The Night Manager's Tom Hollander and co-star Niamh Algar take us inside your next TV adventure
Sky’s new thriller sees Tom Hollander and Niamh Algar tearing through Italy’s most glamorous locations on a quest to crack a code – and save the world.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Tom Hollander may be many things: vulnerable (Rev); literary (Capote vs the Swans); ruthless (The Night Manager); dangerously louche (The White Lotus), but one thing he is not, is an action hero. He’s an Honorary Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge for goodness’ sake. He writes for The Spectator. He’s too learned, too urbane. Hence when Neil Cross, award-winning screenwriter and the man behind Luther, originally envisaged him starring in his new thriller The Iris Affair, it was more as a behind-the-desk mastermind than a fist-swinging, tweed-coat-donning anti-hero. More a fraught middleman. In a cardie. However, what the 58-year-old Hollander does find himself in is a semi-James Bond, semi-Severance eight-part hi-tech escapade around Italy and Slovakia. It’s great fun in a witty British way. Hollander plays Cameron Beck, a maverick genius whose job it is to unlock the secrets contained in a giant computer and save the world. To do this, he enlists the help of Iris (Niamh Algar), a brainy Lara Croft type who loves unlocking codes and cracking puzzles. She’s also pretty handy with her fists, guns and syringes and at one point emerges from the waves like a modern-day Ursula Andress. Iris has all the fun. Whereas Hollander? He uses middle-class phrases such as “swapsies” and “thinking cap” and spends a lot of time drinking whisky. We meet on set during the shoot at the legendary Cinecitta Studios in Rome. “Cameron Beck is someone who is an enthusiast for brilliant people,” Hollander explains. “He’s financed the building of this brilliant computer, and he loves games. Now he needs to find someone to break a code that will solve all his problems.” Because if Beck doesn’t unlock the computer with the help of Iris, he will be killed. Hence all the car chases and derring-do? “Yes, there is a very long car chase, interspersed with some very clever philosophical speculation. But I don’t do very much of the former. Although we did go up in a helicopter the other day… It’s a bit like a live action Wacky Races with a bit of intellectual texture to it, and with Niamh as Penelope Pitstop,” he continues, referring to the classic 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoon series. Does that make him the evil mastermind Dick Dastardly? “For bits of it. At other times I’m Muttley.” [Dastardly’s canine sidekick who takes all the blame]. Casting directors seem to like sending Hollander off to work in Italy, I say, referring to his role as Quentin, the lavish gay Brit who seeks to trap, and murder Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya McQuoid in the second season of The White Lotus. “Yes, it’s a nice feeling to be back in Italy again,” he says. “There is a lot of pasta. Which is offered and mostly rejected because of the need to stay in shape. Even though I notice Italians are in very good shape, despite the fact they have cake for breakfast and pasta for lunch.” “In many ways, Tom’s got the qualities of an old-style Hollywood leading man,” explains Neil Cross, who says he watches a minimum of eight classic movies every weekend in order to keep his eye on what makes a good story and a great script. “He can get inside the material and deliver elaborate dialogue – which, if it was delivered by a less able actor could spill over into camp. Cameron Beck has to be capable of charm and ferocious intelligence. “In Cameron and Iris, I wanted people who were massively attracted to how the other thinks. It’s the primary driver behind most of Hitchcock’s thrillers, but also old-fashioned comedies like It Happened One Night or Bringing Up Baby. Films with scripts that are quick, and witty. And both Tom and Niamh can do that. “My primary intention was to make a TV show without being arch, and without being post-modern – something refreshingly old-fashioned. I wanted to apply the kind of storytelling that was used by directors who were unfashionable by 1973. I also wanted the show to look unapologetically, unironically glamorous. When I was pitching it to Sky, I said Iris must never drive a car with a roof, like Grace Kelly. And the sky is always blue, and the mountains are beautiful, and she needs to be beautiful.” Iris may be beautiful but she also has to be able to get dusty, fight in the street, leap on and off motorbikes and push cars over cliffs. “I had to learn how to ride a Vespa and one of those little Italian three-wheelers,” says Niamh Algar. “And a Ferrari! I’m also about to film a huge fight sequence, which is going to be gruesome…” The grittier the better for Algar, it seems. “I started boxing years ago. It has come in handy, because if you’re taking hits and punching people, you need to be able to work seamlessly with the stunt team.” Amongst the car chases and fight scenes is there actually an Iris ‘affair’? “Iris is infatuated by Cameron, his mind and drive,” says Niamh. “But also, these two are constantly trying to kill one another!” That sounds like a nicely deflected no… But how was it working with Hollander? “I’m such a huge fan! Any time you see his name on the credits, you think, OK, this guy is about to steal the scene. There’s this emotional depth he brings to the character, which is fascinating because that changes as you play the character. Particularly with TV because you don’t get much rehearsal time. And Terry doesn’t like to over-rehearse.” Terry is the director Terry McDonough, whose CV includes Breaking Bad and its prequel Better Call Saul. Like those two series, this show makes you root for the baddies, the script is clever, it keeps you on your toes and saves the story from being gratuitously drowned in violence. Hollander is as carefully nuanced as was his star turn in The White Lotus. Is he a baddie? Is he a goodie? Cameron Beck seems very cunning, and you fear for the vulnerable people in his command. But then all of a sudden, he stops talking about cutting people’s limbs off and comes out with a homely British phrase like “Blimey”. The overall effect is to make you feel comforted and reassured, as if he’s going to offer you Marmite on toast and a cup of tea. This acting see-saw is Hollander’s special skill. “Yes, I’ve done a few of those roles where the audience thinks: ‘Oh, he’s quite nice! Oh no, he’s a villain!’” Take his role in The White Lotus – spoiler alert – “We didn’t know that Quentin was necessarily going to kill Tanya,” he says, “but the game was ‘Is he? Isn’t he? Is he? Isn’t he?’” Why does he think he’s cast in such roles? “Because if you do it, and do it reasonably well, then you get asked again.” Dick Dastardly or Muttley? Heartless provocateur or cosy delight? Tom Hollander has a fabulous ability to deploy both. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. The Iris Affair begins on Sky and NOW on 16th October 2025. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The White Lotus season 4 location finally confirmed by HBO boss – with more details to come
HBO boss Casey Bloys has confirmed that The White Lotus will be going to France for its upcoming fourth season. France has long been rumoured to be the destination for the next instalment of Mike White’s hit series, which has previously transported viewers to Hawaii, Italy and, most recently, Thailand. Speaking to Deadline while at the Emmys on Sunday (14th September), Bloys confirmed the speculation, revealing: “France for sure, but details and location TBD." Asked whether The White Lotus creator/executive producer Mike White, who was absent from the Emmy ceremony, was in France writing the new season, Casey responded: “I believe that is the case." Deadline previously reported that the show would be heading to France for its fourth season, with HBO declining to comment when approached by the publication. The report speculated that the upcoming season could be shot at the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, which is found on the tip of the Cap-Ferrat peninsula on the French Riviera. However, sources also noted that no hotel has been locked in, and that the series could end up using multiple resorts in one season, as was the case with season 3, which used the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui in Thailand as its primary setting, along with three other non-Four Seasons hotels. It’s yet to be confirmed whether a French Four Seasons resort would be the primary location for season 4, but there are three in France: one in Paris, one in Megève and one on the Côte d’Azur. Further fuelling speculation that Cap-Ferrat is likely to be the chosen location for the upcoming season is the fact it is not directly on the beach. White previously said he didn’t want season 4 to have the same crashing waves aesthetic as previous instalments, explaining: "For the fourth season, I want to get a little bit out of the crashing waves of rocks vernacular, but there’s always more room for more murders at the White Lotus hotels." The White Lotus seasons 1-3 are available on Sky Atlantic and NOW. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guideto see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Euphoria season 3 release window confirmed by HBO boss as he comments on show's future with A-list Hollywood cast
HBO head Casey Bloys has confirmed that Euphoria’s hotly-anticipated third season will return in spring 2026. Bloys didn’t reveal an exact release date, but told Deadline while at the Emmys on Sunday (14th September) that fans can expect the upcoming instalment in the spring months of next year (2026). Speaking about the future of the show after season 3, which has been rumoured to be the last chapter, Bloys added: "We always leave it up to producers, you never know.” He continued: “I’ve never had a show with that many legitimate movie stars. So as you can imagine, the scheduling is hard enough with actors having multiple jobs, but these are probably three or four of the biggest movie stars working of their generation, so we’ll see. But I’m excited to have the third season coming." The release date window is sooner than some fans might expect, given that season 3 has been plagued by various delays since it was announced in 2022. Various factors contributed to these delays, including the Hollywood strikes, the cast’s busy schedules, and the tragic and unexpected death of Angus Cloud, who played Fez in the show. In March 2024, Deadline reported that season 3 had been delayed again, this time due to Levinson’s scripts being unfinished. The publication said that filming was supposed to start “within the next couple of months,” but, with the indefinite delay, the cast had been allowed to take on other acting jobs in the interim. Filming finally began on the upcoming season in January 2025, with HBO sharing a first photo from the season, which shows Zendaya’s Rue peering over her shoulder in a dimly lit room. While we don't know much about what to expect about season 3, Zendaya previously confirmed that there will be a time jump after the events of season 2, which took place with the characters still at school. Speaking on Entertainment Weekly's <a href="https://apple.sjv.io/c/1236178/435298/7615?i=1000671660941&subId1=radiotimes-2118338&u=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fchallengers-star-zendaya-fall-festival-recap-and%2Fid1375036030%3Fi%3D1000671660941" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored" data-id="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/challengers-star-zendaya-fall-festival-recap-and/id1375036030?i=1000671660941" data-type="link">The Awards, Zendaya said she approved of this decision because "there's only so much high school drama you can deal with", before she joked: "And then she cheats on her boyfriend again!" "I don't actually know much about what is happening," she said. "I don't quite know exactly what the season is going to look like, but I do know that the time jump is happening." She continued: "It will be fascinating to see and understand these characters outside of the context of high school and how all the stuff that we saw when they were kids and they were in high school affects the adulthood they have and who they become in a much bigger world. I’ll be interested to see what happens too." Alongside Zendaya, other returning cast members for season 3 include Jacob Elordi as Nate Jacobs, Eric Dane as Cal Jacobs, Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard, Maude Apatow as Lexi Howard and Colman Domingo as Ali Muhammed. Euphoria is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guideto see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
How to watch The Walking Dead in order: Every series and spin-off
When and how to watch every single series.
At this point there are so many Walking Dead spin-offs that even seasoned fans run the risk of getting slightly confused. New instalments are arriving all the time, from Dead City (which just aired its second season) to The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (whose third season is about to begin). In theory, the simplest way to watch The Walking Dead franchise is in release order. But even that can get confusing, thanks to all the crossovers between the main Walking Dead series and Fear the Walking Dead. To help you keep everything straight, including release information for new seasons of the current spin-offs – this is our guide to watching all of The Walking Dead in order. How to watch The Walking Dead in release order Starting out with seasons 1-5 of The Walking Dead, which began in 2010, our first guide covers how to watch this franchise in release order: The Walking Dead seasons 1 – 5 Fear the Walking Dead season 1 The Walking Dead season 6 Fear the Walking Dead season 2 The Walking Dead season 7 Fear the Walking Dead season 3 The Walking Dead season 8 Fear the Walking Dead season 4 The Walking Dead season 9 Fear the Walking Dead season 5 The Walking Dead season 10 episodes 1 – 16 The Walking Dead: World Beyond season 1 Fear the Walking Dead season 6 The Walking Dead season 10 episodes 17 – 22 The Walking Dead season 11 episodes 1 – 8 The Walking Dead: World Beyond season 2 Fear the Walking Dead season 7 episodes 1 – 8 The Walking Dead season 11 episodes 9 – 16 Fear the Walking Dead season 7 episodes 9 – 16 Tales of the Walking Dead season 1 The Walking Dead season 11 episodes 17 – 24 Fear the Walking Dead season 8 episodes 1 – 6 The Walking Dead: Dead City The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Fear the Walking Dead season 8 episodes 7 – 12 The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 - The Book of Carol The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3 (upcoming) <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/07/Walking-Dead-Ones-Who-Live-Danai-Gurira-Michonne-Andrew-Lincoln-Rick-Grimes-bb3970b-2.jpg" width="4500" height="3000" alt="Danai Gurira as Michonne and Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. They are standing in a forest armed with swords and there are people in the immediate foreground looking at them, who we can't see." title="Danai Gurira as Michonne and Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live" /> How to watch The Walking Dead in chronological order However, if you want to watch in purely chronological order, that's a whole different story. The first three seasons of Fear the Walking Dead act as a prequel, meaning they should be watched first. From then on, the later shows are pretty straightforward to follow. Fear the Walking Dead seasons 1 – 3 The Walking Dead seasons 1 – 8 Fear the Walking Dead season 4 Tales of the Walking Dead season 1 The Walking Dead season 9 Fear the Walking Dead season 5 The Walking Dead season 10 The Walking Dead: The World Beyond seasons 1 – 2 The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live The Walking Dead season 11 Fear the Walking Dead seasons 6 – 8 The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3 (upcoming) The Walking Dead: Dead City The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 Alternatively, you're well within your rights to just watch the series one by one! If you need more information before you commit, we've got you covered. How to watch The Walking Dead by series The Walking Dead (11 seasons – 2010 to 2022) There's a good reason the original season of The Walking Dead ran for so long and led to so many spin-offs – it just can't be beaten. Initially starring Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, the series became renowned worldwide for its grotesque depiction of 'walkers' and its array of complex characters. A quick fan favourite was Norman Reedus's Daryl Dixon, who got his own spin-off in 2023. The Walking Dead became