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The Last of Us is finally back for season 2, and fans can’t wait to get stuck back into the horrifying, dystopian TV show.

The series originally premiered two years ago, introducing the lead characters Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler, and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a teenage girl who’s immune to the cordyceps infection that’s ravaged the world.

The infection has caused millions of people to turn into monstrous, zombie-like creatures, and so Joel is tasked with transporting Ellie across the country in the hope that she might be the key to creating a cure.

The second season is set five years after the events of the first – and we have everything you need to know about its release schedule, how to watch and who’s in the cast – plus an exclusive chat between showrunner Craig Mazin and Metro about changes from the video game on which it’s based.

As Joel and Ellie pick up the pieces of their life-threatening, terrifying journey in the first season of The Last of Us, here’s what you need to know as their adventure continues.

The Last of Us season 2 release schedule

The Last of Us season two premiered on Sunday April 13 in the US on HBO and Max, and on Monday April 14 in the UK on Sky Atlantic and NOW.

The show is releasing its episodes weekly, rather than all in one go.

So, following the launch of episode one on Monday April 14, the next instalments will continue to be released every Monday in the UK until the season finale on May 26.

• Episode 1: Future Days – Monday April 14
• Episode 2: Eye for an Eye – Monday April 21
• Episode 3: Something’s Got a Hold on Me – Monday April 28
• Episode 4: Secrets – Monday May 5
• Episode 5: Wolves – Monday May 12
• Episode 6: Scars – Monday May 19
• Episode 7: Every Last One of Them – Monday May 26

It’s been over two years since the first season of the show came out, which aired from January until March in 2023.

Where to watch The Last of Us in the UK

Each episode of The Last of Us will be available to watch on Sky and NOW in the UK at 2am on Monday mornings.

This coincides with when the episodes become available on HBO and streaming service Max in the US at 9pm Eastern Time on Sunday evenings.

So if you’re in the UK and plan on waiting until the end of the day to watch the latest instalments of The Last of Us, be wary of spoilers on social media!

What changes are being made from the video game for The Last of Us season 2?

At the premiere for The Last of Us season two in London, Metro spoke to the show’s co-creator Craig, who serves as an executive producer, showrunner and director on the drama.

While the series is an extremely faithful adaptation of the globally-popular video games on which they’re based, certain changes do inevitably have to be made when adapting it to the medium of TV.

And fans have spotted some changes already. For example, the first season of the show omitted the risk of ‘spores’ – particles in the air that can pass on the cordyceps infection. However, in the trailer for season two, it appears that spores have now been added to the story.

When asked about changes from the video game to the TV series for the second season, Craig told us: ‘Well I can’t walk you through the changes we made, because that would give a lot of things away.

‘But what I can say is that we followed the same process that we did in season one, which is to think about what the game does beautifully that we know, as a fan, I need it to be the same, and then there are things that the game does that are so connected to the gameplay that we don’t really have the ability to do in television, so we’ve made changes.’

Craig added that when making the TV show, they had space to ‘play around’, such as in season one when they expanded the story of Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) into a beautiful episode telling their whole love story.

‘So we move things around, we play around, but we do it from the perspective of Neil Druckmann who created the source material and from me as a fan. Hopefully that works for people,’ he said.

The writer teased that there are some new moments in the second season that he believes are ‘really going to rock people’, as well as ‘slight changes’ from the game that ‘enrich them further’.

‘It’ll put you back on your heels,’ he promised.

Watch The Last of Us season 2 trailer

You can watch the trailer for The Last of Us season two here:

Who is in the cast of The Last of Us?

Having become one of TV’s most treasured father-daughter duos, Pedro is set to return as Joel, with Bella reprising the role of Ellie.

Other returning cast members include Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Joel’s brother, and Rutina Wesley as Maria, Tommy’s wife.

There are also several newcomers, one of the most notable of which is Booksmart’s Kaitlyn Dever as Abby.

As fans of the video game will know, Abby plays a key part in the second season, as she embarks on a revenge mission – but we won’t say any more at this point to avoid mentioning spoilers.

Dora and the Lost City of Gold star Isabel Merced makes her debut as Dina, Ellie’s best friend and love interest, while Beef actor Young Mazino is introduced as Jesse, Dina’s ex.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Top Gun: Maverick star Danny Ramirez also joins the series as a soldier named Manny.

Further exciting additions to the cast include Catherine O’Hara, Tati Gabrielle and Jeffrey Wright, with the latter reprising his role as Isaac from the video game.

How many episodes are there in The Last of Us season 2?

There are seven episodes in total in the second season of The Last of Us.

This marks two episode fewer than before, as the first season consisted of nine episodes.

Is The Last of Us returning for season 3?

Shortly before the release date of The Last of Us season two, it was confirmed that the show will definitely be returning for a third outing.

While this marked the official renewal of the drama for a third season, it was already strongly suspected that it would be returning for more episodes.

Speaking to Metro about the third season, showrunner Craig said: ‘I think it’s important for fans to know that everything that’s happening now in season two is almost like… it’s like a little seed that’s going to blossom into this very scary fungal nightmare in season three.

