HBO's The Last Of Us banned a single word from set

Many people believe that The Last of Us is the best video game adaptation of all time. It’s me. I’m people.

In all seriousness though, I’m not the only one - each episode that passes, fans continue to be blown away by the acting, practical effects and attention to detail. The most recent episode’s mind-blowing Infected horde scene mainly used makeup and costumes to create all the Infected (including the bloater) which makes it even more impressive.

Take a look at the teaser trailer for episode six, ‘Kin’, below.

Speaking of Infected, the show’s crew really want you to know that that’s what they’re called - not zombies. In an interview with The Credits, cinematographer Eben Bolter revealed that the term ‘zombie’ was pretty much banned during the series’ production.

“There’s a lot of things The Last of Us is not,” Bolter said. “It’s not a cliché zombie movie, it’s not Hollywood backlit where everyone’s close-up is perfect. It’s a world of organic cinematic naturalism, and that’s something I could just feel.”

He later continued: “We weren’t allowed to say the Z word on set. It was like a banned word. They were the Infected. We weren’t a zombie show. Of course, there’s tension building and jump scares but the show’s really about our characters; the Infected are an obstacle they have to deal with.”

Duly noted. Episode five, ‘Endure and Survive’, is the series’ highest-rated episode so far by quite a margin, so it’s fair to say that the show just keeps getting better. Personally, I’m incredibly excited to see how they’ll adapt the Left Behind DLC - I’m ready to get my heart broken again.

Despite the most recent episode airing two days early to avoid clashing with the Super Bowl, episode six is back on the usual schedule. It’ll be released on Sunday 19 February for U.S. viewers, and on Monday 20 February for those in the UK.