When does The Last of Us season 2 take place?

After an excruciating two whole years of waiting, one of the best shows on Max, The Last of Us, has finally returned to our screens. But, with Ellie now obviously a little older and Joel somewhat settled down in Jackson, you may be wondering just how much time has passed from HBO’s The Last of Us season 1 and when exactly The Last of Us season 2 takes place.

Even if you are a big fan of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us games, which serve as inspiration to the series, you still may be confused over the timeline. This is because time differs from video game to the show. The series' current timeline is also not set in our own present time. But don’t worry, that’s where we come in. Below, we have compiled everything you need to know about when The Last of Us season 2 is set, including how old certain characters are now.

Warning, mild spoilers for The Last of Us season 2 episode 1 follow, so make sure you are up to date. But first, read our The Last of Us season 2 review.

When is The Last of Us season 2 set?

Before we think about when exactly The Last of Us season 2 is set, we first need to rewind to season 1. The Last of Us season 1 episode 1 starts with a snippet of a show broadcast in 1968, showing epidemiologists discussing the potential of a global pandemic. Then, the episode jumps to 2003 when a strange fungal virus did in fact break out, causing people to turn into zombie-like creatures. We see Joel try and save his family from the zombies, known as Clickers, but his daughter doesn't make it.

The season then jumps forward 20 years to what is present time in the show, 2023, where Joel and Ellie finally meet. The rest of the season seems to take place between summer 2023 and spring 2024, judging by the weather and certain annual holidays. In this respect, the first season stayed kind of true to our own timeline, as the bulk of the show took place in 2023, which is the same year it was released in real time.

Now comes the slightly confusing part. Although only two years have passed in our real time, The Last of Us season 2 jumps forward over 5 years after season 1 ended. The start of season 2 sees Ellie and co celebrating New Year's Eve 2029. The reason for this time jump is not to account for the cast getting older, which is unsurprising as they don't look that much older at all. But it is so the show stays as true to the games as possible, as The Last of Us parts 1 and 2 also includes a huge time jump between them.

How is The Last of Us TV show’s timeline different from the games?

Speaking of the games, although the show tries its best to stay true to the timeline of both The Last of Us Part I and The Last of Us Part II, it is worth noting that the games do follow a slightly different timeline. The first game, which hit shelves in 2013, takes place between the years of 2033 and 2034, and Part II picks up in spring 2038 and continues into 2039. In the games, Ellie is 14 in the first game, and by the time the second game rolls around, she is 19. As for Joel, when we first meet him, he is 51, and the next time we see him in Part II, he is 56.

However, we already know that season 2 will not cover all of the second game, so we expect The Last of Us season 3, which has just been confirmed, to take place during the back end of The Last of Us Part II.

So, why does the TV show follow a different timeline from the games? It is not clear exactly why the show didn’t start in 2033 like the first game. But our best guess is that the team wanted us as an audience to be able to connect with the story more, so they set the bulk of season 1 in our own present time.

The Last of Us season 2 episode 1 is out now, with new episodes dropping weekly – see our The Last of Us season 2 release schedule for exact timings. For more, see our list of the best new video game adaptations, or keep up with other upcoming TV shows.