AMC's flagship show and ran for 12 years, finally ending in 2022. Where to watch: Disney Plus in the UK. Fear the Walking Dead (eight seasons – 2015 to 2023) Fear the Walking Dead was the first spin-off, with the first three seasons acting as a prequel to The Walking Dead. From then on, the series has run concurrently to the original show, with Lennie James's Morgan Jones crossing over from the original series into the spin-off to lead the show from season 4 onwards. Fear the Walking Dead became a hit in its own right, and ended after eight seasons in 2023. Where to watch: Sky and NOW in the UK. The Walking Dead: World Beyond (two seasons – 2020 to 2021) World Beyond wasn't quite as well-received, with the series only running for two seasons. The series is set 10 years after the apocalypse, focusing on the first kids to come of age in the new world. The Walking Dead writer Matthew Negrete served as showrunner, with the series starring Aliyah Royale as Iris Bennett. Where to watch: Prime Video. Tales of The Walking Dead (one season – 2022) The fourth spin-off series, Tales of the Walking Dead, was an anthology series set in the Walking Dead world. Terry Crews, Parker Posey, Jessie T Usher, and Daniella Pineda are among the stars. It's set to be followed up by More Tales from the TWDU, which we don't have a release date for just yet. Where to watch: Tales of the Walking Dead is not currently available to watch in the UK. The Walking Dead: Dead City (two seasons at least – 2023 to present) <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/05/KA02TWD-DeadCityS02-Cropped-69f9f25.jpg" width="3240" height="2160" alt="Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan and Lauren Cohan as Maggie in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 key art. Maggie stands in the foreground, holding a knife at her waist, dressed in dark tactical gear, with a determined expression and shoulder-length tousled hair. Behind her, a large, semi-transparent image of Negan looms, with a serious gaze and grey-streaked beard, holding his iconic barbed-wire-wrapped baseball bat. The background features a dark, abandoned city street illuminated by red neon signs reading “HOTEL” and “RADIO CITY.”" title="Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan and Lauren Cohan as Maggie in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2" /> A new era of The Walking Dead spin-offs focused on characters from the original series and, in Dead City, it was Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). The series follows the pair as they search for Maggie's kidnapped son, Hershel. In 2023, Dead City was renewed for a second season, which is now available to watch. It hasn't so far been renewed for a third season, but we wouldn't rule out the possibility in future. Where to watch: Sky and NOW in the UK. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (four seasons in total, 2023-present) As one of the Walking Dead franchise's most iconic characters, it naturally made sense to give Daryl Dixon his own series! The self-titled Daryl Dixon spin-off begins after the events of the original show, with Daryl arriving (against his will) in France. Pairing up with Carol (Melissa McBride) in season 2, his goal is to find a way back across the ocean to America. Season 3 is set to begin in September 2025, bringing Daryl and Carol to England (where they'll meet a new character played by Stephen Merchant), and then to Spain, where the bulk of this season will take place. Season 3 will introduce a supporting cast of Spanish characters, as Daryl and Carol encounter a thriving community of survivors. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon has already been renewed for a fourth and final season, filming at several different locations in Spain. But will this actually mark the end of Daryl's role in the franchise? Somehow, we doubt it. Where to watch: Sky and NOW in the UK. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (one season – 2024) The Ones Who Live finally caught up with Rick and Michonne after the events of the original series. The series was set up by the finale to The Walking Dead, which featured a return for Lincoln and Gurira. However, it's yet to be renewed for a season 2. Where to watch: Sky and NOW in the UK. How many The Walking Dead shows are there? There are seven live-action shows in the Walking Dead universe. They are: The Walking Dead Fear the Walking Dead World Beyond Tales of the Walking Dead Dead City Daryl Dixon The Ones Who Live There are also eight web series. What's the next The Walking Dead show to be released? In the US, fans are now awaiting Daryl Dixon season 3, which will premiere on Sunday 7th September. Fans in the UK can likely expect this season to arrive here soon after, although the UK release date hasn't been confirmed yet. You can check out a teaser for Daryl Dixon season 3 below: View oEmbed on the source website What's the best The Walking Dead spin-off? Of course, this one is completely down to personal opinion. We'd argue that The Ones Who Live, which continued Rick and Michonne's story, is the best spin-off. It continued the tale of two of the most iconic characters in The Walking Dead history – and there's no beating that chemistry between Lincoln and Gurira. However, an honourable mention has to go to Daryl Dixon, which brings the zombie action to Europe, and offers a new perspective on The Walking Dead's post-apocalyptic setting. After 15 years in the role, Norman Reedus remains a fan favourite, especially when paired up with Carol. And with a fourth season already confirmed, the people behind the Walking Dead franchise clearly agree. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The Walking Dead is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Game of Thrones star Alfie Allen reveals why it's hard to tell good from bad characters in his new show
From Game of Thrones to SAS Rogue Heroes, Alfie Allen is no stranger to roles that push his characters to the limit – and Sky Atlantic's Atomic is no exception. The five-part action series, adapted from the non-fiction book Atomic Bazaar, follows drug smuggler Max (Allen) and "enigmatic outsider" JJ (Shazad Latif) as they're pulled into a "chaotic, high-stakes mission they never signed up for: trafficking highly enriched uranium across North Africa and the Middle East". But their every move is shadowed by undercover CIA officer Cassie Elliott (Samira Wiley), who "is convinced the pair are in league with violent extremists". "Her relentless pursuit puts them all on a collision course, revealing that nothing is what it seems and everyone has an ulterior motive," teases the official synopsis. Speaking to RadioTimes.com about those "ulterior motives", Allen said: "The idea of government trying to get that kind of power into their own hands, and then that potentially transitioning to an organisation – how can you tell the difference between the two sometimes? Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? "And with the characters we play, they're two anti-heroes. I think it's always very interesting to present that choice to audiences, which Atomic really does. On top of all the great action, there are also morally ambiguous characters – and that's interesting too." Of course, the subject matter also meant the cast had to be in peak physical condition. "We both did training, especially with the stunt team," Latif explained. "There was an hour of boxing, an hour of gun training, an hour of working out. You've got to be fit for these days, you've got to be ready." Read more: Alfie Allen says sister Lily's song Alfie didn’t motivate him: "I always wanted to be an actor" Game of Thrones' Alfie Allen recalls "isolating" and "tough times" working on series as he reunites with showrunners for new role The regime was so demanding that Allen leaned on sweet treats to help him get through it. "The workouts were a lot for me to get used to at the start," he admitted. "They really drilled us. But three weeks into the shoot, I made the excuse that I needed desserts on set because we were running around so much. So as I'm eating tiramisu, I don't care." Latif started with good intentions, but eventually gave in too. "It was lamb kebabs, cans of Coke… anything," he laughed. "Chocolate, whatever anyone gave me – because I was so exhausted. But it was great." Atomic launched on Sky and NOW on Thursday 28th August 2025. Get one month free Sky Stream, Sky TV and Netflix. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Atomic cast: Who stars in the explosive Sky Atlantic action series?
Alfie Allen and Shazad Latif head the cast.
Sky Atlantic's Atomic follows Alfie Allen and Shazad Latif as Max and JJ, who unexpectedly meet on a smuggling route in the Sahara dessert and are "swept into a chaotic, high-stakes mission they never signed up for: trafficking highly enriched uranium across North Africa and the Middle East". But with "the CIA, MI6 and a global web of opposing forces closing in fast", the pair must work together if they want to survive. Atomic was originally pitched as "the two worst people in the world have to save the world", said writer Gregory Burke. "When the path of Max collides with JJ, an unlikely friendship is formed. Together, they are tricked into transporting uranium across North Africa. On the run from a powerful cartel and the CIA, they face a choice: to get out and save themselves, or do what it takes to prevent a nuclear bomb getting into the wrong hands." Speaking about where the idea came from, Burke said: "The project began based on a book by the late journalist William Langewiesche, published in 2006, called The Atomic Bazaar. "The book warned about the possibility of non-state actors or terrorist groups obtaining enough nuclear material to make a crude atomic bomb. It detailed the processes and people involved, including terrorists and drug cartels. "We used the book as the basis for the story but fictionalised everything else. We chose characters from the two major security threats at the time: terrorists and drug dealers. "The story also incorporates themes of nuclear science and quantum theory, reflecting the idea that any atom can be in any state, which applies to our characters as well." Alongside Allen and Latif, a number of other recognisable faces feature in the cast, plus some you might not be familiar with. Find the rundown of the major players below. Atomic cast Alfie Allen as Max Shazad Latif as JJ Samira Wiley as Cassie Bryce Brian Gleeson as Mark Ellis Franklin Virgüez as Antonio Alam Avital Lvova as Oksana Shirokova Stuart Martin as Robert "Rab" Mackintosh Vahid Gold as Khaled Awad Charlie Murphy as Laetitia For more information about the main characters and where you've seen the actors who play them before, read on. Alfie Allen plays Max Who is Max? A drug smuggler who is in the middle of a job when he meets JJ and comes into the possession of some black market uranium. Max is described as "free-spirited". What else has Alfie Allen been in? He's known for Game of Thrones and SAS Rogue Heroes. Shazad Latif plays JJ Who is JJ? JJ (short for Jihadi John, a nickname given to him by Max) is on the run, but we don't initially know why. He's described as an "enigmatic outsider". What else has Shazad Latif been in? His credits include Star Trek: Discovery, Nautilus, The Pursuit of Love, Penny Dreadful, Toast of London and Spooks. Samira Wiley plays Cassie Bryce Who is Cassie Bryce? A "skilled scientist" who is also an undercover officer for the CIA. Cassie believes Max and JJ are "in league with violent extremists". What else has Samira Wiley been in? You probably know her from The Handmaid's Tale and Orange Is the New Black. Brian Gleeson plays Mark Ellis Who is Mark Ellis? He used to work for the CIA. Mark heads to Syria to help Cassie capture Max and JJ. What else has Brian Gleeson been in? He has also appeared in Bad Sisters, The Lazarus Project, Frank of Ireland and The Bisexual. Franklin Virgüez plays Antonio Alam Who is Antonio Alam? The head of the cartel. He is expecting a shipment of uranium, but it goes missing. What else has Franklin Virgüez been in? His extensive CV includes Papá a toda madre, The Two Lives of Estela Carril, The Lord of the Skies, Cosita Linda, Rosario, Natalia del Mar, Eva Luna and Por estas calles, among many, many others. Avital Lvova plays Oksana Shirokova Who is Oksana Shirokova? A Russian woman who "appears to be a London socialite", but "is involved in nefarious activities on behalf of Russia", explained writer Gregory Burke. What else has Avital Lvova been in? You might recognise her from The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Power and Trackers. Stuart Martin plays Robert "Rab" Mackintosh Who is Rab Mackintosh? A soldier who has history with JJ. What else has Stuart Martin been in? His CV includes In Flight, Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Jamestown and Rebel Moon. Vahid Gold plays Khaled Awad Who is Khaled Awad? He's with the drug enforcement agency in Beirut. Khaled seeks out Cassie for her "nuclear expertise". What else has Vahid Gold been in? His most notable role was in World's End. Charlie Murphy plays Laetitia Who is Laetitia? Max's girlfriend. She is kidnapped by the cartel, who will kill her if Max doesn't successfully deliver the uranium to them. What else has Charlie Murphy been in? You might know her from Peaky Blinders, Happy Valley, Obsession, The Capture and Halo, among others. Atomic is available now on Sky and NOW. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Atomic: Release date, schedule, cast, true story and trailer for Sky series
Everything you need to know about the explosive series starring Game of Thrones and The Handmaid's Tale stars.
It's unlikely you've spent much time thinking about uranium trafficking, but it's all you'll be able to think about after watching Sky's explosive new series Atomic. Alfie Allen and Shazad Latif play a duo who are thrown together by circumstance when they wind up transporting "highly enriched uranium across North Africa and the Middle East". But with the "CIA, MI6, and a global web of opposing forces closing in fast", time is running out for the pair, who are forced to confront "covert operatives, an internationally funded cartel, and ultimately their own pasts". "What starts as a bid for survival slowly becomes something more: a reluctant partnership, a shot at redemption, and one hell of a ride," continues the official synopsis. But when can you watch it? And just how accurate is the subject matter? Read on for everything you need to know about Atomic. Atomic release date: When will it air? The series premieres on Thursday 28th August on Sky Atlantic and NOW. There are five episodes in total. Atomic release schedule: When will new episodes drop? Following the launch of the first two episodes on 28th August, the remaining three episodes will then air weekly. Atomic cast: Who stars? The cast is lead by: Alfie Allen (SAS: Rogue Heroes, Game of Thrones) as drug smuggler Max. Shazad Latif (Star Trek: Discovery, What’s Love Got to Do with It) as "enigmatic outsider on the run" JJ. Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale, Orange is the New Black) as Cassie Bryce, a "skilled scientist" who is also an undercover officer for the CIA. The rest of the cast includes Charlie Murphy (Peaky Blinders), Brian Gleeson (Bad Sisters) and Stuart Martin (Miss Scarlet and the Duke). Atomic plot: Is it based on a true story? The series is inspired by journalist William Langewiesche's non-fiction book Atomic Bazaar, which explores how nuclear weapons have "gone wholesale" after becoming "easier and cheaper to acquire and make than ever before" – with poor nations and non-state terror groups vying to get their hands on them. "When the path of free-spirited drug smuggler Max collides with JJ, an enigmatic outsider on the run, an unlikely friendship is formed," reads the show's official synopsis. "They're swept into a chaotic, high-stakes mission they never signed up for— trafficking highly enriched uranium across North Africa and the Middle East, with the CIA, MI6, and a global web of opposing forces closing in fast." They are being trailed by undercover CIA officer Cassie Elliott, who is "convinced Max and JJ are in league with violent extremists". "Her relentless pursuit puts them all on a collision course revealing that nothing is what it seems, and everyone has an ulterior motive." Atomic trailer: Is it available to watch? Yes – you can enjoy the high-octane trailer right now. Watch it below. View oEmbed on the source website Atomic will launch on Sky and NOW on Thursday 28th August 2025. Get one month free Sky Stream, Sky TV and Netflix. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
House of the Dragon season 3: Release date speculation, cast and plot news
Keep up with the Targaryens with our House of Dragon season 3 guide.
