‘Last of Us’ Season 2 Announces Four New Cast Members

One of the most highly anticipated series, The Last of Us, announced four new cast members to join the sophomore season of the HBO tentpole. 

Variety has reported Danny Ramirez (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”), Ariela Barer (“How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” “Runaways”), Tati Gabrielle (“You,” “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”), and Spencer Lord (“Riverdale,” “Family Law”) are entering the dystopian series based on the popular video game.

More from the Variety story on the cast breakdowns. Of course Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie are returning as series leads. While Ramirez is playing Manny, who is described as “a loyal soldier whose sunny outlook belies the pain of old wounds and a fear that he will fail his friends when they need him most.” 

Barer is playing Mel, who is “a young doctor whose commitment to saving lives is challenged by the realities of war and tribalism.”

Gabrielle is cast as Nora, “a military medic struggling to come to terms with the sins of her past.” And Lord will appear as Owen, “a gentle soul trapped in a warrior’s body, condemned to fight an enemy he refuses to hate.”

ICYMI, again, The Last of Us, is based on the smash hit video game of the same title created by Neil Druckmann and developed by Naughty Dog. The official synopsis is “the story takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel (Pascal), a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.”

The series is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Druckmann. Each have directed episodes of the series. Carolyn Strauss and Evan Wells, president of Naughty Dog, are executive producing along with PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan as well as Jacqueline Lesko and Cecil O’Connor. The Last of Us is a co-production between HBO and Sony Pictures Television. PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog produce.