While already starring in the series, The Last of Us HBO show is getting a companion podcast that will be hosted by original Joel video game actor, Troy Baker. HBO's The Last of Us is an adaptation of the 2013 PlayStation 3 video game of the same name. Like the game, the show will focus on the budding relationship between carpenter-turned-smuggler Joel Miller, played by The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal, and 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey), who's the key to understanding the Apocalypse. The show will adapt the first game of the series and its downloadable content —The Last of Us: Left Behind, which focused on Ellie's relationship with best friend Riley three weeks before the events of the game.
HBO Max announced that The Last of Us is getting a companion podcast hosted by original Joel video game actor Baker. The companion podcast will see Baker, who was confirmed to be playing a new The Last of Us character for the show, doing a scene-by-scene deep dive of each episode with creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. While no confirmed date has been set for the first episode of the podcast, it is expected to come on the heels of The Last of Us' premiere on January 15.
The Last Of Us Podcast Continues A Recent TV Trend
HBO's The Last of Us isn't the first major TV series to get a companion podcast, in fact, there's been a recent TV trend of in-depth podcasts about shows being developed by either studios or stars from the series themselves. HBO's The Last of Us showrunner Mazin's one of the people who saw the medium's value, as he was a core member of The Chernobyl Podcast, which analyzed every episode of his HBO miniseries. That experience might've been the inspiration behind The Last of Us podcast. The Last of Us' changes from the game are sure to be a great topic to be covered by the podcast.
HBO appears to be one of the major studios seeing the potential benefits of having a companion podcast for their series. Besides Chernobyl, HBO has produced companion podcasts for two of its biggest recent series, Succession and House of the Dragon. The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon covered the first season of the hit series, featuring a number of guests that included co-creator Ryan Condal and more. HBO's Succession Podcast delves deeper into the Roy family's machinations, connecting the show to real world events with the help of journalists, psychologists, the show's staff and more.
Other popular shows venturing in the medium include popular sitcom The Office and superhero pioneer Smallville. These podcasts aren't produced by the studios behind the original shows, but are anchored by stars from both series, with Office Ladies co-starring the duo of Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, who played Pam Beesly and Angela Martin on The Office, respectively. Guests have ranged from fellow actors John Krasinski and Steve Carell, to showrunner Greg Daniels, while Talk Ville is co-hosted by Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum, who played the dynamic duo of a young Clark Kent/Superman and Lex Luthor, respectively, in the DC Superman prequel series Smallville. Audiences who watch The Last of Us will likely get more insight on the show and its behind-the-scenes when the companion podcast premieres.
Source: HBO Max