‘But all questions will be answered, all mysteries will be solved. Everyone is going to have to face their fate.’

The writer previously told Variety in an interview in March: ‘It feels like we’ve got one or two more seasons.

‘It’s getting harder to make, because every episode gets big. You don’t want to wait four years for a 17-episode finish, or whatever it is.’

He also added to The Hollywood Reporter that he had no intention of continuing the series for the sake of making money, and will ensure that the story doesn’t go past the events of the video game

‘I am not going to go past the game. I’ll just say that flat out. So if people are thinking, “Oh, these guys are planning the old cash grab thing”…’ he said.

He continued: ‘The show is so hard to make. It has to have an end. So I’m not going to go past.’

An earlier version of this article was originally published on January 8.

The Last of Us will return on Sky and NOW.

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Growing up on a property in rural Western Australia, the idea of ever being able to perform at Eurovision was a pipe dream for Marty Zambotto.

But last month the 29-year-old from the small town of Manjimup was announced as his country’s act for the 2025 contest – an honour the musician, who goes by the stage name Go-Jo, never thought would be possible.

Despite living on the other side of the world from where Eurovision plays out, Marty was introduced to it on old VHS tapes by his dad, who is French, as a child.

‘I was introduced to it at a very young age, around 4, when he played an old VHS of Abba performing Waterloo. And then over the years he’d always talk about it to me,’ he told Metro.

This introduction to Eurovision was even more surprising given the fact Marty grew up completely off-grid – with no running water or electricity.

However, it was an idyllic childhood that Marty said allowed him and his siblings to focus on creative pursuits.

‘My mother and father are my absolute icons. I look up to them so much and the way that they brought us up was so beautiful and so rare as well. And it allowed me and my siblings to think very individually. And I think it’s also where I learned hard work, because being off grid, you know, we had to work harder, I suppose to make sure that we had the beautiful water from the rain and then we had to harvest the energy of the sun for power,’ he shared.

‘My dad is a genius, and he would just invent all these things and witnessing that was something that I think really comes out in my in my later life as well. I tell my mum as much as I can, how grateful I am for the way that they raised us.’

A decade ago, Australia was invited to compete in Eurovision, but Marty was still floored when he was approached and asked to represent his county.

‘I never thought about being a contestant. Even up until I was selected, my mind never flipped into being like, “Whoa, I could actually potentially be a contestant of this”. I always saw myself as a spectator, which was interesting now that I’m on it. It’s insane,’ he said.

Despite already achieving massive success in the music industry, Marty previously faced the decision whether to pursue that, or a career as an Australian Rules footballer. He previously played in a league in which professional players for the AFL are selected from.

‘I’ve always loved footy, and sport was always the career that I wanted to do, and I didn’t really think about music and pursuing it… I didn’t know that that was an option,’ he shared.

‘But when I found out that it was and all I needed was a computer to write songs and make them ready for radio and to release on Spotify, I became obsessed with it.

‘And then it came down to… I suppose in sport; you typically have to retire l just before you’re 40 and with music you can literally do it until you can’t speak anymore. So that was my deciding factor.’

It was a decision that paid off, with Go-Jo amassing over 1.4 million followers across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

In 2023, he was the 9th most streamed Australian artist in the world while his previous hit single Mrs. Hollywood, hit over 60 million digital streams and one billion views across all platforms.

Next month Go-Jo will take to the stage in Basel to perform his song Milkshake Man, which has already been viewed on YouTube over 1 million times since its release last month.

While the song, which he co-wrote with the band Sheppard, has captured many people’s attention with its cheeky lyrics, he’s said its purpose is to ‘inspire people to embrace the loudest and proudest version of themselves’.

The playful track opens with a sample of Greensleeves, the soundtrack of ice-cream trucks around the world.

It also incorporates French, a move that may bring in some votes from fans in his father’s country of birth.

‘That would be great, but it was, it was mainly just to show that I have a French heritage,’ he explained.

‘I was introduced to the whole competition because of his French heritage and I wanted to add a little backstory of mine and so when I found out I’d been chosen, I instantly knew I want to incorporate French.’

Over the years there has been continuing questions from some about Australia’s participation in Eurovision, but Marty has a pretty good argument for the naysayers.

‘Well, I think I’m a great example of this. My dad is French, and he comes from a very rich European background, that’s exactly the same with my mum, she’s Dutch,’ he said.

‘If you come to Australia we have such a big European community and so many people’s parents and grandparents are from across Europe, and we’ve just been knocking on the door to do Eurovision for so long because everyone knows about it.’

Although Australia came oh-so-close to winning Eurovision in 2016 (Dami Im placed second with her song Sound of Silence), Marty is excited about the potential to bring the title home.

‘I think that’s a massive driver for me to like but obviously just doing Australia proud is all I’ve ever asked for,’ he said.

Speaking about being selected, he added: ‘It’s the most honourable feeling, representing a country and especially doing it in the field that I love the most, which is music.

‘Eurovision is literally the Olympics of music. So, I mean, you know, representing a country in the Olympics of music, it doesn’t get any better for me. I’m very honoured.’

The Eurovision Song Contest takes place from Tuesday May 13 to Saturday May 17.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.