The Last of Us season 2: everything you need to know ahead of its return

It’s certainly proving to be a good year for prestige television, with those dedicated to the small screen being spoiled for choice for things to watch. As well as devouring the eat-the-rich series The White Lotus, which returned for a dramatic third season, viewers are now having to save room for The Last of Us season two after an agonising two-year wait.

The dystopian drama, based on the hugely popular video game series of the same name, follows Joel (in an outstanding turn from Pedro Pascal), a hardened survivor in a world where a mutated strain of a fungal infection turns humans into zombie-like creatures. Tasked with smuggling 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to a rendezvous point by rebel militia The Fireflies, Joel learns that Ellie is actually immune to the virus – with hope of humanity finding a cure resting on her shoulders.

Upon its release in January 2023, The Last of Us received widespread critical acclaim and became the first series based on a video game to win major awards; Pascal won a Screen Actors’ Guild Award for his performance as Joel, while Ramsey won a Critics Choice Award for Best Actress in a Limited Series (as a note, Ramsey uses they/them pronouns).

With the show now returning for its widely anticipated second season, here is what we can expect for our second outing.

When does The Last of Us season 2 air in the UK?

The second season will debut on Monday 14 April. It’s now been confirmed that the first episode will be broadcast simultaneously at 2am on Sky Atlantic and Now, in line with its HBO release in the US.

For those of us who have firmly decided to catch up on our beauty sleep instead, it'll be available to stream on catch-up shortly after, and a prime-time repeat will take place at 9pm on Sky Atlantic.

Who is in the cast of The Last of Us?

Pascal and Ramsey will be reprising their roles as Joel and Ellie, respectively. As to be expected in a zombie-based drama series, a lot of the cast of season one have perished, but there are some returnees; Gabriel Luna will be back as Tommy and Rutina Wesley will star once more as Maria.

The second season also sees a new host of characters; the most exciting addition is Kaitlyn Dever, who viewers may recognise from Apple Cider Vinegar and Booksmart. Dever features as Abby, who plays a vital role in the video game, but is described in the TV show as “a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved”.

Elsewhere, Isabela Merced (Alien: Romulus) will play Dina, who develops a close bond and becomes a love interest for Ellie.

Other newcomers include Ariela Barer as Mel, a doctor struggling with the realities of war. Tati Gabrielle will play Nora, a military medic. Spencer Lord stars as Owen, a member of Abby’s group. Danny Ramirez is Manny, a loyal soldier and a secondary member of Abby’s group. Young Mazino plays Jesse, a friend who lends his support to Ellie.

Elsewhere, the legendary actress Catherine O’Hara guest stars as a Joel’s therapist in Jackson.

How did The Last Of Us end in season one?

**Major spoilers for The Last of Us below**

After reaching the secret lab, which is being run by the Fireflies, Joel is told that the doctors can use Ellie’s natural immunity to develop some sort of treatment for the fungal infection. While Ellie is unconscious and waiting to receive treatment, Joel learns the truth; in order to create the medicine, Ellie will have die.

Joel, still haunted by the death of his own daughter, has grown attached to Ellie and decides he cannot lose her. Instead, he kills all the surgeons and the Firefly soldiers, before fleeing with Ellie. When she regains consciousness, Joel lies to her, saying that the Fireflies had experimented with other immune people and had not found a cure. As the pair hike to Jackson, a safe space in Wyoming, Ellie asks again if this is the case, and Joel sticks by his story.

What can we expect from The Last of Us season 2?

The official synopsis reads: “Five years after the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.”

The tagline for the second season reads: “Every path pays a price”, which teases that Ellie may discover Joel’s deception – and the ramifications this may have for the pair.

Showrunner Craig Mazin explained at South by Southwest film festival how the second series ups the ante.

“A lot of what’s going on in the season is evolution and change,” he said. “Ellie is growing up, and she is changing. This town of Jackson is growing up. It is expanding. It’s taking in refugees. And the world outside is changing. It was important to us to always move the ball forward with the infected. It’s not a question of just more, but something else, something that is meaningful to what is going on, so they don’t just become NPCs.”

Meanwhile, Ramsey said that Ellie’s relationship with Joel is now strained. “[Joel and Ellie’s] relationship has changed a little, and we start to see why,” they said. “They’re not best of friends. She’s quite sad. But I mean, there’s a lot of layers to friendship.”

It is though the second season will remain faithful to the video games, but for those who have played the game, it does mean a significant twist that will overarch the rest of the entire series.

“If that does take place in the show,” Pascal teased in Esquire, “I don’t know that I’m emotionally ready for it.”

With the show already commissioned for a third season, there’s plenty more of The Last of Us to come. For now, we can expect even more high-octane drama when the second iteration drops.

The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann said: “For us, everything is drama. Even the action sequences are drama. Season one, we were picking and choosing our moments because we weren’t sure what we were doing. Now we know what we’re doing. We swung for the fences with some of this. There’s pretty intense stuff you don’t even see in the trailer. People ask if season two is better. I often say, ‘It’s crazier.’”