Taking place in modern-day America after a horrible fungal plague has wiped through the nation, killing most in its path, HBO’s The Last Of Us is a heart-wrenching story about family, and what you would be willing to do to protect the ones you love.

The Last Of Us starts off in Boston, in a quarantine zone set up by the new government, FEDRA, to keep out people infected with the deadly, zombie-like cordyceps fungus.

Aside from the interesting premise of societies during the zombie apocalypse, the show also has amazing emotional depth. From the start, when we first meet the characters, we are rooting for them. They are charismatic, they are funny, and most of all, they are the sort of people you just can’t help but love. So, when tragedy strikes our characters, it is devastating. You cannot help but wish it happened to anyone else, some other character’s family. They did not deserve this fate, and that is the point. The world Joel lives in is cruel and heartless, and the show is not afraid to show it.

One big problem with adapting a video game into a film or TV series is straying too far from the source material. Thankfully for any The Last Of Us fans, the show does the opposite. The source material is extremely present in the show, down to lines taken directly from the game, and entire scenes being taken straight from the game and transplanted onto the screen. It’s wonderful. For anyone who has played the game, it adds a deep layer of nostalgia to watching the show. For anyone who has not played the game, the amazing way the show is executed might tempt you to give it a try!

HBO’s The Last Of Us is an amazingly emotional, creative and downright fun take on the zombie genre. It is not groundbreaking, but it is worth the time it takes to watch it (and I mean time, because each of the nine episodes is roughly an hour long). The characters draw you into an immersive world filled with heartache and break, and even though you know you are going to cry watching the show, you just cannot bring yourself to hit that pause button.