‘The Last of Us’ makes history as the first video game adaptation to score major Emmy nominations

Naughty Dog’s gamble paid off. The Last of Us on HBO has bagged a whopping 24 Emmy nominations, going down in history as the first video game adaptation to have garnered such high acclaim from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Produced by Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin and the game’s own director Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us premiered earlier this year on HBO to praise from fans and critics alike. Audiences applauded the compelling story, touching characterization, and unwavering faithfulness to the game narrative, all of which have helped it earn a staggering two dozen nominations at the 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards, including one in the “Outstanding Drama Series” category.

The show’s main lead, Pedro Pascal, has also been nominated in the “Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series” group, while his partner Bella Ramsey is heading the “Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series.”

Other nominations include:

• Writing For A Drama Series
• Guest Actor In A Drama Series (4)
• Guest Actress In A Drama Series (2)
• Production Design For A Narrative Contemporary Program
• Casting For A Drama Series
• Contemporary Costumes For A Series
• Directing For A Drama Series
• Picture Editing For A Drama Series
• Contemporary Hairstyling
• Main Title Design
• Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
• Prosthetic Makeup
• Music Composition For A Series
• Short Form Nonfiction Or Reality Series
• Sound Editing For A Comedy Or Drama Series
• Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series
• Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie

These 24 categories make The Last of Us the second highest-nominated series in the 2023 Emmy Awards, with Succession unsurprisingly taking that crown home with a total of 27 nominations.

While The Last of Us is undoubtedly the best adaptation in recent memory — and having to compete with the likes of Netflix’s Resident Evil or Paramount’s Halo, that’s not necessarily a contentious title — it’s still a little surprising to see this level of recognition, because the last time a video game managed to achieve this was… well, never.

Due to the ongoing WGA strike, The Last of Us season 2 is still on hold, but we expect the show to make a return to the small screens sometime in 2025.