*Warning: Spoilers ahead for all episodes of House of the Dragon season 2.* House of the Dragon season 3 is still far enough away to make us long for it with all our being. That said, there are still plenty of much-appreciated updates regarding the show circling, with new information being released about production, scripts, new characters and more. For example, the latest is that House of the Dragon's third season is officially in production, with the cast having recently received a new batch of scripts for some of the episodes. In other news, fresh cast announcements have arrived. According to Variety, Happy Valley star James Norton is reportedly set to play key character Ormund Hightower. Ormund is the nephew of Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) and will be seen leading a march on King's Landing against Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) as the war continues to heat up. Read on for everything you need to know about House of the Dragon season 3 and the future of the Targaryen dynasty, and, most importantly, make sure to check back regularly as we'll be updating this guide with more information as it gets revealed. House of the Dragon season 3 release date speculation While there's no confirmed release date for Season 3 at this early stage, we estimate an early to mid-2026 release date. We do know that season 3 is currently being written and production is under way, having started back in March 2025. In February 2025, stars Matt Smith and Fabien Frankel said during a panel at MegaCon in Florida that they had received scripts for the fourth, fifth and sixth episodes of season 3. This means that everything seems to be progressing in line with the planned schedule. As any Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon fan knows, the scale of the HBO series is absolutely epic, and it takes a long time to put together. House of the Dragon was renewed for season 3 in June 2024, before season 2 had even been released, demonstrating tremendous faith in the Thrones spin-off. Who will be in the cast of House of the Dragon season 3? Currently, we'd expect the following cast members to return for House of the Dragon season 3. Matt Smith as King Consort Daemon Targaryen Emma D'Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra I Targaryen Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria Matthew Needham as Lord Larys Strong Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen Phia Saban as Queen Helaena Targaryen Harry Collett as Prince Jacaerys Velaryon Bethany Antonia as Lady Baela Targaryen Phoebe Campbell as Lady Rhaena Targaryen Jefferson Hall as Lord Jason Lannister and Ser Tyland Lannister Kurt Egyiawan as Grand Maester Orwyle Kieran Bew as Hugh Hammer Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers Tom Bennett as Ulf White Sir Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong Oscar Eskinazi as Prince Joffrey Velaryon Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne Amanda Collin as Lady Jeyne Arryn Abigail Thorn as Admiral Lohar TBC as Daeron Targaryen James Norton as Ormund Hightower In terms of new arrivals, it's been revealed that James Norton will be joining the cast as Ormund Hightower, and we can expect some other new additions to be announced in due course. One character we do know for sure that we're going to meet in season 3 is the long-awaited Daeron Targaryen, Aegon and Aemond's brother! Asked in a recent press conference whether we would finally meet him, Condal confirmed with a "yes" – although the actor to play him has not yet been cast, to our knowledge. He also referenced the Targaryen brothers when speaking about Helaena's storyline, adding: "The decision to expand Helaena’s character was that we, were fascinated by Alicent’s family and Aegon and Aemond, and certainly at some point in the story, even Daeron – the beloved, anticipated Daeron – get a lot of the screen time and the storytelling time because they're the males, they're the dragon riding warriors. "But Helena was always fascinating to us because she was a bit of a tabula rasa, as described in the book." Elsewhere, many viewers were excited at the prospect of seeing Nettles, a fan-favourite character from the books who claims the dragon Sheepstealer, appear in season 2. For now, though, her story has been conflated with that of Princess Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell), which has left many fans disappointed. However, during a press conference, Condal hinted that we might still see her in future. When asked about whether Nettles has been fully written out of the show, he responded: "I think that's a, ‘Please stay tuned and keep watching the story.’ I will say that we love Rhaena as a character, and we've really done a lot of legwork to set her up from the beginning as somebody in this Targaryen household who does not have a dragon." View Affiliate Playlist on the source website He added: "I think the Rhaena story, as we're seeing it unfold, is potentially one of those interesting interpretations that we have to offer. And I would just say that we don't do any stuff lightly or without thought. Many of these things we've planned many seasons in advance. So I would just say, you know, buckle up and take the ride with us. And hopefully you like the destination it's going to." Meanwhile, in the final episode, we met a new character in the form of a gender-swapped Admiral Lohar, played by Abigail Thorn. We'd certainly expect her and other characters introduced this season to return for more. As for returning faces, we'd certainly expect most of the Targaryen clan to be back in business as we head towards season 3. The final episodes of the season have also placed greater emphasis on the dragonseeds, or the Targaryen bastards, including Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew) and Ulf White (Tom Bennett), so we'd expect them to take on a bigger role going forward. In the finale, we also saw Joshua Ben-Tovim appear in a vision to Daemon Targaryen as Ser Brynden Rivers, AKA Lord Bloodraven. Could we see more from him in the future? One character we're not expecting to see back, however, is the Queen Who Never Was, Rhaenys Targaryen (played by Eve Best). In a shocking and brutal episode 4, the beloved character was killed off in a fiery clash with Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), who also left his own brother, King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney), badly wounded. While fans were also excited to see the appearance of Blood and Cheese, played by Sam C Wilson and Mark Stobbart, we're certainly not expecting to see them back for any more either. Similarly, episode 1 saw the brutal death of a young Jaehaerys Targaryen, the eldest son of Aegon Targaryen. That said, we're also not ruling out flashback scenes – especially after the shock returns of season 2. Fans were stunned to see the return of Milly Alcock as young Rhaenyra and Paddy Considine as the late King Viserys as part of Daemon Targaryen's visions. Could old cast members be back for more? We could also see the arrival of even more Targaryen children, as some of them haven't been born yet, including Aegon's younger son, Prince Maelor, who, in the book, had a role to play in the Blood and Cheese storyline. In the show, however, Condal reasoned that, due to shortened timelines, Maelor couldn't be born yet. Condal explained to RadioTimes.com: "In our writing of season 1, we had to compress time a bit to get through 30 years of history, essentially, in what ended up being 20 years, just so that we didn't have to recast every character. "I think as time marches on longer and longer, it becomes more challenging to tell all that story in one season, and season 1 was a challenge in and of itself. "So, essentially, we made 30 years happen in 20 years, and that just meant some of the youngest kids in the story weren't around, or were younger than they are in the books – Rhaenyra and Daemon's children, for one, and then certainly Helaena and Aegon. Maelor is not yet in the narrative in this, in the story, so that was a change." That might suggest the new generation of Targaryen children is on the way in season 3, but take this with a pinch of salt until it's officially confirmed. What could House of the Dragon season 3 be about? We don't know all the specifics of the plot of season 3 just yet, but we'd expect it to continue to follow Martin's book Fire & Blood – albeit with some deviations along the way, as we've seen in season 1 and season 2. However, there are certain book events we're expecting to see. Look away now if you don't want to see any book spoilers! Speaking in the post-episode featurette, Condal said: "While this season was very much about the fits and starts of an early medieval war, season three is clearly going to be about total war." We're expecting to see the highly anticipated Battle of the Gullet, a brutal and bloody sea battle that many fans had been anticipating in season 2. Asked about why he postponed showing it, Condal said it's down to balancing the number of big events we have in each season. He said: "We were trying to give the Gullet, which is maybe the second most anticipated event of Fire and Blood, the time and the space that it deserves. And obviously, as anybody that's seen the finale knows, we're building to that, that event will happen very shortly in terms of the storytelling of House of the Dragon. "Based on what we know now, it should be the biggest thing to date that we’ve pulled off. And we just wanted to have the time, the space to do that at a level that is going to excite and satisfy the fans and in the way it’s deserved." Judging from where we leave off in season 2, we're also expecting Rhaenyra to take her rightful place on the Iron Throne in season 3. Showrunner Ryan Condal previously told RadioTimes.com of future seasons: "There's a history that marches on for decades after this. So it's not about ending the Targaryen history. It's just finding the place to close the curtain on this particular time… "We're trying to find the satisfying television ending or the conclusion where we can leave everybody knowing that time marches on from here, but we've brought this dramatic story to a close. "So, I think that's become very clear as we've just gotten farther down the timeline. But I'm not ready to yet talk about how many episodes or seasons are left. "But I think the nice thing is we know where we're going, we have all the material that we need, because the book is written and hopefully we can bring this to a satisfying conclusion." Meanwhile, Emma D'Arcy told IGN: "Oh my God, by the end of season 2, I was a f**king shell of myself. "I was a husk. I could not form a sentence. I was so tired. I need to implement some way of getting through season 3, if there’s a season 3, to really harness as much energy as possible. It is a behemoth." How many episodes could House of the Dragon season 3 consist of? House of the Dragon season 3 does not yet have a confirmed episode count, but, from Condal's recent comments, we'd expect it to have eight episodes. When asked about season 3's episode count at a press conference, the showrunner said: "Without saying anything, because I haven't had discussions with HBO about it, I would just anticipate the cadence of the show from a dramatic storytelling perspective will continue to be the same from season 2 on." Season 1 consisted of 10 episodes, while season 2 consisted of eight episodes. In terms of episode length, we'd again expect the episodes to range from 50 to 70 minutes, depending on how much needs to be covered in one particular episode. Season 2 episode 8 was the show's longest episode yet, with the finale clocking in at 73 minutes. How many seasons of House of the Dragon will there be? House of the Dragon will have four seasons before concluding, as Condal mentioned at the recent press conference. That means we're currently halfway through the show's run. Is there a trailer for House of the Dragon season 3? Not yet! We'll keep this page updated with any footage that comes our way. In the meantime, why not check out what the stars had to say about season 2? View oEmbed on the source website House of the Dragon season 2 airs on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
From star confirms season 4 filming has started
Elizabeth Saunders has confirmed that production has now kicked off.
Things are kicking off in the realm of From season 4, with star Elizabeth Saunders confirming as much on her Instagram. Sharing a selfie of herself on the social media platform, she wrote: "Heading to Town for a while!!" On the image itself, Saunders also wrote: "Overpacked, underslept and ready to go!!" Fans were quick to respond to the news, with many flocking to the comments to express their excitement at the prospect of From returning to screens once again. One fan wrote: "OMG I absolutely cannot wait for season 4. Donna you had better not die we need you til the end." Similarly, another wrote: "Can’t wait for the next season!!" Saunders obviously plays Donna Raines in the series, previously teasing what was to come for her character in the previous season. At the time of its release, the actress revealed: "What I love about this show is love – there's a lot, actually, a lot of places of love in the show amongst characters. "And I think John [Griffin] and Jeff [Pinkner] have brought that discussion into it – different kinds of love. Lost love, found love, love that's not working, and how that helps us as humans survive, and how it breaks us when we don't have connections." Read more: Mark Gatiss stars in quirky first trailer for new detective drama Bookish Rosamund Pike says goodbye to The Wheel of Time in emotional series of BTS pics It's already been confirmed that season 4 will be on our screens in 2026, with production kicking off in Nova Scotia, where the previous seasons have been filmed. Season 4 will boast 10 new episodes and, clearly, Saunders will be back – but we don't yet have a confirmed cast list. At the time of its renewal, From creator John Griffin dropped some hints about what's coming down the pipeline for our long-suffering characters. He said: "With the culmination of season 3 we have, in many ways, reached the end of the beginning. In season 4, a new journey begins. The question is whether it will lead our characters home, or deeper into this unrelenting nightmare." Griffin also told The Hollywood Reporter of the future direction of the show: "The mythology is our road map. But we’ve left ourselves very open to the organic nature of surprise. "I won’t go into the whole metaphor, but I often think about this as a road trip where you know where you’re starting, you know where you’re ending, but you get to wander, get lost, get surprised, because you know what the structure of the trip looks like.” View Affiliate Playlist on the source website From is available on Sky Sci-Fi and NOW – sign up for Sky TV here. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms release date speculation and latest news
Another era in Westeros history is set to be explored on screen.
Game of Thrones fans were dealt a disappointing blow last month as it emerged that spin-off A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be launching later than first thought. The series, which draws inspiration from George RR Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas, stars Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall and Dexter Sol Ansell as his young squire, the future Aegon V Targaryen. Following a controversial second season for House of the Dragon, which provoked the ire of even Martin himself, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is being hyped as a return to form for the fantasy franchise. Both the author and HBO executive Francesca Orsi have heaped praise on the two lead actors, with talk of a potential three-season run already brewing – but alas, we're still a way off from the initial premiere. If you're eager for another trip to Westeros, read on for everything we know so far about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms release date speculation A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms does not yet have a confirmed release date, but HBO has announced that it will be launching at some point in 2026. Previously, the broadcaster suggested that we'd be seeing the second Game of Thrones spin-off in late 2025, but the show was delayed for unspecified reasons. There's no reason to be alarmed, however, as both George RR Martin and HBO executive Francesca Orsi have gushed about the work-in-progress series, even hinting that a double-renewal could be on the cards. She told Deadline in February: "You're going to be so impressed by Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell as Dunk and Egg... So much so that we're already planning on how we build this for three seasons in total. "We're not picking it up officially [yet], but it's looking very good. We're looking at it as a holistic piece, seasons 2 and 3, because there's three novellas." Her comments follow Martin's praise (via his blog, naturally), where the author wrote that he had "loved" what he'd seen so far, adding that stars Claffey and Ansell were "just incredible" as Dunk and Egg. Filming commenced on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms back in June 2024 and wrapped in September of that year, with the shorter six-episode season and sparing visual effects contributing to a faster turnaround than House of the Dragon. When A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is ready for release, it will most likely come to Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK, which is home to most HBO and Max content on our shores. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website When is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms set? Game of Thrones connection explained A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set almost a century before the events of Game of Thrones, meaning it's unlikely that we'll be seeing any cameos from stars of the original series. This also puts it considerably further up the timeline than hit prequel House of the Dragon, which unfolds approximately seven decades before the Tales of Dunk and Egg. Nevertheless, one piece of connective tissue comes in the form of Aemon Targaryen (played by the late Peter Vaughan in various episodes in the first five seasons), who is the brother of Aegon V or 'Egg'. He renounced his claim to the throne in order to become a maester and brother of the Night Watch, where he crossed paths with Jon Snow (Kit Harington). Alas, he did not know that the young warrior was actually his great-great nephew. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was previously used as the title of Game of Thrones season 8 episode 2, paying tribute to Martin's trilogy of novellas, which came out many years prior to its broadcast. What is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms about? A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms chronicles the formative experiences of Ser Duncan 'Dunk' the Tall (future lord commander of the Kingsguard) and his squire Aegon V 'Egg' Targaryen (future king). Their adventures take place during a tumultuous period for Westeros, when the land is still recovering from a schism in House Targaryen that led to a period of brutal conflict, from which King Daeron II Targaryen emerged victorious. Peter Claffey (Wreck) and Dexter Sol Ansell (The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) take the lead roles of Dunk and Egg in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, with Bertie Carvel (Dalgliesh) also appearing as King Daeron II's son and trusted hand, Baelor. The story of Dunk and Egg was first told in a George RR Martin-penned novella titled The Hedge Knight, with the author calling A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms "as faithful [an] adaptation as a reasonable man could hope for". He wrote on his blog: "Viewers who are looking for action, and more action, and only action… well, this one may not satisfy you. "There's a huge fight scene here, as exciting as anyone could ask for, but there are no dragons this time around, no huge battles, no white walkers… this is a character piece, and its focus is on duty and honour, on chivalry and all it means." In a gushing post to his blog, Martin also previously assured fans that he "loved" the adaptation, describing it as a "faithful" translation of the source material and hailing the cast as "just incredible". The comments should come as reassurance following Martin's vocal disapproval of House of the Dragon season 2, which also provoked the ire of fans with a finale deemed anticlimactic by many. Previously, HBO boss Casey Bloys had teased (via THR) that the show has a "lighter tone" than both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, which helps to make it a "very different" series. Is there A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms trailer? Kind of. While not exactly a full cinematic trailer, you can catch a few seconds of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in the sizzle reel below, which showcases upcoming shows for US streaming service Max. However, keep in mind that the show is no longer launching this year as the compilation suggests – it has instead been pushed back to 2026. Watch here: View oEmbed on the source website A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is coming soon. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Last of Us season 2 episode 6 finally gives fans the closure we've needed
