The second season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series The Last of Us was originally broadcast on HBO between April and May 2025. Based on the video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog, the season is set twenty-five years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, which causes its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and collapses society. The second season, based on the first half of the 2020 game The Last of Us Part II, follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) five years after the events of the first season, after they have settled into Jackson, Wyoming, with Joel's brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Ellie's friends Dina (Isabela Merced) and Jesse (Young Mazino).

HBO renewed The Last of Us for a second season less than two weeks after the series premiered in January 2023. Co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann were joined in the writers' room by Halley Gross and Bo Shim; Druckmann wrote and co-directed the games, and Gross co-wrote Part II. Principal photography took place in British Columbia from February to August 2024. Druckmann, Mazin, and Peter Hoar returned to direct the seven episodes alongside newcomers Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Mark Mylod, and Stephen Williams. Gustavo Santaolalla and David Fleming returned to compose the score.

Critics felt the season reinforced The Last of Us as the best video game adaptation, praising the action sequences, direction, performances, production design, and writing, though some criticized the pacing and considered the story incomplete. The season was subject to review bombing amid audience criticism. It was nominated for several awards, including 17 Primetime Emmy Awards. Across linear channels and Max, the season premiere was watched by 5.3 million viewers on the first day, a 13% increase from the first-season premiere; by May, the series averaged almost 37 million global viewers per episode.

Cast and characters

Main

Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller, a hardened middle-aged survivor. Joel is portrayed as more physically vulnerable in the series compared to the games. His relationship with Ellie has become strained since he lied to her at the end of the first season. Bella Ramsey as Ellie, a 19-year-old who is immune to the Cordyceps infection. She has become tougher, like Joel, but maintains her humor. As she grows up in Jackson, she becomes distanced from Joel; she gets a tattoo, learns to play guitar, and develops queer relationships. Gabriel Luna as Tommy Miller, Joel's younger brother who maintains idealism in hoping for a better world. A former Firefly, Tommy gave up on their cause and runs a commune with his wife Maria, with whom he has a son named Benjamin, nicknamed "Benji". Isabela Merced as Dina, Ellie's romantic interest and Jesse's ex-girlfriend. She is a freewheeling spirit with a loyalty towards Ellie, which is challenged by the world's brutality. Young Mazino as Jesse, Dina's ex-boyfriend and an important member of Jackson whose selflessness sometimes comes at a cost. Having lost everything prior to joining Jackson, he values its sense of community and works hard to ensure it is not lost.

Recurring Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, a Washington Liberation Front (WLF) soldier and former Firefly who seeks revenge against Joel for the death of her father and subsequently has her worldview challenged Rutina Wesley as Maria, a co-leader of the survivors in Jackson. She is Tommy's wife and Benjamin's mother. Formerly an assistant district attorney, Maria is calm and merciful. Robert John Burke as Seth, a former police officer who runs a bar in Jackson. He is homophobic, leading to conflict with Joel, Ellie, and Dina. Spencer Lord as Owen, a WLF member and former Firefly. He is a gentle person whose physical strength forces him to fight enemies he does not hate. Tati Gabrielle as Nora, a WLF military medic and former Firefly who has difficulty accepting her past behavior Ariela Barer as Mel, a former Firefly and Owen's girlfriend. She is a doctor in the WLF committed to her role while struggling with the realities of war, reluctant to hurt others. Danny Ramirez as Manny, a WLF member and former Firefly. A loyal soldier who fears failing his friends, he maintains a jovial attitude despite the pain of his past. Catherine O'Hara as Gail, Joel's therapist and Eugene's wife. She is cynical, not deceived by Joel's posturing.

Guest

Noah Lamanna as Kat, Ellie's ex and the only other openly queer member of Jackson. In the video game, Kat (spelled "Cat") is only mentioned and depicted in a photograph and drawing.

Jeffrey Wright as Isaac Dixon, the ruthless leader of the WLF and a former high-ranking sergeant for the Federal Disaster Response Agency (FEDRA). The WLF face a war in their pursuit for liberty. Wright reprises his role from the video game. Alanna Ubach as Hanrahan, a high-ranking WLF member. The character is original to the series. Josh Peck as Janowicz, a FEDRA soldier in Seattle under Isaac's command. He jokes with other soldiers about the harassment and abuse of civilians. Ben Ahlers as Burton, a loyal and hardened WLF soldier. He was recruited by Isaac as a new FEDRA recruit.

Hettienne Park as Elise Park, a WLF sergeant whose soldier son was infected through spores. The character is original to the series.

Tony Dalton as Javier Miller, Joel and Tommy's father. An original character to the series, he is a police officer with a history of using violence to discipline his sons, having been abused even more violently by his own father as a child. Joe Pantoliano as Eugene Lynden, Gail's husband. He is kind, behaving with innocence and purity. The character is only seen in a photograph in the game.

