HBO’s new hit series The Last of Us offers a fresh new take on the zombie apocalypse genre. Inspired by the critically acclaimed video game of the same name, The Last of Us crosses genres, blending elements of horror, drama, and sci-fi to create a series both heartfelt and horrifying.

After a strand of the cordyceps fungus manages to mutate and infect the human population, the world quickly turns into a barren wasteland crawling with violent, bloodthirsty creatures intent on spreading the fungus as far as possible. Side note: while cordyceps fungi cannot infect humans in real life, they very much have the ability to infect insects, hijacking their brain and motor functions to spread the fungal infection to nearby populations. 

Highlighted by Pedro Pascal’s brooding performance as Joel, one of the series’ two main protagonists, The Last of Us follows the journey of Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a fourteen-year old girl who is miraculously unaffected after being bitten by an infected. She teams up with Joel, a desensitized, steel-hardened survivalist, as the two set their sights on a cross country trek to Wyoming in search of a group that might be able to develop Ellie’s immunity into a potential cure. 

Image Source: HBO

Five episodes in, The Last of Us has given its audience quite the ride. The series opens with a commanding, emotionally charged depiction of the initial outbreak, capped off with a masterfully executed tracking shot relaying the absolute mayhem the world is about to fall into. Where the series really shines though is in the ensuing episodes. Instead of focusing on the horror behind an apocalyptic scenario, The Last of Us centers its plot on the elements of humanity left in the world, only peppering in “zombie” action when necessary. 

“We wanted to avoid making a zombie show,” show writer Neil Druckman said in an interview with Collider Magazine. “We wanted to give as much reality as we could because the realer that is, the more we connect to the characters that are in that space playing around.” 

The series does just that. From a touching romantic love story featuring Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett in episode 3 to a look at a post-apocalyptic world through an ASL lens in episode 5, The Last of Us holds no punches, remaining true to its intent at building a “zombified” world rooted in diversity and human connection.

The Last of Us airs every Sunday night at 9 PM EST on HBO.