Fans can officially say goodbye to Joel.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us season 2 episode 6. Gifting fans with some much-needed closure, The Last of Us season 2 took a break from the bloodshed and brutality of Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) quest for justice, with episode 6 recalling her five years with Joel (Pedro Pascal) in Wyoming and – even more poignantly – their final conversation. There’s no doubt about it, the heart and soul of The Last of Us is and always will be the unshakeable bond between Joel and Ellie, and in the latest instalment, the TV adaptation honoured their father-daughter dynamic with an ill-fated flicker of hope. At the start of season 2, we were thrown a red herring, with the series suggesting that Ellie’s final exchange with Joel was at the town’s disastrous New Year’s Eve party. As it turned out, however, there was more to the story. After glimpsing Joel on the front porch with her guitar that same night, Ellie appeared to head into the garage, before changing her mind and confronting him about Salt Lake City. In a raw and Emmy-worthy performance from Pascal, a distraught Joel admitted to killing the Fireflies and preventing the development of a cure in order to save Ellie. "I’ll pay the price, because you’re going to turn away from me," he says, tears streaming down his face. "But if, somehow, I had a second chance at that moment, I would do it all over again." "Because you’re selfish," Ellie fires back. "Because I love you," Joel cries out. "In a way you can’t understand. Maybe you never will, but if that day should come, if you should ever have one of your own, well then, I hope you do a little better than me." "I don’t think I can forgive you for this, but I would like to try," Ellie tells him. It’s a brief, albeit doomed, moment of optimism, and one last shot at redemption for Joel, who, though well-intentioned, is better described as an unapologetic anti-hero. The fact that Joel had died the next day with the knowledge that Ellie still loved him, and that they could survive the damage he had done, however, is a hero’s send-off in its own right. For Joel, his life began and ended with Ellie – she was everything to him in this cruel, post-apocalyptic world – and their conversation gave him a sense of closure as a father. That’s something that no one, not even Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), could ever take away from him. Losing Ellie would have been the ultimate price; not death. While she doesn’t know it then, Joel’s sentiments about the unconditional love of a parent couldn’t be more fitting, either, given that Ellie learns of Dina’s (Isabela Merced) pregnancy months later, and agrees to raise the baby with her in episode 5. Thanks to this subtle foreshadowing, it feels like Joel has handed the torch to Ellie, and when her own child arrives, she’ll finally be able to understand the kind of love he had for her. It’s that love which serves as Joel’s real legacy. Finding the bright side in Joel’s tragic death isn’t easy, considering the horrific pain that Abby put him through, and the idea of what could have been will always hang in the air, but episode 6 is a fitting final tribute to a character who was unashamedly flawed and fierce till the bitter end. Just as it is in the game, Joel’s return in this flashback is a major highlight thanks to its emotional resonance, and his reappearance in episode 6 solves many of the season’s biggest mysteries. We now know that Ellie and Joel’s nine-month rift was ultimately catalysed by his decision to kill Eugene, but after taking responsibility for his actions in Salt Lake City and supporting Ellie’s relationship with Dina in that final conversation on the porch, things were beginning to look up for Joel. Sure, he may be gone now, but Ellie will always have the guitar he played that night, she’ll always cherish the memories of her many birthdays with Joel, and she’ll always have the knowledge that whenever he did wrong, he was trying to do right by her. Joel’s arc has been given a semblance of closure, which is hauntingly beautiful, but as Ellie continues to embark on a merciless killing spree in his very name, it seems unlikely that she’ll find peace - at least, not yet. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The Last of Us airs on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK and on HBO in the US. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on this week. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Last of Us season 2 episode 4 sees Bella Ramsey perfect a game moment
The beautiful scene is packed with meaning.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us season 2 episode 4 ahead. A hell of a lot just happened in The Last of Us season 2 episode 4, but amid the near-death experiences, the life-altering confessions, and multiple quests for vengeance, came a beautiful moment to catch our breath courtesy of Bella Ramsey's Ellie. With Ellie and Dina (Isabela Merced) arriving in Seattle - and starting to discover that the WLF may be a tad bigger and more dangerous than they previously anticipated - the pair hide out in an old music shop. As Dina rifles through records of old, Ellie heads upstairs and finds the holy grail - an intact guitar. Dina comes to join her when she hears Ellie tuning the instrument, and what follows is perhaps Ramsey's best - yet most understated - moment in the series so far. In a scene taken straight out of the game, she performs a captivating rendition of Take on Me. Far from the synth-pop sound of A-ha's original, Ellie's acoustic cover is a haunting and emotional rendering, packed with meaning about love and loss. View oEmbed on the source website Of course, the guitar is a connection to Joel (Pedro Pascal), who taught Ellie how to play the instrument during their years in Jackson. In the Last of Us Part II, Joel plays Pearl Jam's Future Days to Ellie in an emotional moment that clearly shows his love for her without him having to say it. As we all saw in episode 2, Joel, the person Ellie came to trust most, was brutally killed in front of her, with the guitar being one of her last connections to him. Ellie playing for Dina also clearly echoes that moment, which only becomes all the more meaningful when the pair admit their feelings for each other later in the episode. Now, with Joel gone, Dina is the person that Ellie trusts most - and she's going to have to go through hell and back to make sure she doesn't lose her too. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/05/0401TheLastofUsS02-13f8285-e1746187467646.jpg" width="3245" height="2160" alt="Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) in The Last of Us season 2, standing side by side outdoors in a post-apocalyptic setting. Both have tense, concerned expressions as they look offscreen. Ellie wears a dark purple t-shirt, revealing a fern tattoo on her right forearm, while Dina wears a rust-colored button-up shirt over a light tank top. The background includes weathered brick and concrete walls overgrown with greenery." title="Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) in The Last of Us season 2" /> Take on Me in itself hearkens back to Ellie's best friend, Riley (played in the show by Storm Reid last season), whose death all but stole the last of Ellie's innocence. As A-ha's upbeat hit played in the background, Riley showed Ellie around an abandoned mall, with Ellie left in wonder at things like escalators and arcade machines. But that night would end in horror, with both girls bitten and Ellie having to shoot her best friend as she succumbed to the infection, while Ellie discovered in the worst way possible that she's immune. Ellie is still clearly scarred from Riley's death, as she hinted to Dina earlier in the season, when she told her that the story of the first person she killed is "too f**ked up" to talk about. For viewers, the Take on Me moment represents everything that Ellie's lost, most clearly making those connections to Joel and Riley, but also showing that she still has a chance for love. So far, Ramsey has showed us so many different sides to Ellie - from depicting her being distrustful of Joel in season 1 and then slowly letting down her guard down, to the unfiltered rage and undiluted fury we've seen in the last few episodes following his death. But, with the Take on Me scene, Ramsey shows us something completely different - a vulnerability we don't often see from the character, combined with a sense of hope for the future, even when you consider everything she's lost. Ashley Johnson, who voiced Ellie in the games (and who played Ellie's mum in season 1 of the show), was also rightfully praised for her rendition of the song in the game which is, criminally, only an optional moment for players (although many understandably make sure they don't miss it due to it being such a powerful scene). While the pair's renditions are different, they evoke the same feelings of love and loss, brilliantly showing Ellie's vulnerability and, miraculously, allowing us to take a breath and focus on the human story at play in the story. Because that's what's so brilliant about The Last of Us - putting aside the jaw-dropping visuals and the heart-racing action, it's so well-loved because of its humanity. And now, as Ellie continues on after that moment, we're set to see how much of that humanity she can desperately grasp onto. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The Last of Us season 2 is streaming on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on this week. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Who are the WLF in The Last of Us season 2?
In The Last of Us season 2, Seattle is torn apart by warring factions: the WLF and the Seraphites. But who are the WLF? How is Abby connected to them?
Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us season 2 episode 3. Season 2 episode 3 of The Last of Us introduces two warring factions: the WLF and the Seraphites. Their introduction in the latest instalment didn't hold back, already depicting a bloody conflict between the two factions - and if the game is anything to go by, it's not going to end there. Plus, with the end of episode 3 revealing that the WLF is much bigger than Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) had assumed, finding Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) might be a much bloodier task than either had expected. What does WLF stand for? Who are its members? Here is everything you need to know about the WLF. Who are the WLF in The Last of Us season 2? The Washington Liberation Front (or WLF) is a militia group fighting for control over Seattle in The Last of Us. After the outbreak, FEDRA (Federal Disaster Response Agency) placed Seattle under Quarantine Zone, much like they did in Boston and Kansas. But as resentment grew within Seattle, with food shortages, corruption, and strict policing becoming regular occurrences, a resistance emerged. View oEmbed on the source website WLF started as a liberation group, but once they seized power over Seattle, they began to resemble their previous oppressors. Executing all FEDRA soldiers and collaborators, the group forcibly relocated all Seattle survivors to their home base in Soundview Stadium (likely based off Seattle’s Lumen Stadium). Due to the wolf on their logo, and their violent regime, the WLF are sometimes referred to as "Wolves". When Ellie and Dina arrive, they are retreating from a recent wave of attacks. With solar panels, wind turbines, and a steady supply of food and medicine, WLF is a powerful faction – one that Ellie is unlikely to take on alone. Who's part of the WLF in The Last of Us season 2? Seattle’s WLF is a faction of thousands in Seattle, but only a few of its members play a role in the series. Here’s our list of the most important people who are part of the WLF. How is Abby connected to the WLF in The Last of Us season 2? Abby Anderson is an ex-Firefly and one of the main characters in The Last of Us season 2. After Joel massacres the Fireflies in Salt Lake at the end of season 1, Abby wanted to pursue revenge. Owen told her to wait until they recuperated, and in the meantime they found refuge with the WLF in Seattle, where they have been for the five years between season 1 and 2. As part of the WLF, Abby became a trusted soldier for the faction. After Joel’s murder, she returns to the WLF. Who is Owen in The Last of Us season 2? Owen Moore is an ex-Firefly who survived Joel’s massacre at Salt Lake. He joins Abby on her search for Joel, but wanted her to turn back before finding him. Owen is the one who tells Abby to stop her torture and "end it". Owen disagrees with the cruel policies of the WLF, as well as with Joel’s brutal torture. He is described by HBO as "a gentle soul trapped in a warrior’s body, condemned to fight an enemy he refuses to hate". In the game, Owen once dated Abby, and is dating Mel when the main story occurs. Spencer Lord (Heartland, Riverdale) plays Owen in the series. Who is Manny in The Last of Us season 2? Manny Alvarez is another one of the Salt Lake Fireflies who joined Abby’s revenge mission. Eager for retribution, Manny condones Abby’s violence, and kicks Ellie in the ribs when she threatens to kill them all. In the game, he is the closest to Abby after her vengeance. He is from Mexico and speaks of it fondly. He is played by Danny Ramirez (The Falcon and The Winter Soldier; Assassination Nation; Top Gun: Maverick) in the series. Who is Nora in The Last of Us season 2? Nora Harris is a medic for the WLF and one of the ex-Fireflies who accompanied Abby on her revenge against Joel. In episode 2, Nora held Ellie down while Abby killed Joel. Whereas some in the group seemed uncomfortable with her revenge, Nora saw it as justified. In the game, we learn that before Joel slaughtered the Fireflies, Nora was being trained by surgeon Dr Jerry Anderson, Abby’s father. Nora is portrayed in the series by Tati Gabrielle (You; Uncharted; Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), who will star in Naughty Dog’s new flagship game Intergalactic. Who is Mel in The Last of Us season 2? <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/04/Mel-in-The-Last-of-us-season-2-1-113308d.png" width="1600" height="1066" alt="Side by side comparison of Mel in The Last of Us show (left) and game (right). In both she is a light skinned woman with brown eyes and brown hair. In the show she is hispanic, in the game she is white. She wears brown. She has wide eyes and a constant frown." title="Mel in The Last of us season 2 (1)" /> Reluctant to join in Abby’s revenge, Mel is a medic and one of the surviving Fireflies from Salt Lake. Clearly disturbed by Abby’s quest for vengeance, Mel nonetheless participates by tourniqueting Joel’s leg and drugging Dina. In the games, Mel is pregnant and in a relationship with Owen. We also learn that Mel trained under Abby’s father, Dr Jerry Anderson. In the series, she is portrayed by Ariela Barer (How to Blow Up a Pipeline; Marvel’s Runaways; Atypical). Who is Isaac in The Last of Us season 2? <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/04/TLOU2-Isaac-WLF-gameplay-footage-2-4988fed.png" width="1600" height="1066" alt="Side by side comparison of Isaac Dixon in The Last of Us game (left) and series (right). In both he is a black man in his fifties. In the game he has a receeding hairline and is holding up a gun. In the show he is bald." title="TLOU2 Isaac WLF gameplay footage (2)" /> Isaac Dixon is the leader of the WLF. Similar to Kathleen from season 1, Isaac is a resistance fighter turned leader. While he is keen to protect his people, and welcomed in Abby and the ex-Fireflies, his hatred towards the Seraphites has led him down a cycle of self-justifying violence. In the game, Isaac regularly tortures Seraphites for information, and eventually mounts a genocide against them. We’re set to meet Isaac within the next few episodes, with Jeffrey Wright (Westworld; American Fiction: Marvel’s What If) reprising his role from the games. Why are the WLF fighting the Seraphites? Both factions are stuck in a cycle of revenge seeking dominance over the Seattle Quarantine Zone. Dating back to when WLF defeated FEDRA, their animosity is not only physical, but ideological too. While the WLF took on the role of FEDRA, using solar panels and wind turbines to recapture some sense of pre-outbreak life, the Seraphites' anti-technology and religious beliefs saw them deemed by some as a 'death cult'. When the leader of the Scars, The Prophet, attacked a supply platoon and killed several soldiers, tensions erupted into violence. WLF began executing Seraphite prisoners, and torturing those they found. A ceasefire was eventually struck between the factions. But when a group of Seraphite teenagers attacked WLF soldiers, and were struck down, the WLF took this as an end to the ceasefire. WLF captured The Prophet and Isaac ordered her to be killed. That act marked the end of coexistence, leading to the current state of increasingly violent warfare between the WLF and the Seraphites. When Ellie and Dina enter Seattle, the WLF are on a losing streak, and are preparing to mount an attack on the Seraphites. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The Last of Us season 2 is streaming on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on this week. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
How did The Last of Us season 2 episode 2 change that major death from the game?
Warning: Major spoilers for The Last of Us season 2 episode 2 ahead. Everyone is reeling after that major death in The Last of Us season 2 episode 2, which has changed the whole trajectory of the show going forward. Pedro Pascal's Joel was brutally killed off at the hands of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), who tortured him before stabbing him through the neck with a spike in front of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as revenge for Joel killing her father at the end of season 1. To see how it happened in the games, you can watch the video above! "I'm in active denial," Pascal told EW of the brutal twist. "I realise this more and more as I get older, I find myself slipping into denial that anything is over. "I know that I'm forever bonded to so many members of the experience and just have to see them under different circumstances, but never will under the circumstances of playing Joel on The Last of Us. "And, no, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it because it makes me sad." You and us both, Pedro! Thankfully, Joel is expected to rock up again in season 2 in the form of flashbacks - hopefully providing all of us some closure. Until then, here's everything you need to know about how Joel's death was different in season 2 compared to the game. How did The Last of Us season 2 change Joel's death from the game? View oEmbed on the source website In The Last of Us Part II game, as you can see in the video above, less is given away about Abby's motivations. Speeding this up is a positive change, as waiting weekly to understand who she is and why we should care would be painful. This measure might be to lessen any hate Dever receives online, with Abby’s motion capture artist and voice actress, Laura Bailey, being hounded for years for the simple crime of portraying a complex and dynamic woman. In the game, there is also no focus on an infected horde breaching the walls of Jackson. Speaking about that inclusion in the show, Neil Druckmann said on the official The Last of Us podcast: "I really enjoyed doing this deeper dive. One of the things we couldn’t do in the game, and it was one of our earliest conversations of how we would achieve this moment, in the game, we talk about how things happen to Jackson. "There are certain attacks, whether it’s infected or raiders, but we never get to see it. Here, because we’re not playing any particular character, you could jump between this attack on Jackson and this situation that Joel’s found himself in, showing the kind of loss you can experience in this world on a personal intimate level and on a community level. That’s something we’ll visit again in this season." In the game, the patrols are slightly different too. Joel is paired with Tommy on his final patrol, and the two of them come across Abby. In the show, Joel is accompanied by Dina, leaving Tommy and Maria to defend Jackson, and Ellie is paired with Jesse, in lieu of Dina. The broad strokes remain the same, down to the set dressing, shot to the knee and brutality with a golf club. However, Abby’s killing blow in the game is another hit from the golf club, rather than a menagerie of fists and the point of the broken club through the neck. Thematically, it seems like we’ll be taken on the same journey, and judging by shots of Joel in the trailers for this season yet unused, we’re going to have a lot of emotional flashbacks of him and Ellie in the years between season 1 and 2. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The Last of Us airs on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK and on HBO in the US. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on this week. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Isabela Merced didn't have chemistry test with Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us season 2
An 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' approach from season 1.
