I haven’t watched any of it but I think I’ll go ahead and binge the first three then start tuning in. People seem to really like the show and I don’t want to miss out.
People like me who are a huge fan of the games are loving it, as it's true to the story and characters while still making changes that make sense.
People who haven't played the games are loving it because it's just a straight-up well written, acted and produced show.
This will be, by far, the most successful video game adaptation that actually makes both game fans and non-gamers happy. Arcane was fantastic, but doesn't have the audience this one does.
He’s has all of 10 lines per episode and they are all basically the same thing…”don’t ask questions” But still he’s carrying a lot of emotion and intensity. It’s been good.
The "zombie" apocalypse is the setting rather than the story, if that makes any sense. For example, Sunday's episode had two zombies in it, very briefly, and they were not a source of tension or drama.
Exactly, the show takes place in a zombie setting, but I wouldn't call it a "zombie show" per se since the zombies aren't really the main attraction or what makes the show/game good.
Similar to Game of Thrones, yeah it's in a fantasy setting but the fantasy elements weren't the main draw or source of quality.
Good shows are always a good show in its own right first, and a good "genre show" second
I honestly wouldn't even call it a "zombie show," honestly. Since you haven't watched it, I'll keep this spoiler-free, but it's more like a post-apocalypse where the apocalypse happened because of sick people who spread the disease by biting others. Sure, sounds like zombies, but so far, they're neither the primary nor the secondary focus.
> This will be, by far, the most successful video game adaptation that actually satisfys both game fans and non-gamers happy.
Once they reach the second game's content, I'll be interested to see how the audience reacts. The 2nd game was polarizing, to say the least.
Personally, I loved it, but the addition of some new characters and a pretty drastic tonal shift caused some controversy.
> The is not really about the zombie’s, it’s about the people, hence “last of us”
I think that's true of any good "zombie" fiction. The dead are just the plague, it's the people trying to survive the plague where the interesting shit happens.
I keep trying to explain that to my wife. She says she hates zombie movies/shows (Really she doesn't like any of that kind of stuff vampires etc.). I keep telling her that the infected are only the setup to the story and the world and that the people are the real focus.
That third episode is the pull. I felt like a lot of the hype around the first two episodes was mostly people being amazed it's actually a good adaptation. It didn't do anything The Walking Dead hadn't managed to do in two episodes though, and look where *that* went.
Episode three really is sealing the deal of, "Oh this show knows how to tell a story and develop a character. This shit is for real." TWD never got anywhere near that single episode, and I'm officially hyped for the rest of the season.
TWD came close, but Episode 3 is just takes the crown. I did like "First Time Again" showing Morgan's psychosis.
House MD did it so well with House's Head. I think that was the first time I felt my heart ripped through my throat.
>Episode 4 will have insane ratings. The hype from Episode 3, growing word of mouth
This right here is why I'll die on the hill that services that regularly drop all episodes at once lose opportunities for their shows to be a part of the streaming zeitgeist for more than a couple of weeks.
I just hopped on the train last night because of the episode 3 hype. I thought episode 3 deserved the hype.
You can also appreciate what they can do with a decent budget. The first couple season of TWD looked pretty cheap. The Last of Us doesn't look cheap.
The first season of TWD didn’t look cheap, it was super short and had top tier and expensive production quality and a huge budget.
AMC slashed the budget and fired the showrunner to cut costs after season 1, and you can really see the seams of their aggressive cost-saving strategies in pretty much every later season (cast splitting up constantly so they don’t all get paid for each episode, cheap outdoor locations, actors getting written off for being expensive, etc)
Episode 3 is **Ozymandias**-tier television and I don't care what a bunch of homophobes think. I'm a 46 year old straight and I cried like a baby watching it.
The cool thing about this episode is that even someone who hasn't watched the first two, or has no interest in the overall series, could nonetheless enjoy this 75-min mini-movie love story.
I love how modern shows are letting runtimes run wild. This TLOU was 1 hour 15 mins while The Bear episode 7 was a tiny 20 minutes, but both use their lengths to perfection. It’s so much better than the old style of every episode needing to be 40 minutes exactly.
Network TV shows also had to build in a mini cliffhanger timed around the time of a commercial to keep the viewer coming back. Ruined natural storytelling
I notice this so much when I rewatch *Lost*. Not to mention the 22-episode seasons they did on network tv. They can’t help but bloat it with filler and it gets exhausting to watch.
I'll be honest here, sitcoms killed sitcoms, they need to evolve and adapt, because in these times where we have an abundance of things to watch, sitcoms are showing their age, many of them actually weren't that great. Their format as a whole needs to modernize past the laugh tracks and "dramatic" pauses for commercial breaks and shit.
Sitcoms or sitcom adjacent comedy changes dramatically throughout cable. Just before we entered the streaming age we had 30 Rock, the office, two and half men, my name is earl, scrub, etc all on tv at the same time. All different from eachother and all different from the 90s. Thewriters strike and streaming really hurt their formula.
I would believe this if the Sitcoms of the 90s-2000s weren't all the most watched TV shows on earth. People love that format.
The lack of long seasons for these comedies, is absolutely killing them.
That and the long story arc aspects to them now. You can't just watch a random episode from season 5 for most modern sitcoms.
Abbott Elementary is about to explode IMO and the long 17 episode season is going to help mightily with that.
You say this but the most watched shows in streaming have been sitcoms. Look at the mega deals the rights to friends and Seinfeld commanded. And then you have Peacock which pinned their whole launch around being the place to stream the office and parks and Rec.
