TV Talk at TCA: Conceived-in-Pittsburgh video game ‘The Last of Us’ becomes excellent HBO series

PASADENA, Calif. – After finally moving on from the original “Walking Dead,” which ended its run late in 2022 (though there will apparently be spin-offs ad infinitum), the last thing I was looking forward to was HBO’s “The Last of Us” (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO, HBO Max), a dramatic series adaptation of a video game about the aftermath of a viral pandemic.

And yet … “The Last of Us” turns out to be a terrific series despite its thematic similarities to “The Walking Dead.”

“The Last of Us” begins with the onset of a parasitic viral fungus that ultimately takes root (literally) in 2003, but the series wisely jumps ahead to 2023 mid-way through its first episode, essentially skipping over all the zombie tropes covered in the original “Walking Dead.”

The focus is on Joel (Pedro Pascal, shedding his “Mandalorian” armor), a hardened survivor, and his compatriot Tess (Anna Torv, “Mindhunter”), as they’re tasked with smuggling 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey, who played Lady Lyanna Mormont on “Game of Thrones”) out of a quarantine zone.

So far, so expected.

But over subsequent episodes, it becomes clear “The Last of Us” will not just be a survivalist road show but also a character- and relationship-driven deep dive into how one lives in an unending pandemic.

Often that’s told through flashbacks, whether it’s a brief introduction to a doctor in Indonesia at the start of episode two or a wholly unexpected, often humorous love story involving a prepper (Nick Offerman, “Parks and Recreation”) that takes over episode three.

Pascal plays Joel as gruff, but he clearly sees echoes of his deceased daughter in Ellie, a spitfire who’s anything but the cute-kid-in-tow. Ramsey shines as Ellie, depicting her as someone born and raised in a post-apocalyptic landscape who’s clad herself in a self-protective armor of sarcasm as she fends for herself while longing for simple pleasures, like flying in an airplane.

The “Last of Us” video game was conceived by Neil Druckmann while in Pittsburgh, where he earned a masters of entertainment technology from Carnegie Mellon University in 2005. Druckmann’s personal publicist did not make him available for an interview, but Druckmann told The Hollywood Reporter he came up with the idea of the “Last of Us” game when tasked with pitching a zombie story for a video game as part of a CMU computer class assignment in 2004.

The project’s judge: “Night of the Living Dead” director George Romero, who didn’t love Druckmann’s treatment and picked another concept as his favorite.

Druckmann revived the zombie idea while working for gaming company Naughty Dog following the success of the game “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.”

Released on PlayStation 3 in 2014, “The Last of Us” video game became a best-seller. A film adaptation was developed but stalled, and then HBO paired Druckmann and Mazin, writer of HBO’s acclaimed “Chernobyl.”

The pair share a writing credit on the “Last of Us” series premiere, which Mazin directed; Mazin wrote episode two, which Druckmann directed.

Ventimiglia’s ‘This is Us’ follow-up

Milo Ventimiglia, who starred as Jack in partially Pittsburgh-set “This is Us,” returns to series TV in ABC’s “The Company You Keep” (10 p.m. Feb. 19, WTAE-TV) playing a con man who falls for an undercover CIA officer (Catherine Haena Kim).

During ABC’s portion of the Television Critics Association winter 2023 press tour, Ventimiglia said just two weeks passed between when he stepped off the set of “This is Us” last spring and onto the set of the pilot of “The Company You Keep,” which he said used 90% of the “This is Us” crew.

“For me it was a haircut and a shave and here I go,” Ventimiglia said, adding that he wasn’t that concerned about getting away from the image of Jack. “It was more about let me stretch into something new. … This was just one of those undeniables.”

Renewed/spun-off

Somewhat surprisingly given new owner Nexstar’s stated goal to broaden The CW’s audience and control production costs, the network gave “All American” an early sixth-season renewal for the 2023-24 TV season.

Freeform’s “Grown-ish” returns with new episodes at 10:30 p.m. Jan. 18 and has been renewed for a sixth season.

Daytime chatfest “The Jennifer Hudson Show” has been renewed for the 2023-24 TV season while “Sherri” got a two-year renewal through May 2025.

Fresh off its Golden Globes win Tuesday night, ABC renewed “Abbott Elementary” for a third season and also picked up competition series “Claim to Fame,” “Celebrity Family Feud” and “Press Your Luck” for new seasons to air in 2024.

ABC also picked up another “Jeopardy!” tournament. Ken Jennings will host “Jeopardy! Masters” featuring the six highest-ranked “Jeopardy!” contestants: Matt Amodio, Sam Buttrey, Andrew He, James Holzhauer, Mattea Roach and Amy Schneider.

A spin-off of ABC’s “The Good Doctor,” “The Good Lawyer,” will air as a backdoor pilot during the “Good Doctor” episode on March 6. Kennedy McMann, a 2018 Carnegie Mellon University grad (“Nancy Drew”), will star as a young lawyer with obsessive compulsive disorder. Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives”) will play a law firm partner.

Channel surfing

Filmed-in-Pittsburgh “The Pale Blue Eye” ranked No. 2 among English-language movies on Netflix for Jan. 2-8 just behind holdover “Glass Onion.” … MGM+ (formerly Epix) renewed “Rogue Squadron” and “Billy the Kidd” for second seasons to air in 2024. … “Saturday Night Live” kicks off the new year with Aubrey Plaza hosting Jan. 21 with musical guest Sam Smith; Michael B. Jordan hosts Jan. 28 with Lil Baby. … Screen Actors Guild Award nominations were announced Wednesday, including a nod for Carnegie Mellon University grad Anthony Carrigan for his role as Noho Hank in HBO’s “Barry.” After losing its longtime home on TNT, this year the 29th annual SAG Awards will stream on the Netflix YouTube channel at 8 p.m. Feb. 26. The awards show will stream live on Netflix in 2024 as part of a new, multi-year deal. … Mt. Lebanon native David Hollander was nominted for a Writers Guild Award with co-writer Liev Schreiber for Showtime’s “Ray Donovan: The Movie.”