TV shows or films that have two characters heavily interacting often need a chemistry test, to see if their actors can make the on-screen sparks portrayed in the script fly in real life, but not Bella Ramsey when it comes to The Last of Us season 2, apparently — in this case, with new co-star Isabela Merced. Portraying Dina from The Last of Us Part 2 game, Merced is set to spend a lot of time together with Ramsey's Ellie throughout the season. That's if the HBO version of TLOU follows the main story beats of its source material, anyway. Like what we've seen so far in episode 1 at the time of writing, the equivalent events of the game see Ellie and Dina head off on a perilous cross-country adventure to face off against dangerous new enemies like Abby. Although the season's trailer seems to show that we might be spending some more episodes in Jackson first, the best friends turned romantic interests will nevertheless have many scenes together in the meantime and afterward. While you might think some initial actor-to-actor experimentation through a screen test might be required, Ramsey has revealed that wasn't the case. In fact, it wasn't needed for her time with Pedro Pascal as Joel in season 1 either. Speaking to Radio Times at the recent Last of Us press event ahead of season 2's launch, we asked the Ellie actress if she and Merced did a chemistry test or if it was along the lines of 'here's your new person!', and Ramsey's answer was quite surprising. "Yeah, it was like that. No chemistry test," said Ramsey. "Same as season 1, me and Pedro were just like, 'Here you go, spend the rest of the year together and like each other,' which we did, thankfully. "And same with me and Isabella, we were very much just, like, thrown into it, and yeah, relied on each other heavily throughout the whole thing, as you always do with someone that you're working with that closely," she explained further. In a way, this is quite a delight to hear when thinking about how this reflects on the relationship between actors and their project's creators. The Last of Us co-creators and showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, instead of just putting two actors together — and immediately expecting them to give the dual performance needed to decide if it will work — had enough faith in the talents of those actors that they would build the necessary chemistry themselves over time. As a bonus to this method that we've seen in season 1, Ellie and Joel's well-performed relationship in the Last of Us series's first outing has a higher degree of authenticity due to Ramsey and Pascal's real-life friendship. Going from father figure Joel to a friendship and romance with Dina in season 2, Ramsey also mentioned to us how this new relationship does even more for Ellie's character in season 2. She said, "Yeah, it's a really nice thread throughout the season, Ellie and Dina. And I think it's really nice to see Ellie in, sort of, a different dynamic of relationship. "Because, obviously, we literally just mostly saw Ellie and Joel [in] season 1. And so for now, for Ellie to be in sort of a romantic-ish thing and have a crush on someone, I think it's a really sort of cool thing to see. "And I think [it] makes her seem more like a well-rounded teenager, and one that's relatable, not just in the apocalyptic world, [but] in today's world. And yeah, that relationship was so special and was really fun to play," Ramsey clarified. As far as season 2 goes so far with episode 1, the lack of chemistry test between Ramsey and Merced has worked out for the show once again — with Ellie and Dina's dance scene at Jackon's New Year's Eve party portraying enough believability for their new blossoming relationship as it did in TLOU Part 2. Although we've got a lot more to see from the new members of The Last of Us season 2's cast, Merced has so far proven to be a great love interest for the live-action Ellie. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The Last of Us season 2 is now showing on Sky Atlantic and NOW. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guideto find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Last of Us season 2 features touching game cameo you might have missed
A lovely appearance fans of the source material may recognise.
TV show and film adaptations of video games usually feature cameos at least on some level, but episode 1 of The Last of Us season 2 features an appearance from one of the key names of the entire franchise. That big name is none other than Gustavo Santaolalla, the acclaimed composer behind the soundtrack of the Last of Us games and who returns to do the same for seasons 1 and 2 of the HBO show. What's more, instead of just popping up in episode 1 as a fleeting passing cameo, the longtime musician appeared in season 2's premiere outing via one of the most fitting ways possible. Among The Last of Us show's cast, it's definitely a welcome addition. This exact cameo comes near episode 1's end at Jackson's New Year's Eve party. In between shots of Ellie and Jesse looking over at Dina, you can see snippets of the band playing music in the distance. At the 50:57 mark, though, keen-eyed fans of The Last of Us will notice that the guy playing the banjo is none other than the grey-bearded, glasses-wearing Gustavo Santaolalla himself — playing what seems to be a ukulele, a guitar-like instrument that's smaller than the more-known acoustic version. Well-known among The Last of Us's community for giving both the games and season 1 of the show its audibly distinct music utilising string instruments to deliver emotional depth, this was a fitting choice for Sanataolla. We weren't the only ones to notice the composer's cameo, either. Plenty of fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to make a note, and some even referenced his earlier cameo in The Last of Us Part 2 as well. View oEmbed on the source website "I literally screamed out, 'Gustavo!!!!!!!!'" said one user. Another fan on the same thread echoed the sentiment, saying, "I thought that was him. I didn't say anything to my girl, though [because] she doesn't play the games and definitely wouldn't care," before following with a 'tears of joy' emoji. Fittingly, The Last of Us co-creator and showrunner Craig Mazin — who also wrote and directed the episode — spoke to Radio Times about his thinking behind the cameo and Santaolalla being a delight through the process. "Gustavo was saying he wanted to come and visit [the set], and I was like, well, listen, there's this, you know... people who are fans of the game know that when you first walk down the main street of Jackson as Ellie, you see Gustavo. His character is NPC Gustavo, playing a banjo with a, you know, outside. So it's part of the thing." He explained further, "And I just thought, well, this sequence, I mean, there's a band, it makes absolute sense to have him there. And, oh, he's the greatest. And the band, their real name is Crooked Still. It was just so fun watching, they're all fantastic musicians. "And Gustavo, obviously, is a genius, and he had never played those songs before, and they just all spoke music to each other for about 40 seconds, and then off they went. "And he had the best time. He was so happy. And I said, 'Gustavo, this is going to be the two longest days of your life. We're gonna do it over and over and over.' Loved every minute of it. Never complained. Oh, it was a dream." View oEmbed on the source website Even just watching his one scene in the episode for the first time, you can tell that Gustavo and Crooked Still have had a great time together — adding to the composer's continued mark on the Last of Us fandom. We don't know if Santaolalla's live-action TLOU debut will have a follow-up appearance, but we're grateful to even have just the one for now. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The Last of Us season 1 is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership. Season 2 is released weekly. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on this week. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Last of Us makes another major character change from the game – not just Abby
Reshuffling the game's dynamics in multiple ways.
With the premiere of The Last of Us season 2, we've confirmed that the hit HBO adaptation has made some character tweaks just as it did for season 1 — including some previously less-heard names like Eugene and big ones like antagonist Abby. Just like the entire rework of Bill & Frank's story in episode 3 of the first season, this opening chapter of TLOU's next era comes with changes that will definitely be noticeable by fans of the games. Depending on which alteration you look at, some might be welcome in offering a new experience without altering the main course of the source material. Another, however, might be a little confusing in light of what we currently know after seeing the end of episode 1. Warning: Spoilers ahead for those who have not watched episode 1 of The Last of Us season 2. The change to Abby's story in The Last of Us season 2 As we finally see the debut of Abby in The Last of Us season 2, played by Kaitlyn Dever, the big change to the story of the main antagonist to Joel and Ellie isn't in her actual backstory — but the way that it's portrayed. In The Last of Us Part 2 game — on which season 2 of the TV show is based — the history of Abby, her allies, and their reasoning for going after Joel is very much hidden for a long portion of the game. Still, their intentions are the same. Abby's father was still the Firefly surgeon who Joel killed among many other Fireflies in order to save Ellie, but it was kept a mystery until around the second half of the game. Switching you to play as Abby herself, this acts as an unexpected twist that intends to start altering the player's perspective on how she's initially viewed as a villain. In the first episode of TLOU season 2, however, we learn this within the game's first scene. This is as Abby, Owen, and the rest of the few remaining comrades stand over the graves, already declaring a drive to go after Joel and what they know so far to start doing so. In a way, immediately lifting the curtain on Abby's story does get the viewer up to speed right away — saving much more time to cover the events of the game's long story within the smaller scope of a TV show. In another, this does take away an opportunity for viewers who hadn't played the games to be met with that same degree of surprise that players of The Last of Us Part 2 were hit with. When asked about the reasoning for the change by RadioTimes.com, showrunner Craig Mazin noted that the decision was down to the medium differences between playing the original game and watching the adapted events as a weekly TV series. Mazin said, "Our feeling was in this medium, it was important to give people enough context, because we weren't [going to do] a long stretch where there would just be Abby, because the game was saying you're Abby now, you can't just press triangle and be Joel or Ellie, you have to be Abby for a long time. We don't have that." Eugene's character has been altered as well Another change in season 2 from The Last of Us Part 2 has been the fate of Eugene, while Dina's character differs from her original counterpart to have more of a friendship with Joel. In the game, Eugene was an ex-Firely turned Jackson patrolman who died of a stroke at age 73. As Ellie and Dina talked about Eugene during their patrol in the game — which was adapted in episode 1 — such a fate was quite notable, since dying of natural causes in a post-apocalyptic, Cordyceps-ridden world was such a rare thing. View oEmbed on the source website In the show, however, it has been implied that Eugene was infected before Joel had to put him down. Revealed by Gail, an original character not in the game and portrayed by Catherine O' Hara, we're assuming for the time being that changing Eugene's death in this way was to elevate her backstory. That's not just hers, though. Because we know that Eugene is to be played by Joe Pantoliano, it looks like we'll be seeing the character in future episodes — supposedly via flashbacks. With that, we'll hopefully get to see more of the mystery around Eugene revealed, and this change could potentially enhance his story compared to how it was in the game. Dina is friends with Joel in this version Ellie's best friend and romantic interest Dina, played by Isabela Merced in The Last of Us season 2, has also been reutilised in an interesting way to be another daughter figure for Joel. Although still as close with Ellie as she was in TLOU Part 2, Mazin seems to have also decided to add a new angle to Dina's character by adding her into the tension between the two. As Joel mentions to Gail in his therapy session, Dina is kind and friendly in a way that she could be more of a daughter to him than Ellie — even though neither is really Joel's child, as Gail points out. Dina even mentions to Ellie that she's planned to watch movies with Joel. Dina and Joel were nowhere near this close in the game, so this uniquely added friendship could be used as a way to generate additional conflict either between Ellie and Joel, or Ellie and Dina in their blooming relationship. Either way, Mazin has definitely made for some unique viewing that will even get those who have played The Last of Us Part 2 game guessing as to what changes will be coming next in season 2 of the show. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The Last of Us season 1 is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership. Season 2 is released weekly. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on this week. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey has proved every doubter wrong with one season 2 moment
Warning: Contains spoilers for The Last of Us season 2 episode 1. Considering Bella Ramsey was actually around 19 years old when filming season 2 of The Last of Us, the debate around whether they had it in the locker to "age up" from the first run to play, um, a now 19-year-old character was always tedious – and it's something the Nottingham-born star seems determined to shut down from the opening moments of the new run. After a chilling opener centred around this season’s antagonist-of-sorts Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), the Sky Atlantic sci-fi reintroduces us to Ramsey’s Ellie as she’s put through a brutal training regime – so brutal, in fact, that viewers may initially believe she’s in a genuine fight for her life. From the off, it is clear we’re dealing with a different beast this time around, an older, more street-wise and physically imposing Ellie who is ready to scrap hard, even if it puts her in danger. Of course, even in season 1, Ellie was never afraid of confrontation, but she was ultimately a much more vulnerable protagonist who largely relied on weaponry to hold her own out in the battlefield. Now, though, we witness the growth of a character who feels like she’d be as useful in a tussle as Joel or Tommy, and that’s credit to the star playing her. Ellie’s physical evolution is displayed vividly in the stature of Ramsey, who holds themselves in a more commanding manner than the last time we saw them in season 1 – a deliberate choice that continues throughout their episode 1 performance, with the stockier-looking character, consistently crossing her arms with rolled-up sleeves displaying fresh tattoos, proving a more assertive screen presence this time around. For fans of the source material, who got to make the most of the gameplay improvements Ellie’s more filled-out build offered, this should come as a welcome relief: This evolution is a key component of Naughty Dog’s 2020 follow-up both story-wise and gameplay-wise, and Ramsey channels the PlayStation sequel’s take on the character right off the bat. However, there’s also an emotional evolution for Ellie from scene one, as the fractured relationship between the teenager and Joel (Pedro Pascal) is hinted at in the opening conversation with Jesse (Young Mazino), who has the unfortunate role of relaying Joel’s strict rules around combat, and explored further throughout the episode. View oEmbed on the source website While season 1’s Ellie didn’t exactly like being told what to do, by the end of that run she respected her new father figure, displaying a reluctant acceptance that out in the wilderness, for her own sake and Joel’s, she had to follow his rules. Here, though, there’s not just a desire for independence, but a need for it. In one short chat with Mazino’s Jesse, Ramsey lays out Ellie’s mindset, her anger at being coddled by Joel displaying a self-confidence and doggedness that has come from years of growing in maturity, stature and respect within her wider circle, but not in the eyes of the person closest to her – and the venomous line delivery emphasises this. We’ve all been there, as a late teen, feeling ready to take on the world and grow as people, even if we’re not quite as ready as we might believe. It’s a running theme throughout the game series’s Part 2, as Ellie brushes up against what she perceives to be an overbearing approach from Joel, and – like the physical aspect of the character – Ramsey channels this emotional weight with ease from the opening scenes. The arrogance in Ramsey’s performance perfectly blends hints of her season 1 childishness with a boldness that is rooted in her growing self-assuredness, echoing the character developments in the game. This blend comes through most clearly in the scenes with Pascal’s Joel himself, as they bump heads in increasingly tense stand-offs. The performance of the leading duo as they pull apart the touching dynamic that developed in season 1 is powerful and compelling, leaning on the bond they built across the previous run. The two leading stars have spoken extensively about their chemistry both on and off screen, and how they constructed that across a year or so of filming in challenging conditions. Without said chemistry, would the disintegration of their bond hit as hard? Would a newly cast Ellie nail these moments to the same devastating degree? It’s hard to imagine so. For Part 2’s most major twists to hit with full force, there has to be a tangible connection between the leading duo, and Ramsey’s ability to run the entire spectrum opposite Pascal – from genuine affection in late season 1 to simmering resentment in season 2’s opener – is already helping to lay the groundwork for those narrative beats to prove even more impactful. Of course, all of this comes from the analysis of one episode in a much longer season – and predominantly one scene of that episode – but already it’s clear that those who worried about Ramsey’s ability to evolve their performance from season 1 to season 2 – and thus from game one to game two – needn’t do so. Both physically and emotionally, The Last of Us has the right person in the right role. Doubters be damned. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The Last of Us season 2 is now showing on Sky Atlantic and NOW. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guideto find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Last of Us soundtrack: Full list of songs in HBO series
Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us season 1. HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us is not only back with a new iteration of the Naughty Dog franchise's gripping tale in season 2, but also new songs by the returning composer from the games' soundtracks — Gustavo Santaolalla — alongside David Fleming. If you've already watched episode 1 of The Last of Us season 2, as well as the TV show's previous chapters, you'll know that music is also an integral part of the series. In a way, the soundtrack is its own character alongside its grounded inhabitants as they move forward from the intense events of season 1. With Pedro Pascal returning as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, each new soundtrack plays an integral part in helping portray their new lives in Jacksonville, along with the rest of the new and returning characters in TLOU's cast. With the hidden truth of Joel killing the Firefly doctors to save Ellie, thus preventing the world from getting a cure to the Cordyceps infection, each new song from Santaolalla's tracks plays a key part in setting the tense atmosphere, similar to that of the games. With the release of episode 1, which dropped in the US on Sunday 13th April and the early hours of Monday 14th April in the UK, there are now some newly composed soundtracks for viewers to listen to as well. As every new episode drops, we'll be updating this list with the names of additional tracks so you can track them down for yourself when they release on streaming services like Spotify. Including both season 1 and 2, read on for everything you need to know about The Last of Us's soundtrack. The Last of Us soundtrack: Full list of songs in the HBO TV show Below, you'll find the name of every new song introduced in the soundtrack for each episode of The Last of Us across seasons 1 and 2 as they air, alongside the name of the artists behind them. TLOU Season 2 soundtrack Episode 1 Little Sadie - Crooked Still Ecstasy - Crooked Still View oEmbed on the source website TLOU Season 1 soundtrack Episode 1 The Last of Us - Gustavo Santaolalla Tomorrow – Avril Lavigne White Flag – Dido Chonophobia – New Oblivion I Can’t Believe You’re Back – Jad Mhanna, Roy Abdallah, Carole Aoun Unstable - Gustavo Santaolalla The Last Of Us (Astray) - Gustavo Santaolalla Never Let Me Down Again - Depeche Mode Episode 2 Hampa – Ari Lasso Allowed to Be Happy – Gustavo Santaolalla Episode 3 I'm Coming Home to Stay - Fleetwood Mac White Room - Cream On the Nature of Daylight - Max Richter Vanishing Grace (Childhood) - Gustavo Santaolalla Long Long Time - Linda Ronstadt Episode 4 Alone And Forsaken – Hank Williams True Faith – Lotte Kestner Episode 5 The Way We Were – Eleven.Five Fuel to Fire – Agnes Obel Episode 6 All Gone (The Promise) – Gustavo Santaolalla Ruach Elohim (Breath of God) – Sounding of the Shofar All Gone (Seasons) – Gustavo Santaolalla All Gone (Partners) – Gustavo Santaolalla Never Let Me Down Again – Jessica Mazin Episode 7 All or None – Pearl Jam Take on Me – a-ha Solvent – Helicalin I Got You Babe – Etta James Left Behind – Gustavo Santaolalla Episode 8 The Last of Us (You and Me) – Gustavo Santaolalla Allowed To Be Happy – Gustavo Santaolalla Unbound – Gustavo Santaolalla Blue Eyes – Rayz View Affiliate Playlist on the source website What does the radio code in The Last of Us mean? Ellie discovers Joel's radio code when she finds a note in a book referring to Bill and Frank. It establishes that a song from the 1960s played over the radio means 'nothing in'. A song from the 1970s played over the radio means 'new stock'. She later figures out that a song from the 1980s played over the radio means 'trouble' - so things aren't looking good when the first episode ends with Depeche Mode's Never Let Me Down Again (which was released in 1987) playing. The Last of Us game score View oEmbed on the source website The scores for The Last of Us Part I and Part II were composed by Gustavo Santaolalla. The Last of Us Part I was his first experience composing for a video game, and he received widespread praise for the score. The tracks used in The Last of Us Part I can be seen below – you can listen to The Last of Us soundtrack on Amazon Music: The Quarantine Zone (20 Years Later) The Hour The Last of Us Forgotten Memories The Outbreak Vanishing Grace The Hunters All Gone Vanishing Grace (Innocence) By Any Means The Choice Smugglers The Last of Us (Never Again) The Last of Us (Goodnight) I Know What You Are Home Infected All Gone (Aftermath) The Last Of Us (A New Dawn) All Gone (No Escape) Vanishing Grace (Childhood) The Path All Gone (All Alone) Blackout The Way It Was Breathless The Last of Us (You and Me) All Gone (The Outside) The Path (A New Beginning) Returning The Last of Us is available on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on this week. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin reveals why the TV show changes Abby’s first scene
"A lot of thinking went into that choice."
