A weekly podcast discussing HBO’s The Last of Us. Since its release in 2013, I’ve been a huge fan of this game, its world, and its characters. It’s widely beloved and critically acclaimed, not just for its gameplay, but its story, world building, and presentation too. It’s the kinda game that hooks its tendrils into you right from the start, and takes you on an emotional rollercoaster the whole way through.

I’m sure I’ve played through the story over a dozen times, and probably sunk hundreds of hours into its multiplayer. If I had to choose, I’d probably say this is my favourite game of all time.

When it was announced that an adaptation was in development at HBO, with game producer Neil Druckman, and Chernobyl director, Craig Mazin, I was equal parts excited, and relieved that it was in good hands. Video game adaptations are usually not known for their quality. The Last of Us is already an incredibly cinematic game, and it was not hard to imagine how well it could work in live action, if all went well.

About a month ago, I tweeted that The Cast of Us was too perfect a name for a watchalong podcast not to use. Jason Snell, head of The Incomparable podcast network, very kindly offered a home for the podcast if I went through with it. So I reached out to pal, and Incomparable veteran Brian Hamilton, to see if they’d be interested in joining me. As soon as Brian agreed, I set to work registering a domain name and creating artwork for the podcast. A week before the show’s premier, we added Tiff Arment as a third host, and we were ready to go.

Since then the first two episodes of the show have aired, and I’m loving every minute of it. Not just the show itself, but the careful rewatch to take notes, recording the podcast, and following the discussion online. The reception to the show has been incredible, and it seems like it’s going to be a huge success for HBO. I couldn’t be more delighted knowing that this world and these characters I’ve got to know so well are being introduced to a wider audience.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you check out The Last of Us (on HBO in the US, and on NowTV in Ireland and the UK), and of course, immediately following that, you check out our podcast at thecastof.us.