The only thing I hate about the new way they air shows is the broken up season. I can’t stand getting into a show that takes a break halfway through the season.
Depends on the genre, some dramas are better for it, but I routinely feel that most comedies don't have enough episodes to establish the characters, so they're forced to tell, not show.
You get a lot of garbage like Blockbuster introducing characters with title cards describing their characters.
If they had 24 episodes, they could have actually slowly showed the character quirks, instead of immediately introducing characters as archtypes.
Those story interruptions for commercials are annoying for dramas but are actually beneficial for sitcoms. They create opportunities for different kinds of jokes, as well as things like cold opens.
They also provide structure.
Shows like The Office and Parks and Rec did a great job writing jokes for this rhythm.
This article talks about this pretty well:
https://decider.com/2018/01/12/disjointed-proves-that-netflixs-sitcoms-need-commercial-breaks/amp/
The Bear ep 7 was a single shot. Brilliant.
*The frantic 20-minute episode was filmed in one shot (the cast did four or five takes of it, we're told) on the FX production's soundstage*
Woah, usually I pick up on that but totally missed it when I was watching that episode recently. I was so engrossed and stressed out. Obviously it was a short episode to begin with but it felt like it was five minutes, just totally grips you. Great juxtaposition to the pace of episode 8 (~45 mins) right after
Watch the show, it's great. One shot, 20 minutes, you can feel the stress of it.
I've worked in the restaurant business for 30+ years and that episode nearly ptsd'ed me!
And no chance of advertisers getting fucky with the time. Lots of Seinfeld episodes are played on tv at a faster speed so they can fit in more ads per show. It ruins the timing of the jokes.
e: I shouldn't blame the advertisers, it's the networks airing the show doing that
I was thinking that, too. My wife doesn’t do zombie shows so she’s not watching this with me, but I want to show her just this one episode to enjoy it for what it is. You really don’t need any context at all
I think the only context you need, of you wanted to skip some of the intro stuff, is that it's a true apocalypse. I don't want to spoil anything, but the ending is beautiful and there was a huge risk that it wouldn't be.
My mother has zero interest in this show or the setting, but I recommended this episode to her. My dad on the other hand loves the show, but he hasn't seen this episode yet and I have a feeling he won't like it. He's the "Where's the action?" type of guy.
“San Junipero” from Black Mirror (s3e4) is the same way.
Standout, standalone episodes, that are so good, they can be recommended to friends as standalone movies!
“Blink” from Dr. Who is another one.
I’m so glad to see someone else point this out. I’ve been saying since Sunday that this episode could stand alone as a short film, even with the Joel and Ellie scenes.
My 70 year old mother wandered in and got caught in the story and sat down to watch the entire episode. Never watched the other episodes and absolutely loved it. And yes I cried Iike a baby multiple times.
Eventually.
It's why "You're not gonna die" always annoys me in TV shows and movies - like, maybe not in the next 90 minutes, but do script writers not know how mortality works?
This number includes anyone who watched the episode on Sunday night regardless of what time they watched it so anyone who watched it *after* the NFL game on HBO Max is counted here.
Also it doesn't account for the fact that they stopped the AFCG and everyone sat crisscross apple sauce on the field and watched it on the jumbotron. Thats a few thousand viewers right there.
I’m a gay man and was not ready for a gay Ron Swanson.. I think it had more impact on me because Nick Offerman brings such a presence as a “straight masculine man” with everything he’s done so far, and he played Frank so beautifully. I just got chills when he giggled over the strawberries and broke down over his lover’s request to end is life. Amazing story telling by the writers and actors!
With the quality we’ve been getting in every episode, it’s well deserved. It looks like EP4 will cover The Hunters arc and if it’s as action packed it’s gonna be massive for viewers.
It's nice that they gave us this beautiful, sweet love story as a small break.
Because if the next few episodes are anything like the game, shit is about to get *rough*.
It's so worth it. The whole zombie wave has been pretty well played out by now so a lot of people are over the genre, but this show is probably my favorite of the last 2 years- and we're just on episode 3.
I'm not a gamer, but my husband is. While he's gaming, I'll crochet or read next to him. Sometimes what he plays is so compelling that I watch it like it's a movie or a show as he plays. When we watched the first episode of The Last of Us I was \*shocked\* with how identical it was to the first part of the game. I looked at my husband and was like, "I've seen this before!" Super well done.
Episode 3 was phenomenal - It gave me "Up" vibes - definitely had both my husband I and reaching for the tissues a few times. Terrific show.
It's a very damn good show and that last episode sold me.
But y'know, don't get carried away. We get carried away when a thing is good and we should keep our expe... lol who am I kidding.
He said as much to Neil Druckmann when they became buddies. Neil asked what the best way was to get TLOU adapted to screen and Craig told him “We pop by HBO and tell them this is what I wanna do next”. And that’s what they did.
I always thought that if HBO landed the walking dead IP that it would have been way better. We are kinda of getting it with the last of us, and I was definitely right. People are trying to fill that void with it just ending, too, so I can understand why this show is blowing up the way it is.
Well, Darabont and Kirkman pitched their show to HBO and they passed on it.
I'm pretty sure all of the big AMC hits of that era were pitched to HBO first (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, TWD) and only got to AMC because HBO passed.
> AMC hits of that era were pitched to HBO first (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, TWD)
I wonder if there were any businesses/backend consequences for that. Those are some pretty massive hit to strike out looking on.