Episodes

Production Development

HBO renewed The Last of Us for a second season on January 27, 2023, less than two weeks after the premiere of the first season. While the first season covers the events of Naughty Dog's video game The Last of Us (2013) and its downloadable expansion, The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014), the second season covers part of the sequel, The Last of Us Part II (2020). The showrunners, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, wanted to avoid filler between the games. PartII is expected to span multiple seasons, and Mazin does not want the series to overtake the games. While writing the first season, Mazin and Druckmann ensured characters remained true to their developments in Part II in case the show received more seasons.

The series is a co-production of Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, Naughty Dog, the Mighty Mint, and Word Games, with Mazin, Druckmann, Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, and Carter Swan serving as returning executive producers. Jacqueline Lesko—who co–executive produced the first season and had worked with Mazin for over a decade, including as his assistant—was named an executive producer in March 2023, followed by Cecil O'Connor, a line producer on the first season, in February 2024. The season was produced by Allen Marshall Palmer and Julie Herrin. In January 2024, Druckmann, Mazin, and Peter Hoar were announced as returning directors alongside newcomers Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Mark Mylod, and Stephen Williams. Inspired by Noah Hawley's work on Fargo, Mazin felt directing the premiere allowed him to prepare the season, and he worked closely with each director on set. In June, Mazin and Druckmann revealed the season would consist of seven episodes. The series was renewed for a third season on April 9, 2025, before the second premiered.

Casting

Druckmann felt Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey's comfort and familiarity with their characters—Joel and Ellie, respectively—allowed them to "dive deeper" into their performances. Pascal and Ramsey, who grew close during production of the first season, considered their separation "painful" and "lonelier" during filming for the second. HBO denied rumors that Pascal had finished filming in March 2024; he returned for later scenes. Ramsey added a "green rider" into their second-season contract, requiring all departments to adopt sustainable practices during production. The season introduces several new characters and spends more time with them. Mazin felt the new actors "fit right in" due to the series's established reputation. Casting was put on hold in May 2023 due to the Writers Guild of America strike; actors had been auditioning with scenes from The Last of Us Part II due to an absence of scripts.

The production team wanted to start the season's casting with Abby, beginning before the strike; Dever became the frontrunner after the strike ended in November, following the response to her performance in No One Will Save You (2023). She previously appeared in Naughty Dog's Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016), and was considered to play Ellie in the abandoned film adaptation of The Last of Us around the time. Her casting was announced on January 9, 2024, followed by Mazino's as Jesse on January 10, and Merced's as Dina on January 11. O'Hara's casting was announced on February 2, followed by Ramirez, Barer, Gabrielle, and Lord's on March 1, Wright's on May 24, and Ahlers, Burke, Lamanna, Pantoliano, Park, and Ubach's on March 5, 2025.

Writing

A writers' room for the second season was established in Los Angeles by February 2023, with Mazin and Druckmann joined by Halley Gross, who co-wrote Part II with Druckmann, and Bo Shim, a new writer. Gross was also named co–executive producer. Lesko was present as the writers outlined the season, becoming "their emotional temperature". Druckmann worked on the story during development of The Last of Us Part II Remastered (2024), allowing him to revisit and analyze its decisions and intricacies. The writers felt added pressure in working on the second season due to the success of the first. They began by splitting Part IIs narrative into sections, then selecting some for the second season; the seven-episode length was chosen as a natural breaking point. They experimented with several methods of presenting the non-linear timeline, settling on what they found to be the "most impactful". Splitting across seasons prompted narrative rearrangement to present information earlier than in the game, such as Abby's backstory and relationships. Some changes were also made as the game's shifting player perspective between Ellie and Abby no longer applied. Content cut from the game, including some presented in Part II Remastered, was added to the series.

Druckmann considered himself biased when adapting the "intimately familiar" story and tried to keep an open mind with changes; he and Mazin generally agreed. Scripts were being written by April 2023, with a full outline mapped, but writing was affected by the writers' strike in May; Mazin submitted the first episode about 90 minutes before the strike began, and neither he nor Druckmann worked on the series while the strike was ongoing. Instead, Mazin mentally outlined scenes while taking walks, described as "brain-writing", as he planned to quickly complete scripts after the strike to ensure a smooth production schedule. Mazin wrote the first five episodes and co-wrote the final two with Druckmann and Gross. The second season features themes of revenge, in contrast to the first season's unconditional love; Druckmann felt it was a "continuation of love from the first season, and this is just the dark side of that coin". To Mazin, writing a series "about people that love each other and care for each other" is unlikely to work unless the cast and crew feel similarly in real life. The second season, like the first, highlights several duos, such as Ellie and Dina.