The music for the American post-apocalyptic drama television series The Last of Us was composed by Gustavo Santaolalla and David Fleming. Santaolalla composed the music for the video game franchise on which the series is based, including The Last of Us (2013) and The Last of Us Part II (2020). Several of Santaolalla's tracks from the video games were reused throughout the series; his work on the series focused on recrafting his previous material and working with silence, while Fleming created original music inspired by real-world sounds within a decayed civilization, making use of sampling techniques.

The first season features songs such as "Never Let Me Down Again" by Depeche Mode and "Long, Long Time" by Linda Ronstadt, as well as covers of these songs by Jessica Mazin and Nick Offerman, respectively. Similar songs were integrated in the second season, such as covers of Shawn James's "Through the Valley" and A-ha's "Take On Me" by Ashley Johnson and Bella Ramsey, respectively. Milan Records published the 66-track soundtrack album for the first season in February 2023, featuring the work of Santaolalla, Fleming, Mazin, and Offerman, as well as Jake Staley and Juan Luqui. The 41-track second-season soundtrack album was published in May 2025, featuring tracks from Santaolalla, Fleming, Staley, Luqui, Johnson, and Ramsey.

Critics praised the use of music throughout the series for its appropriateness and intensification of the writing. Fleming and Santaolalla were twice nominated at the World Soundtrack Awards, while Fleming won at the ASCAP Screen Music Awards and Santaolalla twice at the Imagen Awards. Music editor Maarten Hofmeijer and supervisor Ian Broucek received accolades at the Golden Reel Awards and Hollywood Music in Media Awards, respectively. Several songs saw increases in streams and charting following their use in the series, and Spotify's official playlist generated more than 1.6 million streams within six weeks.

Production and composition

Gustavo Santaolalla and David Fleming compose the score for the series; Santaolalla, who composed the music for the games, The Last of Us (2013) and The Last of Us Part II (2020), was announced to be returning for the series in March 2020. He felt fans' relationship with the music made his return inevitable, noting it was so integral to the narrative that its absence or alteration would be akin to excluding lead characters Joel or Ellie; series creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann considered his score part of "the DNA of The Last of Us". Santaolalla treated the series as "an expansion" of the games and kept them tied to each other, not seeking to revise or correct previous work as he considered it authentic and did not want to alienate fans; he primarily recrafted instead of creating new music, seeking to fit the themes and melodies within the scenes rather than create new ones. Some pieces fit while others were trimmed and edited.

Santaolalla thought Latino viewers would "recognize touches" of his music, and drew on his experiences in film and television, having composed some tracks for Jane the Virgin and Making a Murderer. He had around 185 cues for the first season, associated with specific on-screen actions, like a character opening a door or getting in a car. Santaolalla enjoyed the natural feeling of silence and felt it helped draw in viewers emotionally; he compared his use of silence to parkour, likening the calculations practiced before the athletes land to his measured selection of notes before he plays them. Santaolalla worked on the character-driven score and Fleming on the action-driven, and they collaborated on blending the two.

Fleming was a fan of Santaolalla's work before working on the series. He saw his own music as "crazy" and Santaolalla's as "very soft and emotional". His work was inspired by real sounds within a decayed civilization; he kept his score minimalistic like Santaolalla's and exercised restraint to match Mazin's goal of viewers feeling immersed within scenes rather than observing them, wanting thoughtful themes instead of "typical action music". Fleming selected instruments that paired appropriately with Santaolalla's work; rather than a generic drum, he wanted one with "personality", like "a rusty barrel or like cracking wood or bowing, rusty metal". Santaolalla noted Fleming's work added cohesiveness in his use of sampling specific sounds and maintaining the overall tone, noting his experience fulfilled aspects of the score that Santaolalla was unable to do.

Santaolalla and Fleming did not meet until after completing the first season. They returned to compose the score for the second, which Santaolalla felt enhanced their working relationship, impacting each other's work. Fleming found diverting from Santaolalla's original game score was often necessary to give the series its own identity, but otherwise sought to maintain the same feeling and avoid unnecessary diversion. He thought their different approaches complemented their individual tasks for the series. Mazin worked with the composers to determine specific sounds for each character and group, such as Ellie, Abby's friends, and the infected. Druckmann similarly considered music conducive to the narrative, akin to the game, with characters performing or listening to music contributing to worldbuilding or relationships. Santaolalla and Fleming scored Abby to match her anger, pain, and trauma akin to Ellie's, rather than as a traditional antagonist. Santaolalla is set to return for the third season.

Integration and featured music Season 1

For the first season, series editor Timothy A. Good used Santaolalla's game score as temp music during editing and found it influenced his decisions. Several songs from the games were reused to evoke particular emotions, such as "All Gone" in the sixth episode to remind viewers of Sarah's death. For the ninth episode, the music reflects the sadness of the action sequence; Mazin attempted several variations of music for the sequence, including dark and action-heavy tracks, but ultimately chose Santaolalla's "saddest" music from the game as the emotions were ultimately the same despite their usage within different contexts.