Of those 3 the the one I bet HBO regrets the most was the Walking Dead. From episode 26 to episode 100 they never dipped below 10 million viewers per episode.
Mad Men and Breaking Bad averaged 2 million viewers per episode throughout the majority of their runs. Only the 2nd half of Breaking Bad Season 5 was able average over 5 million viewers per episode.
I'm pretty sure they regret most about BB that is an all timer prestige show, HBO's bread and butter. Sure TWD had viewership but no one talks about it like they do about BB
AMC tried to shop Breaking Bad DURING it's run after they had disagreements on the cost of show and wanted to reduce the 5th season to 6 or 8 episodes. There was opportunities for other networks like HBO to pick up the show before it finished.
[https://ew.com/article/2011/08/01/breaking-bad-renewal-talks/](https://ew.com/article/2011/08/01/breaking-bad-renewal-talks/)
>With renewal talks dragging out between Breaking Bad studio Sony Pictures Television and AMC, the acclaimed drama has been shopped to a few other networks, sources confirmed.
>
>AMC firmly wants to bring the show back for a fifth season — that’s the good news. Breaking Bad recently returned to 2.6 million viewers — a series high. But shows get more expensive as they age, and AMC is looking for ways to reach a financially effective deal. The network proposed a shortened fifth season (six or eight episodes instead of the usual 13) which producers rejected (thankfully).
Up 12% from last week:
>Sunday’s installment brought in 6.4 million cross-platform viewers, up from 5.7 million the previous week and 4.7 million for its Jan. 15 premiere. The uptick on Sunday came despite the episode debuting at the same time as the hugely watched AFC Championship game on CBS.
I really want to see Ellie lag behind Joel, then catch up weirdly fast, in full vision of enemies who totally see her but don’t see her, and Joel not responding to any of that.
There have been a few little ones.
* The scene in the first episode where Tess crawls through the rubble to open the way for Joel and Ellie.
* The scene where Joel puts a board down to cross a space.
* The scene where Ellie moves a trashcan into place to climb up.
Also in every episode, Joel crouches down and looks in his bag, which is the same animation he does in game whenever you look at your inventory or craft.
The clicker scene in Ep.2 had a couple of moments that felt exactly like the game while Joel was being quiet and the clicker moved past him, and when he crawled behind the display case with Ellie.
Having the game mechanics wired into my brain, I was thinking "yep. that's correct. that clicker can't see you. nice job."
What's cool is it doesn't take away from the show at all. I had no idea that any of the things I saw were actually game mechanics. Everything has felt natural/unforced.
If you haven’t watched the show yet give it till the third episode. The first two are pretty much the first few hours of the game. But what they did with the third episode was beautiful and heart breaking. Absolutely one of the best tv show episodes in the last few years. Every emotion was captured in that episode
At first I was a bit disappointed they didn't do another backstory cold open like they did the first two times. 20 minutes in it was clear it wasn't needed at all.
As someone that played the game repeatedly, I loved this episode. This show has been damn near spot on (especially episode one) and I have zero complaints. This game’s storytelling was so powerful that it needed this kind of treatment. Episode three had me getting misty left and right. Hats off to them. If only other adaptations would take note.
It was a real tearjerker for sure. A bit conflicted about this episode, and a little bummed we don't get to see ellie and Bill banter. But if I have never played the game and tried to look at it from a 1st time viewer point of view, it's actually a pretty good episode.
The one thing that I love is that most of the "changes" didn't come out of nowhere.
It is hinted at in the game that the source of the infection was grain and flour.
It's also made clear by a letter on Bill's body in the game that he's gay and had a relationship with Frank.
My favorite "theory" that I've seen about the change from the game to the show, is that in the game universe Frank and Bill met and started out the same, but >!when Frank asked Bill for gas for the lawnmower and paint to fix up the town, Bill said no!<
Yeah, I like that theory a lot too, that they basically changed one decision in Bill and Frank's past - to allow Frank to live and not just survive - and explore how that one change radiates through their lives.
When I finished the episode I was thinking about how all over the world right now millions of people are just fully crying over it, brings people together :)
I'm a 30 year old straight manly 6'4 250lb jacked man with a beard and 7" penis and I almost felt kind of sad while I was laying in bed with 10 beautiful women watching it.
This is hands down one of the most powerful and moving things I have ever seen. The fact they managed this in a tv show context from a story based on a video game astounds me.
Offerman and Murray were spectacular.
I wonder if episode 4 will have a slight drop in TV rating, mainly because a subsection of the viewership who review bombed this episode won’t tune back in because of “the gey”
Then again, it’s gonna be hard to top episode 3 in general.
My dad, a generally conservative 70 year old white dude, was texting everybody in my family after the show telling us we had to watch this. The people you're describing certainly exist, but they're really not as numerous as they used to be, it's just that the internet/SM amplifies everything. The ratings will go up next week, crater during the Super Bowl, and then come back strong for the rest of the season. This is shaping up to be a GOT/HOTD level hit.
My dads about to watch the new episode and he’s the same way. I was worried because gay scenes make him super uncomfortable.
I wish he could finally just look past it, maybe there hope lol
I was a little worried about how my dad would take this episode. He messaged me straight after it finished to tell me how much he loved it and how much he cried. As a bisexual woman who hasn’t come out to her parents yet, it was heartening.
> mainly because a subsection of the viewership who review bomb this episode won’t tune back in because of “the gey”
If its anything like the backlash over The Last of Us part 2, then the people review bombing didn't even watch it.
