Even if you rarely leave your house, you’re bound to have heard about or caught a glimpse of this successful series.

Jan. 15, HBO finally aired the first episode of the long-awaited video game-adaption: The Last of Us. 

The fandom went crazy. According to Collider, the premiere racked up over 4.7 million views within the first couple of hours of streaming. The show is about to wrap up its first season, finishing off with nine episodes, and has already stood clear to renew a second season. 

In 2013, game developers Naughty Dog released The Last of Us video game, which has sold over 17 million copies. 1.3 of those being in the first week of release, marking it a best-seller and holder of several awards, including Game of the Year. The game wiped out their competition and is labeled one of the best today. 

The Last of Us game is a post-apocalyptic action-adventure tale where players take up the role of Joel as he escorts a young girl, Ellie, through the states during a fungus-made pandemic. The evolved fungus is a product of climate change. At the beginning of the show’s pilot episode, a talk show features a scientist who warns the world of this fungus. His warnings went ignored, and years later, society must face the consequences of its actions. 

The show stars Pedro Pascal, best known for his starring role in the Mandalorian (2019), and Bella Ramsey, known for her role as Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones (2016). However, the two are not strangers. Both Pascal (Oberyn Martell) and Ramsey worked together during Game of Thrones, which Pascal claims himself “I feel like it made us [Pascal and Ramsey] come from a family without knowing each other already.”

Pascal has often found himself picking up father-figure roles, and this one is no different. Pascal plays the stoic, yet fatherly protagonist known as Joel. Ramsey portrays the young, sassy and sailor-mouthed Ellie.

The Last of Us is carrying viewers on a capricious ride. While some episodes have you gripping the end of your seat, others have you teary. Even in the same episode, you can and will partake these erratic emotions. Screenwriter, Craig Mazin, known for producing Superhero Movie (2008), does an outstanding job delivering the character and plot development. Mazin grants watchers the ability to breathe, but also retain details that could have been forced into one intense episode. 

When watching, It’s easy to notice it’s not low-grade. Collider estimates, each episode is anywhere between $10 and $15 million. Meaning the entire first season is roughly $100 million. The outcome stays true to the price tag. The outfits, props, sets and CGI are astonishing.

Fans can say, with certainty, that The Last of Us is one of this century’s best video game adaptations. Several scenes have been down to the tee with the game, including a bulk of the pilot. The show even adopts the same soundtrack used in the game. Though the show is built on a game, you don’t have to play the game to relish the show. The Last of Us has a strong plot, cast and overall world you’ll become captured in without ever having to play. 

If you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through shows you’ve rewatched twelve different times, try giving The Last of Us a chance. The show will quickly earn you over, and it won’t leave you disappointed but anticipating more. Yet, even if you want more, you can always watch or play the game.