HBOThe Last of Us Season 2 will feature a substantial time-jump, though there will be flashbacks, so you probably want a grip on exactly when it’s supposed to take place.
In 2023, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin created one of the greatest video game adaptations ever with The Last of Us – and the best may be yet to come.
Season 2 will adapt (at least partly) Part 2, Naughty Dog’s acclaimed sequel. There’s little I can say from the outset, as the story is bold, brutal, and impossible to discuss in any depth without giving away huge spoilers – but unless you’ve played it, you won’t see anything coming.
However, regardless of whether you’re a newcomer or a longtime fan of the franchise, you may be curious about exactly when the series is set.
When is The Last of Us set?
HBO’s The Last of Us begins in 2023, 20 years after Outbreak Day on September 26, 2003.
This is different from the original game, which is primarily set in 2033, following Outbreak Day on September 26, 2013. This is also celebrated as The Last of Us Day by fans.
It’s worth bearing in mind: the game was released in 2013, so as a creative decision, having the Cordyceps infection emerge in the present day was effective – and bloody scary.
In an earlier roundtable interview, Mazin explained why he decided to make this change in the series. “I have this thing about jumping into the future,” he explained.
“I feel like, if I’m watching a show and the year is 2023, and the show takes place in 2043, it’s just a little less real. Even if I’m watching a show in 2023 and it takes place in 2016, it’s a little less real.”
HBOThe prologue with Joel and Sarah takes place in a not-too-distant past, with small references dotted around each frame, like a Destiny’s Child ‘Survivor’ poster and Al Gore/Joseph Lieberman campaign t-shirt. The main story takes place in the present day, which the showrunner believed to be more compelling.
“I thought it might be interesting to just say, ‘Hey, look, in this parallel universe, this is happening right now. This is happening this year,” Mazin added.
That said, The Last of Us is not intended as a commentary on our real-world pandemic of recent years. “We wanted to make something that’s more universal than that,” Druckmann explained.
“Spanish flu was a big influence as far as how it affected people, how people died, how they became very segregated, how they became xenophobic, and their towns.”
When does The Last of Us Season 2 take place?
HBOThe Last of Us Season 2 mostly takes place in 2029, five years after the end of Season 2.
This follows the game’s sequel, which also has a five-year time jump, and it has a big impact on the characters.
“I mean Bella [Ramsey] is such an incredible actor that not only are they older, but they’ve also experienced so much trauma in Season 1,” Druckmann told GamesRadar.
“And so much things have happened in that five-year gap that that’s part of the mystery of the season – what happened in those five years. When you’re watching Bella perform, you could just see this maturity behind their eyes. That is, it seems very simple, and it’s very difficult to pull off and very few actors can pull up the way that they have.”
Find out exactly what The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 1 drops, and until then, check out our breakdown of the show’s soundtrack and the differences between HBO’s series and the game.