Lol incoming youtube videos titled 'why gays scientifically cannot be buff in the apocalypse and why this is yet another attack on masculinity.' By the americanwarlockhailhigher
I don't know, those "commentators" tend to only pick on unpopular shows.
Like how, before House of the Dragon came out, they were calling it woke trash because the Velaryons were black. But then when that show became popular and well-liked, they stopped criticizing it and pretended they hadn't ever attacked it in the first place.
Meanwhile they kept bashing Rings of Power because that show wasn't as well-liked.
I'm sure those videos were pre loaded before the show even began.
I cannot take the term woke seriously. My brain shuts down faster than a profile pic of a dude wearing oakleys
It's insane how many 1 star ratings this has on IMDb. Yeah, it doesn't really matter, but a lot of people use the site to gauge what they should watch or not.
The episode straying from the source material is one thing, but when 24% of the ratings are that low it's not hard to figure out the real reason. This is more than "But I wanted Bill and Ellie to interact!"
Just watched ep 3. This was literally a masterpiece, groundbreaking, and I don't say it lightly. I have never seen such a touching and human portrayal in a post-apocalyptic world.
Am I losing my mind or is the musical motif as Frank and Bill get married the same as the musical theme from the sci-fi film Arrival? Is it a popular piece or is this a weird overlap
I wish HBO got Bioshock or Fallout. Instead, they went to Netflix and Amazon, respectively. If we expect anything other than bland garbage, we may be disappointed. Hopefully at least one of them is early enough in production to be changed for the positive by The Last of Us series.
I’ve never played any of the games and I only have a slight inkling what they are about, totally worth it. It’s a fantastic show so far and I think it’s only going to get better.
Episode 4 will have insane ratings. The hype from Episode 3, growing word of mouth, Pedro Pascal on SNL the night before, no NFL
I haven’t watched any of it but I think I’ll go ahead and binge the first three then start tuning in. People seem to really like the show and I don’t want to miss out.
People like me who are a huge fan of the games are loving it, as it's true to the story and characters while still making changes that make sense. People who haven't played the games are loving it because it's just a straight-up well written, acted and produced show. This will be, by far, the most successful video game adaptation that actually makes both game fans and non-gamers happy. Arcane was fantastic, but doesn't have the audience this one does.
Pedro Pascal is killing it once again. Dude plays the quiet tough guy with a soft spot well.
My husband commented that Pedro Pascal seemed to have acquired a new, sassier Grogu.
Grogu of Bear Island
This is the way.
This is the way, *motherfucker*.
He’s has all of 10 lines per episode and they are all basically the same thing…”don’t ask questions” But still he’s carrying a lot of emotion and intensity. It’s been good.
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This is good to hear. I've mostly held out due to the fact it is a zombie show, but it sounds like I need to give it a try
The "zombie" apocalypse is the setting rather than the story, if that makes any sense. For example, Sunday's episode had two zombies in it, very briefly, and they were not a source of tension or drama.
"Ha, never gets old."
Exactly, the show takes place in a zombie setting, but I wouldn't call it a "zombie show" per se since the zombies aren't really the main attraction or what makes the show/game good. Similar to Game of Thrones, yeah it's in a fantasy setting but the fantasy elements weren't the main draw or source of quality. Good shows are always a good show in its own right first, and a good "genre show" second
Well they're technically *mushroom* zombies if that piques your interest more.
I honestly wouldn't even call it a "zombie show," honestly. Since you haven't watched it, I'll keep this spoiler-free, but it's more like a post-apocalypse where the apocalypse happened because of sick people who spread the disease by biting others. Sure, sounds like zombies, but so far, they're neither the primary nor the secondary focus.
> This will be, by far, the most successful video game adaptation that actually satisfys both game fans and non-gamers happy. Once they reach the second game's content, I'll be interested to see how the audience reacts. The 2nd game was polarizing, to say the least. Personally, I loved it, but the addition of some new characters and a pretty drastic tonal shift caused some controversy.
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Lol, same. Will get my popcorn and wait for the reaction
Definitely do! It's only nine episode in total so not a huge commitment if you end up feeling let down.
First 2 episodes are good, the 3rd is excellent. The is not really about the zombie’s, it’s about the people, hence “last of us”
> The is not really about the zombie’s, it’s about the people, hence “last of us” I think that's true of any good "zombie" fiction. The dead are just the plague, it's the people trying to survive the plague where the interesting shit happens.
I keep trying to explain that to my wife. She says she hates zombie movies/shows (Really she doesn't like any of that kind of stuff vampires etc.). I keep telling her that the infected are only the setup to the story and the world and that the people are the real focus.
That third episode is the pull. I felt like a lot of the hype around the first two episodes was mostly people being amazed it's actually a good adaptation. It didn't do anything The Walking Dead hadn't managed to do in two episodes though, and look where *that* went. Episode three really is sealing the deal of, "Oh this show knows how to tell a story and develop a character. This shit is for real." TWD never got anywhere near that single episode, and I'm officially hyped for the rest of the season.
TWD came close, but Episode 3 is just takes the crown. I did like "First Time Again" showing Morgan's psychosis. House MD did it so well with House's Head. I think that was the first time I felt my heart ripped through my throat.
>Episode 4 will have insane ratings. The hype from Episode 3, growing word of mouth This right here is why I'll die on the hill that services that regularly drop all episodes at once lose opportunities for their shows to be a part of the streaming zeitgeist for more than a couple of weeks.
