PHOTO PROVIDED This collage shows cast members from “The Last of Us,” from left: Bella Ramsey, Pedro Pascal and Kaitlyn Dever, who play Ellie, Joel and Abby, respectively.

When the first episode of “The Last of Us” aired on HBO/MAX on Jan. 15, 2023, many were skeptical about yet another “zombie apocalypse” type of show — especially in the wake of the hugely successful “The Walking Dead” franchise. But the skeptics soon faded as it quickly became apparent that this was no second-rate copy by any means. It immediately began to receive universal acclaim from critics and watchers worldwide.

It has since become regarded as one of the best shows in the past few years, many saying it has even surpassed “The Walking Dead.”

One critic was quoted as saying it was, “the beginning of a new era in its genre.”

Another critic said that episode three, “Long, Long Time,” was “one of the finest hours of television in recent memory.”

Then came awards season, and it began receiving many nominations from all over the world. 158 nominations from 49 different award entities worldwide, winning an amazing 58 of them).

It won eight Primetime Creative Emmys, two Screen Actors Guild and a Directors and writers Guild award, received eight British Academy Television Award nominations, three Critics’ Choice and three Golden Globe nominations and many more.

As well as the above success, it was also praised for the fact that the production was made entirely in Alberta, Canada on a budget of $100 million (which was more than $10 million per episode and made it one of the most expensive television series ever made). It generated CA$182 Million for Alberta and not only created 1,490 jobs, but also led to a 30 percent increase in union membership and employment. The budget has significantly increased for season two, which is due to the incredible worldwide success of the show.

It averaged 35 Million viewers per episode, making it HBO/MAX’s most watched debut season ever.

Based on the video game franchise from 2013, of the same name, by Naughty Dog productions and created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann (Druckmann was the original writer and creative director of the game).

It is the story of a pandemic enraged world that spans a 20-year period, and beyond. A fungal infection has quickly and horrifically spread across the world in what seems like an overnight attack and soon causes the total collapse of society. The infection, caused by a fungal parasite called Cordyceps, which, scarily is actually a real thing, has managed to mutate and, due to the increase in global climate temperatures, can now attach and take over a human host, turning its victims into zombie-like creatures. The show centers on the two main characters as they journey across North America.

In 1968 a TV talk show discussion regarding the possibility of a global pandemic caused by a fungal infection is largely dismissed as impossible. But then Dr. Neuman, played by veteran actor John Hannah (‘Four Weddings and a Funeral,’ ‘The Mummy,’ ‘Agents of SHIELD’) explains that future global warming could alter the fungi’s genetics and make it a deadly threat to humans, to the gasps of the audience.

The story jumps forward to 2003 as the very event that Dr. Neuman warned of, has now come true. Joel Miller, played by Pedro Pascal (‘The Mandalorian,’ ‘The Equalizer II,’ ‘Wonder Woman 1984’) and his family, are caught in the middle as the deadly infection spreads at an alarming rate as tragedy strikes.

Twenty years later, Joel, now part of a beleaguered and struggling community, meets up with Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey (‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Becoming Elizabeth,’ ‘His Dark Materials’), who appears to be immune to the infection, and they both set out across America together — he in search of his brother, and her, simply to try to escape her captors and the brutality of where she was.

The premise, on the surface, does seem to be fairly simplistic and, quite frankly, all too familiar.

We have all seen the myriad post-apocalyptic movies and shows, maybe even a few too many at times, so what sets this one apart?

Well, the first thing that hit me was the chemistry between the two main characters. Starting with a well-crafted script, by Mazin and Druckmann, the characters are coolly drawn together, under the most extreme circumstances, of course. The right balance of mistrust and confrontation, which then transforms into trust as the barriers break down is well-paced and believable as the two begin to realize they need each other.

Pascal portrays the tough guy who slowly changes into the caring guy with perfect balance. I feel that this is the best performance of his career so far — an already fairly long career too — due, in part, to co-creator Graig Mazin’s understated, yet intensely controlled direction.

Ramsey, herself quite the revelation in this show. She gives a stunning performance as a teen, thrust from an already tough upbringing, who carries her youthful vigor into this nightmare with the exact balance between abject fear and a brave fighting spirit. Again, a career-defining performance for sure.

The second thing that hit me was the incredibly realistic way in which it starts and progresses. Having experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all now veterans and survivors of a global pandemic that, although not as deadly and scary as in this show, was certainly a tough thing to get through.

It is eerily familiar as it happens, albeit on a way higher and frighteningly faster pace. I, for one, felt that it could really happen like this — and that is a scary thought for sure.

In the second episode, the opening sequence is a chilling spectacle to behold, one that has stayed with me ever since I first saw it in 2023.

In Jakarta, in 2003, military authorities track down a top mycology professor named Ratna Pertiwi and take her to look at a sample from a human corpse, which she identifies as Ophiocordyceps and states that it is not possible for it to be in a human, as human body temperature is too high for the fungus to live. Then after examining and confirming that, indeed it has now jumped to a human host, there is an unnerving moment when she is asked what cure or medicine they can use to fight it, she utters these bone chilling words: “I have studied these things all my life, so please listen carefully, there is no medicine, there is no vaccine.”

“So what do we do?” asks the Military General.

“Start bombing, bomb this city, and everyone in it!” was her reply.

This whole sequence, for me, raised this entire series to a new level, one that made it impossible to stop watching from there on. Something that, I am sure, was the same for all the millions who tuned in to watch.

The third thing I want to mention is the amazing attention to detail that the show’s production team has put into it.

The backdrop of a devastated and overgrown Boston was beautifully recreated in Alberta, Canada. The use of visual effects has been taken to a whole new level by not being put front and center in a way that says, “look at me,” and by being placed, almost matter-of-factly, in the background, making the sequences even more eerily prophetic and scarily ‘news-footage’ like.

As we concentrate on the human dilemmas that unfold, we are put in a hellscape — a nightmare from which there seems no hope — yet we are comforted by the two as they move forward together.

The show’s production designer, John Paino, referenced the original game’s visual construction when considering the look of it all, and he included a photograph of re-assembled chairs in his concept, which Graig Mazin then considered to be — “the show’s mandate — the built world is unbuilt and rebuilt.”

That is a powerful vision that, I feel, added to the ferocious realism within the fantasy realm that soon becomes a constant throughout the series.

So now comes the second season.

Beginning on April 13 on HBO/MAX, the much-anticipated continuation will be eagerly watched by the millions of fans around the world who cannot wait to see what happens to these two as they continue on their precariously fraught journey.

There will be new characters introduced, Kaitlyn Dever, (‘Justified,’ ‘Last Man Standing,’ ‘Dopesick’) will be playing Abby, a soldier seeking vengeance, and will be a new regular part of the show. The only thing known about it, it’s being kept securely under wraps, is that the relationship between Joel and Ellie will be tested to the limits. That is all we know and, frankly, I cannot wait to see what happens.

Not since “Breaking Bad,” (2008-2013) and, more recently, “Fargo,” (2014-2024) have both myself and my wife been so excited about a show, something that, I think, the show’s producers would be happy to know.

So, here we go, back into the apocalypse once more, to escape the routine of life for a little bit. But also gladly assured that we will be able to return to our ‘routine’ world at the end — at least until the next episode.