Warning: Contains major spoilers for The Last of Us season 2. The Last of Us has finally returned for season 2, and viewers have now been introduced to the long-awaited Abby. Played by Kaitlyn Dever, Abby is introduced as a new playable character near the start of the original video game, but her intentions are unknown until she kills another character. However in the TV series, prior to the five-year time jump, it cuts straight to Abby and the other young people who have been orphaned and as they stand near their families' graves, they are plotting to hunt Joel (Pedro Pascal) down. With such a change in story, the question of why the reveal was pulled forward was put to showrunner Craig Mazin. "The first question I remember asking Neil [Druckmann] was, 'Why did you do it that way?' Because I'm always trying to get under the hood of his intentions there," Mazin exclusively told RadioTimes.com. Mazin continued: "He said he felt like there was something about the mechanics of playing, and I agree, as a fan of the game and video games in general, where when you become someone you have an instant connection to them. And it can be very confusing to be someone and then also to do things that you wish the person wouldn't be doing. "But in television, we don't have that. We don't have that no one can say, 'Oh, when I was Joel or when I was Abby'. We watched them and our feeling was in this medium, it was important to give people enough context, because we weren't [going to do] a long stretch where there would just be Abby, because the game was saying you're Abby now, you can't just press triangle and be Joel or Ellie, you have to be Abby for a long time. We don't have that. "We had choices of when to bring people in and out, and so we thought it was important to situate Abby." A lot of the choice came from how viewers will watch the new season, with episodes dropping weekly. Mazin told RadioTimes.com: "We also understood, just because of the nature of watching television episodically, people can only get what we show them on Sunday or Monday here in the UK, and that's that once a week. "But when you play the game, you could go straight through if you really want to know, and so you can get to the answer that may be delayed quite quickly, but no one has that opportunity with us. A lot of the thinking that went into that choice." Dever joined the cast as Abby last year. The character has been described as "a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved". Upon the announcement, the show's creators defended Dever after confirming that her character would have some crucial differences compared to the game. Neil Druckmann said at the time: "We value performance over anything else. We need someone to really capture the essence of those characters.... We don't value as much, 'Do they look exactly like the character with their eyebrows or their nose or their body?' Whatever it is. "It's not nowhere on the priority list, but it's below a bunch of other things that we consider." The Last of Us season 1 is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on this week. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The White Lotus season 4 release date speculation and latest news
The hotel from hell is staying open for another chaotic trip.
The White Lotus has come to a dramatic end after keeping fans on the edge of their seats for weeks. The finale delivered various twists and turns, with some characters making it out of Thailand alive, while others had to depart in a body bag. For fans now wondering whether another instalment of the satirical drama from Mike White is on its way, there's some good news on this front. The show was renewed for a fourth season before the third had even premiered, with creator Mike White reportedly pitching HBO execs his idea for the next vacation while still filming in Thailand. So far, the series has taken place in Hawaii, Italy, and most recently Thailand, but where might the action unfold in season 4? And what might the central theme be, following earlier explorations of class (season 1), desire (season 2) and spirituality (season 3)? If you can't wait for more from The White Lotus, here's everything we know so far about the fourth season, including comments from the cast and creatives behind the hit series. The White Lotus season 4 release date speculation HBO is yet to confirm a release date or release window for The White Lotus season 4, but it's hoped that the gap between episodes will be shorter this time around. The White Lotus season 3 production was slowed considerably by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) strikes that dominated Hollywood for much of 2023. Now that those disputes have been settled, season 4 will hopefully be able to hit the ground running, particularly as it was handed an early renewal in January 2025 (off the back of a dynamite pitch by Mike White on the set of the third season, no less). With concepts and development well under way, we'd optimistically predict to see The White Lotus season 4 in approximately 18 months' time, which would point to a release window of autumn/winter 2026. Where could The White Lotus season 4 take place? Location speculation Of course, a huge part of any The White Lotus season is the location, with previous runs attracting hordes of tourists to Maui (in Hawaii), Sicily (in Italy) and, most recently, Koh Samui (in Thailand). Each location so far has been markedly different to the last, allowing for different kinds of culture clashes between the hotel guests and the resident staff, as well as a wide variety of stunning scenery to be showcased. Creator Mike White recently hinted at the setting of the next instalment. While the first three seasons were filmed at luxury Four Seasons resorts close to a beach, White teased that the location for the fourth season could move away from the water. "For the fourth season, I want to get a little bit out of the crashing waves of rocks vernacular, but there’s always more room for more murders at the White Lotus hotels," he said (via Deadline). So far, prominent rumours have named Egypt, Mexico, Norway and the French Riviera as the options being considered, each one presenting a major deviation from what we've seen thus far. Back in February, HBO drama chief Francesca Orsi told Deadline that HBO was considering a Four Seasons resort in Europe. "We're going on some locations scouting in the next couple of weeks, so we’ll know soon. I can't really say where we’re going to land but chances are somewhere in Europe," she said. There are plenty of Four Seasons hotels in Europe to choose from – including a famous one in the French Riviera – as well as spots in Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, and more. We'll update this page when more concrete details emerge. The White Lotus season 4 cast speculation: Who could return? The White Lotus has made a name for itself with its inspired casting, often elevating actors typically in supporting roles to new levels of prominence. Each season has also featured some overlapping characters, with Jon Gries playing Greg in all three chapters, Jennifer Coolidge appearing as Tanya for the first and second, while Natasha Rothwell's Belinda popped up in the first and third. As you can see, only characters associated with the Tanya McQuoid saga have returned so far, which begs the question of whether her listless former assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) could be next to check in again. She was last seen getting the fright of her life from Jack (Leo Woodall), who seemed to be involved in organised crime, before returning to the comparatively safe company of Albie (Adam DiMarco). Could she have stayed with him? A return for the Di Grassos could also open the door to an expanded role for Mike White's Enlightened collaborator Laura Dern, who made a vocal cameo in season 2 as the estranged wife of Albie's problematic father, Dominic (Michael Imperioli). As for whether Greg himself could return for yet another stay at The White Lotus, Gries told Variety: "When Greg is telling Belinda that he loves Thailand and wants to die there, I think that's a bit of a story, to make it all sound so picturesque. This guy can’t sit still." Nevertheless, he admits that he has "no clue" if screenwriter Mike White has any further plans for the character. Season 3 co-star Tayme Thapthimthong (Gaitok) suggested, in an interview with THR, that Belinda should be the character who goes forward, now that she has come into the kind of wealth that would make another White Lotus visit quite possible. "They started off something at the end there," he said, referencing Belinda and her confident son Zion (Nicholas Duvernay). "And it could be them riding off into the sunset, but it also could mean something else for them – [using] that money to start something else." White has also said that it would be "cool" to devise an all-star season of The White Lotus, comprised primarily of characters returning from seasons past. Of the earlier cast members, he said: "All of these people end up becoming huge, huge stars. A lot of these kids that are easy to get are suddenly not so easy to get… but hopefully they'd come back." In any case, there will be plenty of brand new characters in season 4 too, including some played by lesser known talent – from young up-and-comers to region-specific talent from wherever the show ends up moving to. What could the music and theme song for The White Lotus season 4 look like? Things could look very different in season 4 when it comes to the music, as the show's composer, Cristóbal Tapia de Veer, confirmed to The New York Times that he was quitting the show. Regarding the change of the theme song for the third season, Tapia de Veer, who composed the scores for the first and second seasons of The White Lotus, told The New York Times: "When [the season 3 theme] came out, I had TMZ calling me, even people from England and from France, because they wanted some kind of statement about the theme. People are furious about the change of the theme, and I thought that was interesting." He went on to explain that he had created a longer version of the song which contained nods to the previous scores but the shorter version was ultimately used. Is there a The White Lotus season 4 trailer? Nothing yet! We'll update this page when any teasers for season 4 drop. The White Lotus is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Last of Us co-creators: 'There aren't many games that are great because the story is great'
Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann spoke with this week's issue of Radio Times magazine.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. “It has nothing to do with zombies at all, really,” says Craig Mazin, the co-showrunner of apocalypse thriller The Last of Us, when asked what zombie-weary (or just zombie-wary) RT readers who’ve not watched the first season are missing. “It’s about relationships. If they are parents, if they are children, if they have loved anyone so much that it hurt, if they have lost people in ways that scarred them permanently, that's what this is about. “There are some zombies, I’m not going to lie, and they are scary,” he adds with a ready – even proud – smile. “But what they represent is the danger of the world around us. The danger of nature. So, we do not make this for one kind of person – we make it for everyone.” Prior to the unveiling of the long-in-development TV interpretation of The Last of Us, expectations were mixed. Fans of the video game were proprietorially concerned about how their beloved characters – heroic Joel, guardian of plucky Ellie, the teenager whose immunity to zombie infection could save the world – would translate to a different medium. Culture-watchers knew that transforming interactive video games – whether Halo, Super Mario or, most recently, Cate Blanchett box-office bomb Borderlands – into engaging big- or small-screen drama was a rocky road. Regular TV viewers questioned the appeal of yet another zombie apocalypse survival thriller. Well, hold on to your joysticks... Mirroring the blockbuster sales of its source IP, The Last of Us, which debuted on Sky in January 2023, was a triumph of gripping, beautiful, humanistic and, yes, terrifying storytelling starring The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal as Joel and Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey as Ellie, battling their way across a zombie-plagued America. It made British actor Ramsey, 17 when they began filming, a global star, and Pascal an online phenomenon. One episode, Long, Long Time, starring Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus) and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation), a tender, intimate story of love in the face of global doom, became a sensation in its own right. Overall, the nine-episode series was HBO’s most watched debut season ever. At the following year’s Emmys, The Last of Us won eight of the 24 awards for which it was nominated. Now comes the second season, based on the video game’s Part II, in which we catch up with Ellie and Joel five years later (“Happy new year 2029” runs the banner at a festive party). They’re safe, relatively speaking, in a fortified community in snowbound Jackson, Wyoming. Safe, that is, apart from the traditional teenage/father-figure tension plaguing the relationship between Nirvana-playing, sexuality-exploring Ellie and overprotective Joel. And apart from the fact that the fungally infected undead who still encircle the compound just might be evolving… “We see that they’ve actually gotten very good at this,” explains Mazin, who has previous experience of creating TV drama dealing with disasters in the form of the awards-hoovering Chernobyl (2019). “They are no longer scared of confronting a stalker or two. They know how to kill them easily, and they have patrols… But of course, while they are progressing, so too is nature. And it’s the progress of Jackson – the fact that they have to expand and renovate old homes to bring in refugees [fleeing the undead] and house them – that is what disturbs the evolutionary balance.” Joining as a newcomer, playing Abby, a vengeful militia member out to kill Joel, is Kaitlyn Dever. Although the 28-year-old American star of Booksmart and Dopesick is, in fact, an “oldcomer” – she was attached to the part of Ellie when Neil Druckmann, the second showrunner and the video game’s co-developer, was first in talks to adapt The Last of Us. That was over a decade ago, which is how long it’s taken to get this right for television. The video game’s creation obviously dates even further back. It’s earliest iteration came while Druckmann was studying for a Master’s in the entertainment technology programme at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University. For an assignment, students had to come up with a video game based on 1968’s Night of the Living Dead and pitch it to the film’s director, George Romero (a friend of Druckmann’s professor). “Then George would pick his favourite and we would develop that over the semester as a game prototype.” Lifelong horror fan Druckmann duly came up with a concept influenced by that year-zero zombie movie. His pitch to Romero: “You play a cop who lost his daughter in this zombie apocalypse world. Then, there’s another girl, her parents were divorced [and] she’s lost her dad. These two characters have to team up and cross the country. You would start playing as the older man with a heart condition. And whenever his heart condition would act up, you would play as the girl. I really wanted to play with the idea of, ‘Who is the protector? Who is the hero in the story?’” Unfortunately, Romero wasn’t persuaded by the pitch and the class went with another student’s submission. “But I was intrigued by this concept. I started working on it as a comic book, but that didn’t really go anywhere. Eventually, I got a job at Naughty Dog, and I got to pitch the game again years later. And that became The Last of Us.” After its 2013 launch by Naughty Dog, “People outside of the games industry would tell me how much The Last of Us resonated with them,” remembers Druckmann. The offers to adapt it came thick and fast. But having gone “through a lot of false starts” trying to adapt another Naughty Dog game called Uncharted, Druckmann was pessimistic. “We were a bit disillusioned about the whole endeavour. So, for a long time, we said: ‘Let’s not do it. It’s just going to be another waste of time.’” Then came Mazin’s Chernobyl, the compulsively binge-worthy drama retelling humankind’s worst ever nuclear accident. “It’s material that, on the surface, should be unwatchable,” says Druckmann. “It’s just so dark. But when I did watch it, I felt like I was watching an incredible thriller.” Luckily, the love went both ways – Mazin was a huge fan of The Last of Us. “Not all games are created equal,” he says. “Some games are great because the gameplay is great. There aren’t many games that are great because the story and the central relationship are great. It’s just not as common, because it is not the priority of the medium. But The Last of Us managed to do both things beautifully. It was incredibly entertaining to play and it had a remarkable narrative at its heart. I’ve wanted to make this adaptation ever since I played it for the first time.” The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The Last of Us season 1 is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership. Season 2 will be released on 13th April 2025. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on this week. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The White Lotus location is likely to be very different for season 4
It may be time to bid sunny beaches farewell as season 4 switches things up.