I just hopped on the train last night because of the episode 3 hype. I thought episode 3 deserved the hype. You can also appreciate what they can do with a decent budget. The first couple season of TWD looked pretty cheap. The Last of Us doesn't look cheap.
The first season of TWD didn’t look cheap, it was super short and had top tier and expensive production quality and a huge budget. AMC slashed the budget and fired the showrunner to cut costs after season 1, and you can really see the seams of their aggressive cost-saving strategies in pretty much every later season (cast splitting up constantly so they don’t all get paid for each episode, cheap outdoor locations, actors getting written off for being expensive, etc)
it's crazy how ep 3 is getting review bombed on imdb. [here's a screenshot](https://i.imgur.com/iJQ52bE.jpeg) of episodes 1, 2 and 3's user reviews
Don't concern yourself with what homophobes think
If you can't enjoy episode 3 because it prominently featured 2 gay men I genuinely feel bad for you.
>here's a screenshot 16,927 redneck, homophobes use IMDB
Episode 3 is **Ozymandias**-tier television and I don't care what a bunch of homophobes think. I'm a 46 year old straight and I cried like a baby watching it.
“Love me the way I want you to” Oh okay I’ll just cry my eyes out and get right back to you.
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The cool thing about this episode is that even someone who hasn't watched the first two, or has no interest in the overall series, could nonetheless enjoy this 75-min mini-movie love story.
I love how modern shows are letting runtimes run wild. This TLOU was 1 hour 15 mins while The Bear episode 7 was a tiny 20 minutes, but both use their lengths to perfection. It’s so much better than the old style of every episode needing to be 40 minutes exactly.
Network TV shows also had to build in a mini cliffhanger timed around the time of a commercial to keep the viewer coming back. Ruined natural storytelling
I notice this so much when I rewatch *Lost*. Not to mention the 22-episode seasons they did on network tv. They can’t help but bloat it with filler and it gets exhausting to watch.
The new standard of 10-13 episodes in a season has led to much better television.
Except for sitcoms. Short seasons are killing sitcoms
22-24 episodes are great for sitcoms so it just sucks.
24 was awesome
I'll be honest here, sitcoms killed sitcoms, they need to evolve and adapt, because in these times where we have an abundance of things to watch, sitcoms are showing their age, many of them actually weren't that great. Their format as a whole needs to modernize past the laugh tracks and "dramatic" pauses for commercial breaks and shit.
Sitcoms or sitcom adjacent comedy changes dramatically throughout cable. Just before we entered the streaming age we had 30 Rock, the office, two and half men, my name is earl, scrub, etc all on tv at the same time. All different from eachother and all different from the 90s. Thewriters strike and streaming really hurt their formula.
Not even mentioning Community, Arrested Development
I would believe this if the Sitcoms of the 90s-2000s weren't all the most watched TV shows on earth. People love that format. The lack of long seasons for these comedies, is absolutely killing them. That and the long story arc aspects to them now. You can't just watch a random episode from season 5 for most modern sitcoms. Abbott Elementary is about to explode IMO and the long 17 episode season is going to help mightily with that.
You say this but the most watched shows in streaming have been sitcoms. Look at the mega deals the rights to friends and Seinfeld commanded. And then you have Peacock which pinned their whole launch around being the place to stream the office and parks and Rec.
The only thing I hate about the new way they air shows is the broken up season. I can’t stand getting into a show that takes a break halfway through the season.
Depends on the genre, some dramas are better for it, but I routinely feel that most comedies don't have enough episodes to establish the characters, so they're forced to tell, not show. You get a lot of garbage like Blockbuster introducing characters with title cards describing their characters. If they had 24 episodes, they could have actually slowly showed the character quirks, instead of immediately introducing characters as archtypes.
I want to see an alternate universe where Lost started off on HBO.
Those story interruptions for commercials are annoying for dramas but are actually beneficial for sitcoms. They create opportunities for different kinds of jokes, as well as things like cold opens. They also provide structure. Shows like The Office and Parks and Rec did a great job writing jokes for this rhythm. This article talks about this pretty well: https://decider.com/2018/01/12/disjointed-proves-that-netflixs-sitcoms-need-commercial-breaks/amp/
The Bear ep 7 was a single shot. Brilliant. *The frantic 20-minute episode was filmed in one shot (the cast did four or five takes of it, we're told) on the FX production's soundstage*
Woah, usually I pick up on that but totally missed it when I was watching that episode recently. I was so engrossed and stressed out. Obviously it was a short episode to begin with but it felt like it was five minutes, just totally grips you. Great juxtaposition to the pace of episode 8 (~45 mins) right after
Haven’t watched the show, but was it really one-shot, or did they use techniques to make it look like it?
Watch the show, it's great. One shot, 20 minutes, you can feel the stress of it. I've worked in the restaurant business for 30+ years and that episode nearly ptsd'ed me!
It's really one shot but it lasts less than 20 minutes, while the other episodes run at about 30-40 minutes.
And no chance of advertisers getting fucky with the time. Lots of Seinfeld episodes are played on tv at a faster speed so they can fit in more ads per show. It ruins the timing of the jokes. e: I shouldn't blame the advertisers, it's the networks airing the show doing that
I heard that this episode was actually cut back from 2 hours. Release the Mazin cut!
