The Last Of Us Makes Emmy History
Last year, the HBO hit TV series The Last of Us took the world by storm as fans tuned in every Sunday to see how Joel and Ellie would brave the apocalypse together. Now, the show is getting the recognition it deserves with 24 Emmy nominations, according to Variety. The show is making Emmy history as the first live-action game adaptation to earn so many award nominations.
The Last of Us is based on a 2013 action/adventure video game for Sony Playstation 3. The game, which was created by Naughty Dog, follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they travel a post-apocalyptic America, fighting mutated fungus zombies all along the way. While the game does have plenty of bloodshed and violence, it also focuses on the story of Joel and Ellie and how their relationship grows and evolves over time.
The Last of Us earns 24 Emmy nominations, becoming the first live-action game adaptation to earn so many award nominations.
When executive producers Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin began working on the project, they knew to prioritize the relationship between Joel and Ellie over the zombie-killing gameplay. They chose to only include as much violence as needed, reserving it for a few moments in episodes that significantly furthered the overall story.
Emmy nominations for The Last of Us include Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series (Pedro Pascal as Joel), Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series (Bella Ramsey as Ellie), and Outstanding Director for a Drama Series, among others.
In addition, it received the nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series for the appearance of Murray Bartlett as Frank and Nick Offerman as Bill in the third episode of the TV series. The episode is hailed as one of the most moving stories in the show after it shared the unexpected love story between a hard-working, red-blooded American (Frank) and his kind and sophisticated guest (Bill).
It may come as a surprise, but The Last of Us is not the first live-action game adaptation to receive an award nomination. In fact, the Netflix TV series Arcane (based on the League of Legends video game) won the Emmy award for Best Animated Program in 2022, and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (the Netflix interactive movie that allows you to choose your own adventure) won the Emmy award for Best TV Movie.
The concept of live-action video game adaptations for TV has become increasingly more popular over the past few years. In 2022, Paramount+ released the Halo TV series, and Netflix released the Resident Evil TV series. Coming soon, Peacock will stream Twisted Metal, and Amazon Prime Video will stream God of War and Fallout.
Emmy nominations for The Last of Us include Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series (Pedro Pascal as Joel), Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series (Bella Ramsey as Ellie), and Outstanding Director for a Drama Series, among others.
A second season of The Last of Us has been confirmed by HBO, but a release date has not been set yet. Fans can expect to see Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey reprise their beloved roles, but the timeline of the show may jump ahead a few years.
As we all wait for the new season, make sure to tune in to the Emmy award ceremony on September 18 to see how many awards The Last of Us takes home.