Sun, sex and suspicious deaths are all par for the course when it comes The White Lotus. Season 3 recently came to an explosive end that revealed who dies this time around, closing the series's Thailand-set chapter. The sun-soaked location follows on from the tradition started by its predecessors – Hawaii in season 1 and Sicily in season 2. But all that could drastically change in the confirmed season 4. "For the fourth season, I want to get a little bit out of the crashing waves of rocks vernacular, but there’s always more room for more murders at the White Lotus hotels," creator Mike White said, via Deadline. The production team previously teased location scouting would begin in earnest, with Deadline reporting another European destination is on the cards. For those wondering if the series will take a leaf out of Nine Perfect Strangers' book and swap golden beaches for snowy peaks, it's unlikely, as White reportedly hates the cold. The drama works closely with real hotel resort chain Four Seasons, with the previous three seasons all filmed at their beachside resorts. Some of the locations for the chain's luxury hotels include the French Riviera and a countryside estate in Hampshire, as well as spots in major European cities including Madrid, Milan, Lisbon and Paris. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The White Lotus seasons 1-3 are available on Sky Atlantic and NOW. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Who will die in The White Lotus season 3? Seven theories for the finale
Ahead of next week's finale, here are our top theories about who's set to embark on their final trip.
We're nearing the end of our stay at The White Lotus for an epic third season. The HBO drama series has headed to Thailand for its latest outing and has once again seen an impressive ensemble cast play out fascinating stories. However, as with the first two seasons, we were once again offered a mystery, knowing that at least one person would end up dead - this time floating in a body of water following a flurry of gunshots. With no shortage of tension amongst our cast of characters, who could be heading for the most dramatic fall of all? Here are some of the biggest theories on who will die in the extended The White Lotus season 3 finale, Amor Fati. Who will die in The White Lotus season 3? Here are our top six theories about who will die in The White Lotus season 3 finale, taking into account where things stand after episode 7. Theory 1: Rick and/or Frank We left Rick (Walton Goggins) and Frank (Sam Rockwell) in the midst of a wild night out in Bangkok, marking a catastrophic return to alcoholism for the latter. They're currently a short flight away from the Koh Samui resort, but it seems likely that Rick will reunite with Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) there tomorrow, perhaps bringing Frank along with him to continue the party. In fact, it seems plausible that the two of them could arrive back at the hotel in the early evening, at around the same time as the flash-forward we saw at the start of the season. But the White Lotus co-owners Sritala (Lek Patravadi) and Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn) may alert staff that Rick – one of the guests at their Koh Samui location – recently infiltrated their home under false pretences and assaulted one of them. If so, it's likely that they would get a hostile response at the hotel gates from security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) and potentially Thai police, too, which might explain the multiple gunshots we hear in the opening tease. Given that both men seem to have found some degree of inner peace in Thailand – albeit, in very different ways – screenwriter Mike White may well choose to end their stories here. Theory 2: Timothy Ratliff If there's one character who seems destined for an early grave by the end of episode 7, it would be Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs), who has been on a self-destructive rampage for several days. Having received word that his wealth, business and reputation will be stripped from him when he returns home – where he'll be charged with financial crimes, Timothy has spiralled into a drug and alcohol-fuelled stupor. After days of erratic behaviour, including a viral scene in which he accidentally flashed his family, even Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) realised that something was seriously wrong – and pleaded for his father to open up to him. Not only did Timothy refuse to do so, but later that night, he even fantasised about murdering his family to stop them from finding out about his misdeeds. He also imagined, for the third time, taking his own life. Clearly, Timothy is in a dire mental state going into the season 3 finale and his physical health might be deteriorating too after an enormous amount of booze and unprescribed medication. To say he's a danger to himself and others is an understatement. The question is, can he get that gun back from Gaitok? Or will he simply wander into harm's way out of sheer intoxication and carelessness? The main counter to this theory is that it's potentially just too obvious at this stage; particularly when The White Lotus season 3 cast all professed to be completely shocked by the final reveal. Theory 3: Laurie or Jaclyn Until episode 7, it seemed that longtime girlfriends Laurie (Carrie Coon), Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan) and Kate (Leslie Bibb) were relatively separate from the most dangerous season 3 subplots. But now, Laurie finds herself in a difficult spot after sleeping with Alexei (Julian Kostov); a friend of hotel staff member Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičius), who subsequently attempted to pressure her into giving him $10,000. During her escape, Laurie discovered that Alexei was involved in the gunpoint jewellery theft at the hotel, proving that he and his friends aren't afraid to become violent in order to get what they want. Both Laurie and Jaclyn have slept with members of the group and divulged personal information about their lifestyles, leading them to be considered rich 'marks' for Valentin and Alexei. It's possible that these holiday flings will come back to haunt them on their final day at The White Lotus, with the heartthrobs using their personal connections to Laurie and Jaclyn in order to rob them. We know that they have access to guns from their previous theft, so it wouldn't take much for shots to start going off should something go wrong. Theory 4: Gaitok or Valentin If Valentin does attempt to get money out of the girlfriends before they leave the resort, it's quite possible that the scheme could backfire – or that hotel security guard Gaitok could be drawn into the danger. As Valentin and Gaitok both have access to guns, that might explain the sheer number of shots heard in the opening flash-forward scene. Perhaps we can expect a tense shoot-out as the gang attempts to leave with more stolen valuables. The question is, would Gaitok suppress his religious beliefs and become aggressive towards his attackers, in order to gain the approval of his bosses and love interest, Mook (Lalisa Manobal)? Or alternatively, would he stay true to his spiritual commitment to pacifism, which could potentially leave him defenceless if Valentin or another of the robbers decide they want him out of the way? A make-or-break stand-off between the two staff members is one possible scenario we might see play out in the season 3 finale, if Valentin decides to stage another grand theft. Theory 5: Greg or Belinda A key storyline in The White Lotus season 3 has been the surprise reunion between Maui resort spa manager Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) and Tanya McQuoid's scheming widow, Greg (Jon Gries). The latter is lying low in Thailand, having successfully offed his heiress wife in an elaborate scheme (see season 2), but Belinda's keen eye for faces quickly picked him out in the hotel restaurant – a reintroduction that she may live to regret. As of episode 7, Greg has offered Belinda a sum of $100,000 in hush money, which she could put towards starting the business that Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) cruelly bailed on at the end of the first season. In a heated debate with her son, Belinda states that she can't in good conscience take the money, to which Zion (Nicholas Duvernay) raises the valid point that Greg might very well have her killed if she turns it down. And so, Belinda remains in mortal danger due to her unflinching morals and strong desire to see the diabolical fugitive brought to justice. There is, however, a chance that the tables could turn on Greg himself. After all, season 3's tagline reads "karma comes for everyone", so perhaps forces beyond our understanding have decided his number is up – or maybe it's Tanya's reincarnated spirit inside a monkey, as some have forecast (see below). Theory 6: Chelsea Not Chelsea, no! The sweetest addition to the cast of The White Lotus season 3 has to be Aimee Lou Wood's consistently positive and spiritual Chelsea. Persisting in her romance with the rather difficult and surly Rick, Chelsea has remained loyal and devoted to him despite his secret-keeping and haunted past, even going so far as to describe them as being in a yin and yang-style battle with each other. Chelsea has also already had some brushes with death this season and noted that bad luck tends to come in threes. Could this be a final tempt of fate, and Rick's revenge mission against Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn) might backfire and deprive him of his soulmate Chelsea? It would be another dark move from Mike White - surely not.... Theory 7: A wild (monkey) card One of the more outlandish theories floated by viewers of The White Lotus on social media is that one of the wild monkeys living around the hotel might snatch a gun from one of the armed characters – and proceed to wreak terrifying havoc. This zany twist would avoid drawing any comparisons to real-life tourist tragedies that have occurred over the years, while adding an element of unpredictable chaos to the ending as virtually any character would be at risk. The idea was inspired by repeated shots of monkeys at the beginning of the season, accompanied by a few lines stating how dangerous they can be – even without Tanya's vengeful spirit reaching out from the afterlife. The White Lotus season 3 is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The White Lotus star Jason Isaacs: "I was out of my head for the first 10 or 20 years of my career"
As The White Lotus comes to a thrilling climax, Jason Isaacs talks privilege, Potter and prosthetics.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. “Is it a comedy, an erotic thriller, or an existential mystery? Or a Venn diagram where every genre meets in the middle?” Jason Isaacs is attempting to describe The White Lotus, in the third season of which he plays American businessman Timothy Ratliff. “It’s about identity, spirituality and existentialism,” he decides of the hit HBO drama that culminates this week. “And sex, fun, rock ’n’ roll. And tofu, because it’s Thailand.” Wherever the series is set – first Hawaii, then Sicily and now Thailand – the genius of Mike White’s satire about five-star resorts and the awful people who frequent them is to make us complicit. Viewers may feel morally superior to the amoral cast, but we still vicariously enjoy their lifestyle. In filming the series, its stars themselves became pampered westerners in Thailand. “We took over this extraordinary, beautiful place and were each given a gigantic, insanely luxurious villa,” reveals Issacs. “It came with a butler – and I don’t want a butler. I don’t want anybody even making a cup of tea for me. I don’t like it.” Isaacs, who was born into a Jewish family in Liverpool in 1963, isn’t, it quickly becomes clear, entirely comfortable with privilege. “Actors for a long time were vagabonds; the women were prostitutes and the men were thieves,” he says. “I think that more befits who we are.” The 61-year-old actor, who has been married to documentary-maker Emma Hewitt since 2001 and has two daughters, Lily (22) and Ruby (19), was clearly uneasy with some of the things he encountered in Thailand. “If you open your eyes, you see inequitable couples all the time, much older European men with much younger women. It’s a transactional relationship where they both get something from it, but as a father, and also just as a human, it felt completely repulsive to me to see.” When we meet his character, Ratliff, who has taken his family to Thailand at huge expense simply so his daughter Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) can do a college report on Buddhism, he has no such qualms. His wife Victoria (Parker Posey) is ghastly, as are their sons, sexist Saxon and wet-as-water Lachlan played by Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola; respectively the offspring of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Emily Mortimer. “I expected Patrick particularly to be a bit of a princess, given where he came from,” says Isaacs, addressing any nepo-baby concerns before I can voice them. “But I was very disappointed, because he was gorgeous.” As Ratliff tries to stop his business affairs unravelling back in the US, he is beset by minor irritations that cause him major problems. Mobiles are banned at the hotel, lest they interfere with the spiritual ambiance required to help “these dilettantes”, as Isaacs puts it, “somehow become Buddhist monks and change their lives”. Could Isaacs survive a digital detox? “I don’t know, I have a very addictive personality. I don’t take drugs or drink any more, because I liked them both much too much in the olden days. “I had to stop video games because they took over my life. I was playing Tetris and was seeing shapes over people’s heads and in my dreams. The only times that I’m ever not in 100 places in my head is when I’m in someone else’s personality when I’m acting, or when I’m doing sport.” So, his career filled the space that drink and drugs once occupied? “Oh no, I was out of my head for the first 10 or 20 years of my career.” He’s spoken before about his addictions but is happy to revisit the subject. “I tried to stop every Monday. I tried to stop every birthday, every New Year’s Eve.” So what finally made him do so? “I felt kind of insane a lot of the time. But I was terrified I’d become incredibly bland and boring if I stopped, and I don’t know, maybe I have. But maybe there’s still some of the madness left.” I reassure him that the madness was there to see in Armando Iannucci’s 2017 film The Death of Stalin, where he gave a blisteringly macho performance as Soviet Marshal Zhukov, his broad chest festooned with medals. “That wasn’t my chest,” he reveals. “They stuffed the jacket; inside I’m like Charles Hawtrey.” I feel a little naive, fooled by the tricks of the television trade. “Everything you see is pretend,” he advises. “None of it is me.” This may well include Ratliff’s penis, which was briefly glimpsed – much to his children’s horror – when his dressing gown flopped open in the fourth episode of The White Lotus and has been reported to be what the industry refers to euphemistically as a prosthetic. We spoke before the public furore the scene caused, nonetheless Isaacs resisted any attempt to explain everything we see in his performances. “I don’t know that the audience needs to know how the sausage is made,” he says. Which just about covers it. Has the family been impressed by the attention Dad’s getting for The White Lotus? “My wife and kids don’t give a flying f*** about me being famous,” he says. “It’s just, will I take the bins out and will I drop them off and pick them up? Members of the public ascribe far too much status to people like me who just put on silly voices for a living.” For some, Isaacs will forever be Lucius Malfoy, the obsessively anti-Muggle wizard (and father of Draco) in the Harry Potter movies – which must, I suggest, have been great for his daughters when they were young. “They hated it,” he scoffs. “Always found it embarrassing. You want to be introduced as yourself, and not, ‘This is my friend. Oh, by the way, her dad’s Lucius Malfoy.’” His other silly voices have included Dick Dastardly in a Scooby-Doo film and more conventional rotters like British officer Colonel Tavington, opposite Mel Gibson in the American Revolution drama The Patriot. “I’m used to playing quite a lot of people who are very difficult, supposedly, and even unpleasant,” he says. “My wife will ask, ‘Why?’ And I go, ‘Well, he’s really insecure…’ and she’ll say, ‘But he’s a dick.’ “Even in Harry Potter, ironically. I’m playing a wizard, but who is he? He is a cowardly, racist bully who’s trying to make the old world great again. He’s someone who thinks the world was better when people like him ruled and newcomers didn’t come and challenge things. You can call them Muggles or you can call them Mexicans, but I recognised him as a human being.” Who wouldn’t Isaacs play? “Well, at some point you have to draw the line,” he says. “A story that advocated anti-Semitism or racism or misogyny, at the end of which people went, ‘You know what? It’s not as bad as people paint it.’” Racism in The White Lotus manifests as westerners’ reduction of Thai people and culture to cliché. Guests at White Lotus resorts go to countries without really being in them, experiencing the same corporate luxury flavoured with an ersatz version of the local culture, wherever they are. The drama happens when reality breaks through – something that Isaacs, whose wife accompanied him in Thailand, saw for himself. “We had the five-star luxury experience. But when you go to the more touristy places, you’ll see things that turn your stomach, that are morally very challenging. You see tremendous wealth and then tremendous poverty – there are places where it’s so impoverished and where there is brutality. But there is kindness and humility and gentleness in the Thai people.” And is that humility and kindness, the spirituality of Thai culture, something that will stay with Isaacs – did he find enlightenment at the White Lotus? “I intend to do more yoga and meditation,” he says. “At some magical time in the future, when I stop scrolling on the phone and watching telly.” The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. The White Lotus season 3 concludes on Monday 7th April 2025. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Who is Charlotte Le Bon? Meet The White Lotus's Chloe actress