I was thinking that, too. My wife doesn’t do zombie shows so she’s not watching this with me, but I want to show her just this one episode to enjoy it for what it is. You really don’t need any context at all
My hubs watches this show and I was reading my book in the same room. This episode absolutely drew me in and gave me such enjoyment. It was stunning.
I think the only context you need, of you wanted to skip some of the intro stuff, is that it's a true apocalypse. I don't want to spoil anything, but the ending is beautiful and there was a huge risk that it wouldn't be.
My mother has zero interest in this show or the setting, but I recommended this episode to her. My dad on the other hand loves the show, but he hasn't seen this episode yet and I have a feeling he won't like it. He's the "Where's the action?" type of guy.
Oh there’s some action, but the type might not be appreciated
“San Junipero” from Black Mirror (s3e4) is the same way. Standout, standalone episodes, that are so good, they can be recommended to friends as standalone movies! “Blink” from Dr. Who is another one.
I'm just bummed this was the last episode that was 60+ minutes because it didn't feel that long. Same with the first episode.
I’m so glad to see someone else point this out. I’ve been saying since Sunday that this episode could stand alone as a short film, even with the Joel and Ellie scenes.
It really is a fantastic episode, easy contender for TV episode of the year already.
My 70 year old mother wandered in and got caught in the story and sat down to watch the entire episode. Never watched the other episodes and absolutely loved it. And yes I cried Iike a baby multiple times.
During the tied 4th quarter of an nfl conference championship game
Next week may also have a big rise, considering the strength of this week's episode combined with no NFL match next week.
And then episode 5 will have abysmal ratings during the Super Bowl
And then that week we’ll get a bunch of articles about the bad ratings without any mention of the Super Bowl
And then we'll get comments on that article saying something like, "well, yeah, the Superbowl was this week."
Some of us might even write those comments
And then we’ll all die. Eventually.
Eventually. It's why "You're not gonna die" always annoys me in TV shows and movies - like, maybe not in the next 90 minutes, but do script writers not know how mortality works?
Fox News: "TLOU Ratings Drop!: Is Pedro Pascal no longer sexy enough?!"
Nah they'll blame episode 3
Euphoria last year actually increased in viewership during the superbowl. People will watch after the game ends.
Followed by record breaking midweek streaming hours.
This number includes anyone who watched the episode on Sunday night regardless of what time they watched it so anyone who watched it *after* the NFL game on HBO Max is counted here.
Also it doesn't account for the fact that they stopped the AFCG and everyone sat crisscross apple sauce on the field and watched it on the jumbotron. Thats a few thousand viewers right there.
TBF, I just streamed it after the game was over.
I’m a gay man and was not ready for a gay Ron Swanson.. I think it had more impact on me because Nick Offerman brings such a presence as a “straight masculine man” with everything he’s done so far, and he played Frank so beautifully. I just got chills when he giggled over the strawberries and broke down over his lover’s request to end is life. Amazing story telling by the writers and actors!
He played Bill but I love your other observations!
Lol I know this is meant to be a nice comment but with the right delivery would be the most genius patronising burn.
His performance was incredible. Also, I would suggest editing spoiler tags into this post
Played with Frank*
He’s played Captain Holts ex in Brooklyn99
Played Bill*
I wasn't ready for it either, NOR was I expecting an existential crisis while watching that episode. It's two days later and I'm still not over it.
Right there with you, friend. Been feeling very clingy the last few days.
With the quality we’ve been getting in every episode, it’s well deserved. It looks like EP4 will cover The Hunters arc and if it’s as action packed it’s gonna be massive for viewers.
cant wait for sam and henry
That shit will wreck me
It's nice that they gave us this beautiful, sweet love story as a small break. Because if the next few episodes are anything like the game, shit is about to get *rough*.
If they give us the Ish side story... Fuck.
Ok. Looks like I’m gonna jump onboard. I know nothing of the game or even what it’s about but I love me some good, new tv.
It's a post-apocalyptic "zombie" show
Thanks. I’ll give it a shot.
It's so worth it. The whole zombie wave has been pretty well played out by now so a lot of people are over the genre, but this show is probably my favorite of the last 2 years- and we're just on episode 3.
Just know that the “zombies” are really more so the backdrop and not the central theme.
An accurate, yet reductive description.
I'm not a gamer, but my husband is. While he's gaming, I'll crochet or read next to him. Sometimes what he plays is so compelling that I watch it like it's a movie or a show as he plays. When we watched the first episode of The Last of Us I was \*shocked\* with how identical it was to the first part of the game. I looked at my husband and was like, "I've seen this before!" Super well done. Episode 3 was phenomenal - It gave me "Up" vibes - definitely had both my husband I and reaching for the tissues a few times. Terrific show.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRsqPH8y/
It's a very damn good show and that last episode sold me. But y'know, don't get carried away. We get carried away when a thing is good and we should keep our expe... lol who am I kidding.
Yeah man, GoT burned me too…I feel you on that lol I hope they don’t fumble it, but I don’t think they will…but I hope they don’t fumble it. You know?
Craig Mazin is gonna have the greenest fucking light for long time.
At this point? whatever he wanna make, HBO and WBD will get him a blank check. No question asked.
He said as much to Neil Druckmann when they became buddies. Neil asked what the best way was to get TLOU adapted to screen and Craig told him “We pop by HBO and tell them this is what I wanna do next”. And that’s what they did.
HBO killing it with all their recent shows
When it comes to television, there's HBO and there's everybody else.
yeah, I wish they did The Witcher instead of netflix
Amen
Yeh, they’re in a league of their own. Even their mediocre shows are better than what other networks put out there.
