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Joel and Ellie's dark journey is unfolding on HBO Max, with the first four episodes of The Last of Us now available on the streaming service. Episode 4 came out Sunday, and episode 5 arrives this Friday, Feb. 10 instead of the usual Sunday (presumably to avoid competing with the Super Bowl).
The show adapts the legendary PlayStation video game series from developer Naughty Dog, with the nine-episode season 1 focusing on the initial entry in the franchise. It's also been renewed for a second season.
The show premiered on Jan. 15, drawing an audience of 10 million in its first two days, with episodes coming each week until March 12.
The Last of Us release dates and times
Here's the full release schedule for The Last of Us on HBO Max. We'll adjust this if the company announces any changes or breaks. New episodes will arrive at 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET), which you might remember as the time slot occupied by House of the Dragon last year.
- Episode 1: Available now
- Episode 2: Available now
- Episode 3: Available now
- Episode 4: Available now
- Episode 5: Friday, Feb. 10
- Episode 6: Sunday, Feb. 19
- Episode 7: Sunday, Feb. 26
- Episode 8: Sunday, March 5
- Episode 9: Sunday, March 12
Where is The Last of Us available outside the US?
The show drops globally at the same time, so there are the times for several regions:
- Canada, Crave at 9 p.m. Sunday
- UK and Ireland: Sky Atlantic and Now at 2 a.m. Monday
- Australia: Binge and Foxtel at 1 p.m. AEDT Monday
- New Zealand: Neon at 3 p.m. Monday
What is The Last of Us?
Set in a world where an unnervingly believable fungal brain infection transforms most of the world's population into violent cannibals, the games follow grumpy smuggler Joel and his upbeat teen pal Ellie as they travel across a ruined US.
Joel and Ellie explore a dark new city in the fourth episode of The Last of Us.
HBOWho's in it?
The series stars The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal as Joel, with his fellow Game of Thrones alumnus Bella Ramsey as Ellie. Parks and Recreation actor Nick Offerman, Anna Torv from Fringe and Yellowjackets' Melanie Lynskey show up too.
Are there trailers?
HBO gave us a few tastes of the show. The most recent trailer arrived in December, and the company has been dropping episode previews ahead of each new installment.
How scary is it?
It's more thriller than horror, with plenty of intense moments. The infected don't show up often -- Joel and Ellie face more human survivors than monsters -- but are used to great effect when they do.
Do I need to have played the games?
No. The show retells the events of the first game, which came out in 2013, with some storylines and background elements expanded.
Writers Craig Mazin (creator of HBO's Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann (the games series' creative director) added a flashback scene to give newcomers a firm grounding in the story's origins.
However, The Last of Us and its 2020 sequel are some of the most engaging games ever made. You should definitely dive in if the show intrigues you. The original game is available on PS3, PS4 and PS5 (a PC version is coming out March 3), while the second is currently only on PS4.
