HBO’s ‘Last of Us’ Series Releases Bleak First Teaser

HBO has released the first teaser for its video-game adaptation The Last of Us, and it looks to be very true to the game’s tone.

Scored to Hank Williams’ “Alone and Forsaken,” the teaser showcases a series of bleak landscapes and tense situations as it sets up the show’s post-apocalyptic world. There are only a few desperate-sounding lines of voice-over, the last being a whispered “Save who you can save.” The teaser (watch it below) also revealed a 2023 premiere date for the show.

The Last of Us is set 20 years after the destruction of modern civilization. It centers on Joel (Pedro Pascal, The Mandalorian), a hardened survivor of the apocaplypse, who’s hired to smuggle a 14-year-old girl named Ellie (Game of Thrones alum Bella Ramsey) out of an oppressive quarantine zone. The seemingly small job becomes a brutal journey as they come to depend on each other for survival.

Ordered to series in 2020, the show comes from Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) — who has an overall deal with HBO — and Neil Druckmann, the game’s writer and creative director. HBO and Sony Pictures TV produce the series with PlayStation Productions, Word Games and The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog.

The cast also includes Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Storm Reid, Jeffrey Pierce, Anna Torv, Lamar Johnson, Keivonn Woodard, Graham Greene, Elaine Miles, Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker. Dandridge, Johnson and Baker all did voice work on the video game; Dandridge will reprise her role as Marlene in the show, while Johnson and Baker — who voiced Ellie and Joel — will play different roles.

Mazin and Druckmann executive produce with along with Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan and Rose Lam.

Watch the teaser for The Last of Us below.