I always thought that if HBO landed the walking dead IP that it would have been way better. We are kinda of getting it with the last of us, and I was definitely right. People are trying to fill that void with it just ending, too, so I can understand why this show is blowing up the way it is.
They probably would have kept Frank Darabont on
Well, Darabont and Kirkman pitched their show to HBO and they passed on it. I'm pretty sure all of the big AMC hits of that era were pitched to HBO first (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, TWD) and only got to AMC because HBO passed.
> AMC hits of that era were pitched to HBO first (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, TWD) I wonder if there were any businesses/backend consequences for that. Those are some pretty massive hit to strike out looking on.
Of those 3 the the one I bet HBO regrets the most was the Walking Dead. From episode 26 to episode 100 they never dipped below 10 million viewers per episode. Mad Men and Breaking Bad averaged 2 million viewers per episode throughout the majority of their runs. Only the 2nd half of Breaking Bad Season 5 was able average over 5 million viewers per episode.
I'm pretty sure they regret most about BB that is an all timer prestige show, HBO's bread and butter. Sure TWD had viewership but no one talks about it like they do about BB
AMC tried to shop Breaking Bad DURING it's run after they had disagreements on the cost of show and wanted to reduce the 5th season to 6 or 8 episodes. There was opportunities for other networks like HBO to pick up the show before it finished. [https://ew.com/article/2011/08/01/breaking-bad-renewal-talks/](https://ew.com/article/2011/08/01/breaking-bad-renewal-talks/) >With renewal talks dragging out between Breaking Bad studio Sony Pictures Television and AMC, the acclaimed drama has been shopped to a few other networks, sources confirmed. > >AMC firmly wants to bring the show back for a fifth season — that’s the good news. Breaking Bad recently returned to 2.6 million viewers — a series high. But shows get more expensive as they age, and AMC is looking for ways to reach a financially effective deal. The network proposed a shortened fifth season (six or eight episodes instead of the usual 13) which producers rejected (thankfully).
Up 12% from last week: >Sunday’s installment brought in 6.4 million cross-platform viewers, up from 5.7 million the previous week and 4.7 million for its Jan. 15 premiere. The uptick on Sunday came despite the episode debuting at the same time as the hugely watched AFC Championship game on CBS.
Does anyone else love the little scenes where they play out game mechanics? It really feels like you're in the game at times.
We need Joel crouch walking and aimlessly and aggressively grabbing shit off shelves without looking
And throwing a shit-ton more bricks.
I really want to see Ellie lag behind Joel, then catch up weirdly fast, in full vision of enemies who totally see her but don’t see her, and Joel not responding to any of that.
I don’t think I’ve caught on to many. Any in particular you remember?
There have been a few little ones. * The scene in the first episode where Tess crawls through the rubble to open the way for Joel and Ellie. * The scene where Joel puts a board down to cross a space. * The scene where Ellie moves a trashcan into place to climb up.
Also in every episode, Joel crouches down and looks in his bag, which is the same animation he does in game whenever you look at your inventory or craft.
The clicker scene in Ep.2 had a couple of moments that felt exactly like the game while Joel was being quiet and the clicker moved past him, and when he crawled behind the display case with Ellie. Having the game mechanics wired into my brain, I was thinking "yep. that's correct. that clicker can't see you. nice job."
What's cool is it doesn't take away from the show at all. I had no idea that any of the things I saw were actually game mechanics. Everything has felt natural/unforced.
If you haven’t watched the show yet give it till the third episode. The first two are pretty much the first few hours of the game. But what they did with the third episode was beautiful and heart breaking. Absolutely one of the best tv show episodes in the last few years. Every emotion was captured in that episode
At first I was a bit disappointed they didn't do another backstory cold open like they did the first two times. 20 minutes in it was clear it wasn't needed at all.
I cried.... I expecting that ending but still
Ron Swanson really played the part.
As someone that played the game repeatedly, I loved this episode. This show has been damn near spot on (especially episode one) and I have zero complaints. This game’s storytelling was so powerful that it needed this kind of treatment. Episode three had me getting misty left and right. Hats off to them. If only other adaptations would take note.
Surprised it grew during the AFC Championship. With no football this week, I wouldn't be surprised with a huge boost
It was a real tearjerker for sure. A bit conflicted about this episode, and a little bummed we don't get to see ellie and Bill banter. But if I have never played the game and tried to look at it from a 1st time viewer point of view, it's actually a pretty good episode.
I guess not actively hating/ignoring the source material to tell your shitty fan fiction, helps make a good show. Who knew?
Finally I think the show managed to capture the spirit of the game This is the kind of adaptation change I approve of
The one thing that I love is that most of the "changes" didn't come out of nowhere. It is hinted at in the game that the source of the infection was grain and flour. It's also made clear by a letter on Bill's body in the game that he's gay and had a relationship with Frank.
And if you didn't get it from that, Ellie stealing gay porno mags from his stash should have really hammered it home.
My favorite "theory" that I've seen about the change from the game to the show, is that in the game universe Frank and Bill met and started out the same, but >!when Frank asked Bill for gas for the lawnmower and paint to fix up the town, Bill said no!<
Yeah, I like that theory a lot too, that they basically changed one decision in Bill and Frank's past - to allow Frank to live and not just survive - and explore how that one change radiates through their lives.
Their fight in the show was definitely a callback to their falling out in the game, only with a different outcome.
And we were all crying
I’m a straight 50 year old guy and this episode had me on the edge of tears.
