Bella Ramsey is one of the stars of The last of us, HBO’s post-apocalyptic drama series about the survivors of a widespread pandemic. The Last of Us series is based on Naughty Dog’s critically acclaimed 2013 video game of the same name. However, since Ramsey isn’t a gamer, The Last of Us first found her via clickbait.
“Although I quickly saw the impact (The Last of Us) had,” Ramsey said Vanity Fair. “I heard about it because I saw a clickbait thing that said it was the first lesbian kiss in a video game. I thought, “Oh, that’s cool.”
Who is involved in The Last of Us?
Ramsey plays Ellie, a teenager immune to the fungal infection that led to society’s collapse. Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, is tasked with smuggling Ellie out of a quarantine zone and transporting her across the country to be examined by doctors to develop a vaccine.
The ensemble cast for the first season included Nico Parker, Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett, Anna Torv, Gabriel Luna, Melanie Lynskey, Rutina Wesley, Storm Reid and Scott Shepherd. The stars of the video game that appeared in Season 1 include Merle Dandridge, Jeffrey Pierce, Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson. Pierce, Baker and Johnson played new characters, while Dandridge reprized her as Marlene.
Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann co-developed The Last of Us for HBO. Druckmann was also a co-creator of the video game. The series is a co-production between PlayStation Productions, Naughty Dog, Sony Pictures Television, Word Games and The Mighty Mint.
The Last of Us became an instant hit for HBO as the pilot garnered 4.7 million viewers, the second-biggest debut for a series premiere since 2010. It has been hailed by many critics as one of the best live-action video game adaptations. The series has been renewed for season 2.
All nine episodes of The Last of Us Season 1 are available to stream on Max.