The HBO series that was crucial to The Last of Us‘ success is in the spotlight again.
HBO’s treasure trove of TV shows includes many impactful dramas. After all, HBO is the home of classics like The Sopranos, The Wire, Game of Thrones, and more, with some of its recent hits including The Penguin, IT: Welcome to Derry, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and many more. That said, few HBO shows have become as critically acclaimed and popular as The Last of Us, the post-apocalyptic series that adapts one of the biggest video games of all time. Now, the drama series that prepared the ground for the show to succeed is having a streaming resurgence.
HBO · Seasons 1 & 2 Knowledge Test Endure and Survive
🦠OutbreakDay zero
🛣JourneyCross country
☠️FactionsPick a side
👤CharactersWho are they?
🌇SeattleSeason 2
01
The pandemic in The Last of Us is caused by a real-world organism that has evolved to infect humans. What type of organism is it?
✓ Correct! The Cordyceps brain infection (CBI) is based on the real Ophiocordyceps genus — a parasitic fungus that takes over the nervous systems of insects. In the show, rising global temperatures allowed a mutated strain to jump to humans.
✗ Not quite. The answer is a Cordyceps fungus. The show’s pandemic is based on real Ophiocordyceps fungi that zombify insects. A key detail: unlike the games, the HBO show spreads infection through contaminated flour rather than airborne spores.
02
In the HBO series, what year does Outbreak Day occur — the night Joel’s life is shattered and civilization begins to collapse?
✓ Correct! The HBO show moved Outbreak Day to September 26, 2003 — ten years earlier than the game’s 2013 date. This puts the main story in 2023, aligning with the show’s premiere year.
✗ Not quite. The answer is 2003. While the original game set Outbreak Day in 2013, the show shifted it a decade earlier to September 26, 2003, placing the 20-year time jump right at the show’s real-world premiere.
03
Joel’s daughter, whose death on Outbreak Day defines the rest of his story, shares a name with a biblical figure. What is her name?
✓ Correct! Sarah Miller is Joel’s 14-year-old daughter, played by Nico Parker in the show. Her death at the hands of a FEDRA soldier in the series premiere is the emotional foundation of Joel’s entire character arc.
✗ Not quite. The answer is Sarah. Joel’s daughter Sarah was shot by a FEDRA soldier during the chaos of Outbreak Day. Her loss is the wound that drives Joel’s overprotectiveness of Ellie twenty years later.
04
Episode 3, “Long Long Time,” tells the love story of Bill and Frank over many years in their fortified town. How does their story ultimately end?
✓ Correct! After Frank’s health declines from a degenerative disease, he asks Bill for one perfect last day. They cook a beautiful meal, get married, and Bill — unwilling to live without Frank — puts pills in both their glasses. They die peacefully, together.
✗ Not quite. The answer is they share a final meal and die together by choice. Frank, dying from illness, requests one last perfect day. Bill cooks their finest meal, and after exchanging vows, they both take pills — choosing to leave the world together on their own terms.
05
Season 2 expands the world far beyond the Boston QZ. What major U.S. city serves as the primary setting for the season’s conflict?
✓ Correct! Season 2’s main conflict plays out across a rain-soaked, overgrown Seattle, where two warring factions — the WLF and the Seraphites — have turned the city into a battleground.
✗ Not quite. The answer is Seattle. The Emerald City is the setting for Season 2’s central conflict, with the WLF (Wolves) controlling much of the city while the Seraphites occupy the surrounding islands.
06
One of Season 2’s most anticipated casting choices was the actor who plays Abby Anderson. Who portrays Abby in the HBO series?
✓ Correct! Kaitlyn Dever, known for her roles in Booksmart and Unbelievable, was cast as Abby Anderson. The casting was widely praised for bringing emotional depth to one of gaming’s most divisive characters.
✗ Not quite. The answer is Kaitlyn Dever. Best known for Booksmart and the Netflix series Unbelievable, Dever was tapped to play Abby — a character who demands both physical intensity and emotional vulnerability.
07
The military authority that controls quarantine zones across the country is known by the acronym FEDRA. What does FEDRA stand for?
✓ Correct! FEDRA — the Federal Disaster Response Agency — is the remnant of the U.S. government that imposes martial law over quarantine zones. In Boston, their authoritarian rule is what the Fireflies are fighting to overthrow.
✗ Not quite. The answer is Federal Disaster Response Agency. FEDRA emerged as the last functioning arm of the U.S. government, enforcing brutal order in quarantine zones. Their oppressive tactics fuel resistance groups like the Fireflies.
08
In Season 2, Abby is a member of a large, well-organized militia that controls much of Seattle. What is the full name of this group, commonly known by a three-letter abbreviation?
✓ Correct! The Washington Liberation Front overthrew FEDRA’s control of the Seattle QZ and established their own society. Led by Isaac Dixon, the WLF are colloquially called the “Wolves” and are locked in a brutal war with the Seraphites.
✗ Not quite. The answer is the Washington Liberation Front. The WLF — nicknamed the “Wolves” — seized Seattle from FEDRA and built a militarized community. Their ongoing war with the Seraphites is central to Season 2’s conflict.
Assessment Complete Your Survivor Knowledge Score
🦠
/ 8
When you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light.
According to FlixPatrol, Chernobylis currently the 9th most-watched TV show on HBO Max in the world. The historical drama series leaves behind the French prison show Privileges on the streamer. Ahead of Chernobyl are HBO hits like Euphoria, which leads the streaming service’s global chart as season 3 episodes roll out weekly, and shows like the Steve Carell comedy Rooster, the intense medical drama The Pitt, the controversial psychological thriller series The Idol, and more. Chernobyl is currently trending in 16 countries, though it does not rank as HBO Max’s most-watched show in any of them.
These 10 HBO miniseries are absolute masterpieces, showing what makes great miniseries, and number 1 may even be one of the best shows of all time.
Chernobyl‘s highest spot on HBO Max’s charts is 3rd, with two countries responsible for the impressive mark: Slovakia and the Czech Republic. At the time of writing, Chernobyl is not back on the United States’ HBO Max chart. Instead, the streaming service’s most-watched TV shows nationwide range from Euphoria to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver to DTF St. Louis to 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing, and more. Chernobyl was released on May 6, 2019, with its five episodes, all of which are now available on HBO Max, airing weekly. The show concluded on June 3, 2019.
The historical drama series presents a rendition of the events that happened before, during, and after the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster. The show’s main connection to HBO’s The Last of Us is that they share a creator, Craig Mazin. It was due to Mazin’s work on the stellar disaster series that he landed the coveted job of adapting the hit video game. If Chernobyl had not been such a hit, perhaps HBO’s The Last of Us would have looked completely different. On Rotten Tomatoes, Chernobyl holds a near-perfect 95% critics’ score, with an even better 97% audience score.
HBO’s The Last of Us falls in a similar place with critics, who have the show just a step below Chernobyl on Rotten Tomatoes with 94%. As for the post-apocalyptic series’ audience score, after a divisive season 2, The Last of Us is at a decent 62%. The Last of Us video game creative director, Neil Druckmann, called Chernobyl a “tense, harrowing, emotional masterpiece” (via Variety). That led to him thinking HBO and Mazin were the ideal partners for The Last of Us series. Now, seven years after its debut, Chernobyl trends worldwide again, becoming an HBO Max global hit.