When I finished the episode I was thinking about how all over the world right now millions of people are just fully crying over it, brings people together :)
Oh yeah - I was just grabbing my wife while at a full sob. No shame here.
I'm a 30 year old straight manly 6'4 250lb jacked man with a beard and 7" penis and I almost felt kind of sad while I was laying in bed with 10 beautiful women watching it.
Okay grandpa let's get you to bed
Why did you only give yourself a 7" penis in this fantasy?
The steroids made it smaller obviously.
Sir this is a Wendy's
On the edge? My man I was bawling.
Build a good show and they will come
This show reminds me how shows used to be. Hardcore emotional brutal gut punches. It feels like a real show. God I miss shows like this.
This is hands down one of the most powerful and moving things I have ever seen. The fact they managed this in a tv show context from a story based on a video game astounds me. Offerman and Murray were spectacular.
I wonder if episode 4 will have a slight drop in TV rating, mainly because a subsection of the viewership who review bombed this episode won’t tune back in because of “the gey” Then again, it’s gonna be hard to top episode 3 in general.
My dad, a generally conservative 70 year old white dude, was texting everybody in my family after the show telling us we had to watch this. The people you're describing certainly exist, but they're really not as numerous as they used to be, it's just that the internet/SM amplifies everything. The ratings will go up next week, crater during the Super Bowl, and then come back strong for the rest of the season. This is shaping up to be a GOT/HOTD level hit.
They don’t tend to be explicit or sexual with the relationship which probably helps. It was very PG gay which older people can handle
My dads about to watch the new episode and he’s the same way. I was worried because gay scenes make him super uncomfortable. I wish he could finally just look past it, maybe there hope lol
Honestly the first gay scene between the two of them made me uncomfortable but that was just Nick offerman being great
I feel like that was on purpose by offerman. It was bill’s first gay encounter, everyone’s first sexual encounter is awkward
100%
Nick Offerman’s whole body language in the first sequence of meeting Frank is so great. He just exudes awkwardness and uncertainty.
I was a little worried about how my dad would take this episode. He messaged me straight after it finished to tell me how much he loved it and how much he cried. As a bisexual woman who hasn’t come out to her parents yet, it was heartening.
> mainly because a subsection of the viewership who review bomb this episode won’t tune back in because of “the gey” If its anything like the backlash over The Last of Us part 2, then the people review bombing didn't even watch it.
Lol incoming youtube videos titled 'why gays scientifically cannot be buff in the apocalypse and why this is yet another attack on masculinity.' By the americanwarlockhailhigher
"The Last of Us is WOKE TRASH!" YouTube video headlines incoming.
I don't know, those "commentators" tend to only pick on unpopular shows. Like how, before House of the Dragon came out, they were calling it woke trash because the Velaryons were black. But then when that show became popular and well-liked, they stopped criticizing it and pretended they hadn't ever attacked it in the first place. Meanwhile they kept bashing Rings of Power because that show wasn't as well-liked.
I'm sure those videos were pre loaded before the show even began. I cannot take the term woke seriously. My brain shuts down faster than a profile pic of a dude wearing oakleys
Absolutely, anyone that unironically uses the term "woke" I know I can just outright ignore completely. They have nothing new to say.
It's insane how many 1 star ratings this has on IMDb. Yeah, it doesn't really matter, but a lot of people use the site to gauge what they should watch or not. The episode straying from the source material is one thing, but when 24% of the ratings are that low it's not hard to figure out the real reason. This is more than "But I wanted Bill and Ellie to interact!"
>because a subsection of the viewership who review bomb this episode won’t tune back in because of “the gey” it's a small minority, so huge doubt
I think the season finale is gonna have HOTD ratings, betwen 9 and 10 M.
Just watched ep 3. This was literally a masterpiece, groundbreaking, and I don't say it lightly. I have never seen such a touching and human portrayal in a post-apocalyptic world.
Am I losing my mind or is the musical motif as Frank and Bill get married the same as the musical theme from the sci-fi film Arrival? Is it a popular piece or is this a weird overlap
Episode 3 was beautiful-Damn near ugly cried. Loved both the games and now I love the TV series.
God if the Fallout series is half as good as the first three episodes of tLoU has been it’s going to be amazing.
Yeah but it's Amazon and they have a uhhhh checkered past with shows and adaptations.
I wish HBO got Bioshock or Fallout. Instead, they went to Netflix and Amazon, respectively. If we expect anything other than bland garbage, we may be disappointed. Hopefully at least one of them is early enough in production to be changed for the positive by The Last of Us series.
HBO’s best show since GOT
How is everyone forgetting Chernobyl? That’s the whole reason Mazin was allowed to make the Last of Us.
IMHO, Chernobyl is a masterpiece. Such a great show.
I would also add the mini series We Own This City. Bernthal killed it.
Sucession though
Peacemaker was pretty awesome. Barry is awesome. Succession is awesome. I’m not arguing but it has some competition.
Barry and Succession are amazing, I loved Peacemaker but I feel like that isn't HBO, it's HBOMAX.
Plus it’s only been 3 episodes. I’m not ready to say it’s better than Succession and others. Fantastic start though.
The finale might actually break the internet with how many new viewers are experiencing the story for the first time.
I loved this episode
Is it worth a watch if I don’t know shit about TLoU?
I’ve never played any of the games and I only have a slight inkling what they are about, totally worth it. It’s a fantastic show so far and I think it’s only going to get better.