 8:00 p.m. central time. “The Last of Us” can be watched on HBO Max.

The release schedule for “The Last of Us”:

Episode 1 – “When You’re Lost in the Darkness” (January 15) 

Episode 2 – “Infected” (January 22)

Episode 3 – “Long Long Time” (January 29)

Episode 4 – TBA (February 5)

Episode 5 – TBA (February 12)

Episode 6 – TBA (February 19)

Episode 7 – TBA (February 26)

Episode 8 – TBA (March 5)

Episode 9 – TBA (March 12)