The final scene and credits of the first episode feature Depeche Mode's "Never Let Me Down Again", which Mazin chose due to its blend of upbeat sounds and dark lyrics. He felt its title referred to Joel and Ellie's relationship. The song topped two Billboard charts after broadcast. It returned in the sixth episode, performed by Mazin's daughter Jessica, to demonstrate Ellie feeling let down by Joel. The third episode uses "Long, Long Time" by Linda Ronstadt, which exhibits themes of unfulfilled love and how time heals wounds, echoing Bill and Frank's relationship. Streams of the song increased significantly following the episode's broadcast, and it topped three Billboard charts for the first time; several outlets compared it to the 2022 resurgence of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" after its use in Stranger Thingss fourth season.

The fourth episode's title, "Please Hold to My Hand", references the lyrics of Hank Williams's "Alone and Forsaken", played in the episode; the song was used in the game and one of the series's trailers. Its credits use Lotte Kestner's cover of "True Faith", which itself was covered by Ashley Johnson in-character as Ellie in a 2020 trailer for Part II. Both songs charted and saw increases in streams within 24 hours, as did Agnes Obel's "Fuel to Fire", used in the fifth episode. A-ha's "Take On Me" is used in the seventh episode; Ellie performs the song in Part II, and it charted after the episode aired. Pearl Jam's "All or None" was used to represent Ellie's loneliness and uncomfortability, while the title reflected her general attitude in life, and Etta James's version of "I Got You Babe" was reused from the game; Druckmann felt its romantic lyrics hidden by joyous music mirrored Ellie and Riley's feelings. Both songs saw streams increases within 24 hours. The inclusion of the Rockabye Baby! version of "Just Like Heaven" was Good's suggestion, having wanted to use it for some time.

Season 2

Cast members noted performed music's presence during filming: Gabriel Luna (who portrays Tommy) had jam sessions on set, playing songs from artists like the Cranberries and Radiohead, and posted many on his Instagram account, including a duet with Ezra Agbonkhese (who portrays Tommy's son Benjamin). Young Mazino (who plays Jesse) recalled that cast members each purchased guitars to ensure their presence on set; any actor would play a song for those who knew it to join in performing, or those unfamiliar to learn. Mazino felt that "trad[ing] songs like Pokémon" helped the cast deal with intensity during filming. In integrating Santaolalla and Fleming's work into episodes, music supervisor Scott Hanau sought silence and minimalism, wanting to enhance the actors' performances rather than distract from them.

The second episode, "Through the Valley", ends with a cover of Shawn James's song "Through the Valley" performed by Ashley Johnson, who portrayed Ellie in the games and Ellie's mother Anna in the series. Johnson's cover featured in the second game and its marketing; the one featured in the episode is a blend of her original performance and a new recording. Mazin felt its usage reflected Anna's love for Ellie during the scene wherein Ellie mourns Joel, essentially placing both of Ellie's parents within the sequence. He found some lyrics represented the episode's events and others reflected an unachievable desire for its characters. Streams of Johnson's cover increased after the episode aired. The fourth episode, "Day One", sees Ellie serenade Dina on guitar playing A-ha's "Take On Me". Matching the scene in the game, Mazin thought the inclusion of the song was justified by narrative events, as Dina falls in love with Ellie as she performs; he was nervous as he felt the scene was one of the most meaningful to many people.

The sixth episode, "The Price", features Joel playing Pearl Jam's "Future Days", which recurs throughout the game and series. The song did not exist in 2003, when the outbreak takes place in the television series; Druckmann initially sought to honor the changed timeline, excluding the song and choosing alternatives. However, the writers ultimately chose to use "Future Days", considering its emotional connection more important than historical accuracy. Joel's actor Pedro Pascal was nervous about playing guitar in the episode, having little musical experience. He prepared with a vocal coach over the weekend before production, seeking a performance akin to Johnny Cash, a differing approach from what Troy Baker did in the game. Bella Ramsey (who portrays Ellie) helped him to play guitar and find the correct notes during filming. They found the scene emotional and endearing, especially due to Pascal's focus and inexperience. Mazin felt the scene mirrored Ellie's performance to Dina, considering it more of an expression of truth than a performance. Views for Ultimate Guitar's tabs for several songs increased significantly after their use in the series.

Albums Season 1

The Last of Us: Season 1 (Soundtrack from the HBO Original Series) comprises the score created for the television series The Last of Us, including several adapted from the video game series. Milan Records published the 66-track soundtrack album released digitally on February 27, 2023, after the seventh episode of the series. A CD of the soundtrack was first released in July, and a vinyl record by Mondo was released in September. Alongside the works of Santaolalla and Fleming, the soundtrack features tracks performed by Jake Staley and Juan Luqui, as well as Jessica Mazin's version of "Never Let Me Down Again" and Nick Offerman's of "Long, Long Time".

Track listings The two-disc CD release features two additional tracks.