This show is truly incredible. For a zombie dystopia genre series, it is on another level. I haven’t enjoyed a show this much since Warrior, and Peaky Blinders before that. Those three are each solid 10/10 shows.
I haven’t played the game, but apparently they did a good job basing the series on the game.
Season 2 of the series comes out soon. Let’s hope it’s just as good 
Isn’t that the goofy guy from the “you’re perfect, so work it” commercial? 
This is so good & was so hard to find. You’re welcome.
Just finished season 1, completely agree. I played the game a little bit, but also watched a playthrough like a movie and it actually works. So I knew the story, and the adaptation was super faithful, but I still enjoyed the show.
I feel like there were eras of zombie media: early slow zombies attacking a house (Night of the Living Dead), then wider society things (original Dawn of the Dead), then remakes with more realistism and fast zombies still focusing on the morning of the apocalypse (Dawn of the Dead, Walking Dead, 28 Days Later) and really survival horror/action. Then with Land of the Dead and later Walking Dead and 28 weeks later, more exploration of how society is rebuilt post-apocalypse.
Last of Us feels like a transition into a new kind of post-post-apocalypse era, where both the zombie threat and the political intrigue are just part of the scenery, and they’re just metaphors for outside forces and the story is about loss and grief and trauma and meaning. Not that those themes weren’t present throughout, but they’re central here, and give the more traditional zombie stuff purpose.
Very excited for Season 2.
And yes, @Ichthus77, Pedro Pascal is a man of many talents. Highly recommend him in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
I did see that Nick Cage movie, and I loved it!! …and I do remember him (& love him) in it. I also remember him in gladiator 2 
Also, @humanize your current avatar of Mel Gibson… I just have to say… I love him in Conspiracy Theory. I had totally forgotten about that movie, but I saw it recently again. It had to be decades between now and the last time I watched it. I only remembered bits and pieces of it, so it was almost like watching it for the first time, but I remembered loving that movie so much, and I still love it, probably more so now.
On my list considering my like for Nicholas Cage.
Speaking of THE LAST OF US, …it has decent rewatchability. Not perfect, I mean Peaky Blinders and even Warrior, also even Banshee or True Detective season 1, have more rewatchability compared to The Last of Us. But still, 8/10 solid on that is better than most other shows.
The whole fungus perspective is really interesting, although gets conceptually filled out more or less. I assume the video game is more immersive and exciting because you get to fight the higher-level fungal zombies, whereas in the show (at least season 1) it’s basically low-level zombies the entire time except for in the museum, which also ends… pretty easily.
Still, solid 10/10 show. But what I really wanted to mention here is how much heart the TV series has. The chemistry and super authentic emotional dynamics between Pedro and Bella, that very father-daughter protective but also annoyed vibe, with a real parental love developing throughout. I mean, that is very pure, I would say really unique in any TV series. The heartwarming moments are actually real, very authentic. Scattered between violence and horror scenes.
The Fedra and mercs parts are the weakest imo, but they at least flesh out the storyline for Pedro and Bella. And it’s actually more 'evil government / rogue factions" sort of content in that dystopian angle than most zombie franchises ever bother to develop.
I take it back. Season 2 has already ruined the entire series. Who cares about video games. This is a film series. Season 1 will stand the test of time as perfection. Season 2 will go down in history as spitefully destroying what story telling had already been so perfectly well done.
