The Last of Us crew were ‘banned’ from using one word on set

‘We weren’t allowed to say the Z word on set,’ series cinematographer said

The Last of Us went to great lengths to distinguish itself from a zombie show, even going so far as banning its crew from using the “Z word on set”.

HBO Max’s hit adaptation of the popular video game stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as two survivors in a post-pandemic US who embark on a life-threatening journey across the country.

Along the way, they come across “the Infected”, a subset of the remaining population whose bodies have been taken over by fungi.

And while the Infected, sometimes referred to as “clickers” and “bloaters”, may appear zombie-like, fans and crew alike would be remiss to allude to them as such.

“We weren’t allowed to say the Z word on set,” series cinematographer Eben Bolter told The Credits in a recent interview. “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.”

Since the series’s January premiere, many viewers unfamiliar with the original video game have incorrectly labelled it a “zombie show”.

Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal in ‘The Last of Us’ (HBO)

Just last month, conservative pundit Ben Shapiro was mocked after he complained that the fan-favourite third episode had “no zombies” and “no real threat”.

“There’s a lot of things The Last of Us is not,” Bolter added. “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.”

The Last of Us airs new episodes Sundays in the US on HBO Max, and Mondays in the UK on Sky and NOW.