The Last of Us has exposed audiences all around the world to a whole new universe, set in a post-apocalyptic future where people infected by a monster disease have rendered the Earth unrecognisable.
Those unfamiliar with the video game property on which the TV programme is based may draw analogies to previous zombie-related storylines, such as The Walking Dead, World War Z, and 28 Days Later.
However, in The Last of Us, the altered people are not dead, nor are they portrayed as zombies; instead, they are referred to as ‘infected’.
This aspect was particularly crucial when it came to speaking about the animals on the set of the drama lead by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, as it turns out individuals working on the production weren’t ‘allowed’ to mention the word ‘zombie’.
‘We weren’t allowed to say the Z word on set. It was like a banned word. They were the infected. We weren’t a zombie show,’ Eben Bolter BSC, director of photography for several episodes on the programme, told The Credits magazine.
‘Of course, there’s tension building and jump scares but the show’s really about our characters. The infected are an obstacle they have to deal with.’
The cinematographer highlighted a moment in episode three as an example, when Ellie (Bella) explores an infected individual who’s been buried behind some debris, to emphasise that the programme was very much ‘character first and then just convey the tale’.
‘At first, she’s terrified, but you can watch her confidence increase as she cuts open the diseased and examines the fibres. ‘You see what the infection means in Ellie’s own life via that fascination,’ he explained.
Neil Druckmann, co-creator of The Last of Us video game and co-showrunner of the TV version, replied to the franchise being referenced on the quiz show Jeopardy! in April 2020.
The question referenced Joel and Ellie embarking on a perilous adventure ‘packed with zombies’.
‘I mean… they’re not zombies, but this is pretty darn cool,’ Neil said at the time.
Following on from the events of last week, when Joel and Ellie teamed up with Henry (Lamar Johnson) and his younger brother Sam, episode six of The Last of Us is set to premiere this week on HBO in the United States and Sky and NOW in the United Kingdom (Keivonn Woodard).
The series has nine episodes in total, with the season finale airing on Monday, March 13 in the United Kingdom.
The Last of Us is available to watch on Sky and NOW with new episodes released on Mondays.