The star plays a guest at the hotel with a surprising connection to a returning character in The White Lotus season 3. *SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3 EPISODE 1*
*Warning: spoilers for The White Lotus season 3 episode 1.* The White Lotus has returned to our screens with season 3, introducing fans to a bunch of new guests as they check into a branch of the hotel chain in Thailand. One new cast member this time around is Charlotte Le Bon, who plays Chloe, a model and the girlfriend of Greg/Gary (Jon Gries). Fans will of course know that Chloe has been at the centre of various dramatic storylines in season 3, even becoming entangled in Saxon and Lochlan’s outrageous – and possibly incestuous – narrative in a recent episode. But what viewers might not realise is that Le Bon wasn't originally cast in the role, with actress Francesca Corney originally given the part – and she even spent a month on set in Thailand filming. Deadline reported back in March that the role was being recast, with Le Bon replacing Corney partway through filming, The publication reported that this was mainly due to HBO producers wanting someone slightly older to play the part. In a now-deleted Instagram post that's been circulating on social media, Francesca wrote after the news was announced that while it was “heartbreaking”, she was still “so incredibly grateful for the short time I got to spend with everyone”. “I have so, so much love for this cast and crew,” she continued, before adding: “Season 3 is gonna be goood. I’ll be watching and supporting the whole way.” Wondering who Le Bon is, where you've seen the The White Lotus actress before and what you need to know about the character? Read on for all the information we have so far. Last warning: spoilers for season 3 episode 1 follow. Who is Charlotte Le Bon? Charlotte Le Bon is a French-Canadian actress and director. She plays Chloe in The White Lotus season 3, who's first introduced to audiences in episode 1 as she strikes up a connection with Aimee Lou Wood's Chelsea over their age-gap romances. Chloe later points out her boyfriend, directing Chelsea's gaze to a man sat near them, and says: "The bald guy. The one with the orange shirt." Of course, at this point, fans are no doubt expecting to see another newcomer to the cast but, as the camera pans to the man, we're presented with the face of an unexpected returning character: Greg. Yes, the same Greg (Jon Gries) that seduced Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya McQuoid before plotting her demise last season. How old is Charlotte Le Bon? The star is 38 years old. What movies and series has Charlotte Le Bon been in? After initially working as a model, Le Bon was cast in the French show Le Grand Journal. In 2012, the actor made her film debut in Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia. She made her English-language debut in 2014’s The Hundred Foot Journey, while her feature directorial debut came in 2022 with Falcon Lake. Other acting credits include the Hulu thriller Fresh, and she also plays Joy in the French dub of Pixar’s Inside Out films. What do we know about Charlotte Le Bon's character in The White Lotus season 3? Chloe's appearance in season 3 episode 1 raises more questions than answers. During her chat with Chelsea, Chloe claims to have been living with Greg in a house close to the resort for a year. She calls him "grumpy" and reveals he often sends her away after they clash. Her introduction raises a host of new questions, including how much she knows about Greg’s past with Tanya... Speaking about Chelsea and Chloe’s connection, The White Lotus cast member Aimee Lou Wood labelled it as "friendship love". "Well, I think they are very moon and sun energy," Wood told DECIDER. "They’re the same, but in many ways they are parallel versions of each other." She continued: "They’re in such similar situations, but Chloe’s chosen strategy and thought, and Chelsea is just all feeling. They’re the same, but they’re just so different. They’re like two halves of the same person." Is Charlotte Le Bon related to Simon Le Bon? No, the actor is not related to Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon. Is Charlotte Le Bon on Instagram? Yes, she can be found at the handle @lebonlebon, where she currently has over 300,000 followers. Is Charlotte Le Bon on Twitter? Yes, she can be found at the handle @lebonlebon. She currently has over 90,000 followers. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The White Lotus season 3 is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Who is Sarah Catherine Hook? Meet The White Lotus star behind Piper Ratliff
The star appears in the main cast of The White Lotus season 3.
The White Lotus season 3 is in full swing on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK, launching a brand new bunch of dysfunctional travellers onto our screens. One new cast member this time around is Sarah Catherine Hook, who plays Piper Ratliff, a middle child between two brothers in the dysfunctional Ratliff family, who have been disturbing fans from the off with uncomfortable nude scenes and hints at possible incestuous dynamics. Hook rose to fame in 2022 after landing her first leading role as a teenage vampire in Netflix's First Kill, but is best known for her role as Caroline Merteuil in the remake of Cruel Intentions. Speaking about how she felt instantly aligned with her The White Lotus character Piper, Hook recently told Cosmopolitan: "I was not given much information, but even just her description alone, I tend to have gut feelings about certain parts." She continued: "Oftentimes I'm wrong, but, with Cruel Intentions, I had no reason to believe I was going to get that part, but I was certain that I was the girl. And then I had the same feeling with The White Lotus.” Wondering what else the actress has starred in? Read on for everything you need to know. Who is Sarah Catherine Hook? Sarah Catherine Hook is an actress best known for her role in the remake of Cruel Intentions, in which she plays Caroline Merteuil, the campus's mean girl at the centre of the show. She's in the main cast of The White Lotus season 3, playing Piper, the daughter of the central Ratcliff family. How old is Sarah Catherine Hook? The actor is 29 years old. What movies and shows has Sarah Catherine Hook been in? You might also recognise the star from her role in Netflix’s 2022 teen fantasy series First Kill, in which she played teenage vampire Juliette. The series follows Juliette on her journey to make her first kill – an important rite of passage for a vampire – and she soon targets new girl Calliope. Disaster strikes, however, when she finds herself falling for her. And she’s in for even more of a surprise when she realises Calliope is actually a vampire hunter. Talking about how she got involved in the project, she previously told Entertainment Weekly: "I was at the airport and I got this in my inbox, and I had been auditioning for lots of different stuff. And my manager was like, 'I'm going to get you the lead of a show if my life depends on it.' "And then this one appears and he was saying how cool it was. He was like, 'It's like a Twilight meets Killing Eve.' When I read the description of Juliette, I for some reason thought, 'Oh, there's no way I'm going to get this.' And then a month and a half later, the part was mine." Hook has also starred in TV series such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and The Valley, in two episodes of American Crime Story, and in the third Conjuring film, The Devil Made Me Do It. What has Sarah Catherine Hook said about starring in The White Lotus? Hook has said she "felt like a princess" while filming the show. She previously told WWD: "It feels almost like a fever dream at this point." "We all had these stunning, beautiful rooms that we were living in," she said of the six months filming process in Thailand. "I felt like a princess. And I knew the second before I even got there, I was like, 'This is going to ruin my perception of reality.'" Meanwhile, addressing one of the big talking points from the new season's premiere episode – the potentially incestuous dynamic between the siblings – she and Sam Nivola opened up to Screen Rant about how the scene in which Saxon tickles Piper was potentially improvised. "It got bigger," she revealed. "It was supposed to be a much smaller thing, and then it ended up being this whole tickle fest. Ridiculous," Nivola, who plays Piper's younger brother Lochlan, added. "There was a lot of Mike being like, 'It would be funny if you just go over and pick her up and tickle her. Give her a big hug,'" he continued. "And mess with her ear," Hook went on, before adding: "Gross." Teasing an upcoming episode in The White Lotus season 3, the actress added that she "loved their dinner scene in episode 3, talking about Trump". She added that it was "such awkward timing, too, given the state of the world. That was just one of those really exciting, good, juicy White Lotus moments." Is Sarah Catherine Hook on Instagram? Yes, she can be found at the handle @sarahcatherine.hook. Is Sarah Catherine Hook on Twitter? She is indeed, and can be found at the handle @schookofficial. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The White Lotus airs on Sky and NOW. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Gangs of London star doesn't know if major character survives "curveball" season 3 finale
"There are lots of different things going on."
Michelle Fairley has revealed that she doesn’t know if her character survives in the season three Gangs of London finale. The stoic matriarch of the Wallace family usurped her son, Sean (Joe Cole) at the end of season 2, to lead one of the most influential crime families in London. By fighting for this position of power, Marian has ostracised herself from her family and by the end of season three a major curve ball leaves her "incredibly vulnerable". “I think at the end of season 3, there’s lots going on,” Fairley told RadioTimes.com. "I think there's a curve ball thrown in there as well. You don't exactly know what's going to happen. "Other characters reveal themselves to be what their modus operandi is, in terms of why they've suddenly appeared and what they're actually up to, even though some of us might have already sniffed that out already." "So, there are lots of different things going on, and it'll be interesting to see who survives and who doesn’t," she added. When asked if she’d return for another season, Fairley revealed that she doesn’t know if Marian even "survives" the ordeal in the finale yet. "Absolutely," she said about coming back to this character, "but I don’t even know if she survives. we’ll have to see, won’t we? We’ll have to see if it comes to another season." Though Fairley is keen to return, she teased that Marian is in a "precarious position" by the end of the season and her only chance for survival after all of this would be to run and hide. "I honestly don't know," she said about her thoughts on Marian’s future, "because without giving away what happens at the end of season 3, I think if she comes back, if the writers bring her back, I think she's in a very precarious position. Read more: Gangs of London's Lale and Asif cliffhanger isn't what you think, producer says Gangs of London star Sope Dirisu would return for spin-off "She should be living in a castle with a fortress at the top of the highest mountain in the world so that you can see your enemies coming from miles off. "So they have a hell of a mountain to climb before they get to you so you're ready for them by the time they get up there. I think she's making herself incredibly vulnerable here." Gangs of London season 3 premieres on Sky Atlantic and NOW on Thursday 20th March 2025. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Gangs of London star Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù would return for spin-off
"The worlds that the writers create are always really engaging."
It’s been two-and-a-half years since season 2 of Gangs of London aired – now it’s back for a third outing and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù has already shared his enthusiasm to return to this world in the future. Since the show debuted back in 2020, there’s been speculation about a prequel or spin-off focused on one of the existing characters in the ensemble, such as former undercover cop turned criminal gang boss, Eliot (Dìrísù). Dìrísù said as the material is “always good” he would find it hard to resist returning in another capacity, including a spin-off. “What's wonderful is that the work is always good,” Dìrísù told RadioTimes.com, “The worlds that the writers create are always really engaging. So as long as it continued that way, why would I not want to be involved?” He added of the cast and crew: “It’s very comfortable. It's very loving. We're very close-knit, and I enjoy working with all of them and I like to do things that make me happy.” Read more: Gangs of London's Lale and Asif cliffhanger isn't what you think, producer says Gangs of London star Joe Cole hits out at drama cuts in state schools: "It's pretty sad" The actor's support for a spin-off comes after he teased that season 3’s finale felt like a “series finale” with plenty of new avenues to explore. “Someone was saying earlier that it felt like a series finale rather than just the season and I think that's because it's pregnant with possibilities,” he explained. “Rather than it being a final end, it's like anything can happen from this point, and it allows an audience to project what they might want to happen onto it. “I think it was a really strong decision that allows a lot of other decisions to happen and I'm looking forward to finding out what the writers come up with.” The third season picks up a few months after the season 2 finale, where Eliot has assumed a seat at the table with the crime families. Dìrísù explained that while Eliot might be physically “healed” from the ordeal, he remains in a “precarious position” in the organisation and the “rug gets pulled from underneath him”. “Slightly healed, thankfully, with full use of his body,” Dìrísù said about where we find Eliot in season 3. “We find that he's still solidified his position there somewhat. “He's established himself as a functioning and active member of the crime circles of London, but he's precariously perched there, and he's still having to prove himself. “He's not trusted just because he's arrived. He's having to earn respect and loyalty and just as he may be thinking that he's built a foundation for himself, the rug gets pulled from underneath him.” View Affiliate Playlist on the source website Gangs of London season 3 is available to watch now on Sky Atlantic and NOW. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The White Lotus producer responds to incest kiss backlash: 'There's a specific reason'
The Ratliff brothers have become one of season 3's most talked-about elements.
The White Lotus producer David Bernad has responded to viewers left shocked by the incestuous kiss in season 3 episode 5. Titled Full-Moon Party, the episode finds Saxon Ratliff (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and his younger brother, Lochlan (Sam Nivola), on an all-night rave with new friends Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) and Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon). At the end of the night, things take a scandalous turn as a spin-the-bottle-style drinking game initiated by Chloe sees the two brothers share an intense and extended kiss. The scene follows earlier moments of awkward tension and closeness between the brothers, with Bernad now assuring viewers that the provocative plot is in service to a broader message – and there was no fear that it was going too far. "That’s all [creator Mike White]," he told New York Post. "Mike is brilliant, and I think those big story turns are not just for shock. There's a specific reason in terms of the narrative storytelling, and the larger thematic idea Mike is trying to get across. "As the season wraps up, you'll see the purpose of that story turn. The show goes there for a larger thematic idea. I love that family storyline, especially the brother story – and it culminates in a very satisfying way." In the aftermath of the kiss, younger sibling Lochlan smiles confidently while his older brother Saxon is stunned into uncomfortable silence, with co-star Le Bon revealing that was an accurate reflection of how the actors approached the scene. She told Vulture: "Obviously they're not brothers by blood [in real life], so that made it easier. [But] I think for Patrick it was really difficult. For Sam, he was kind of like, 'It’s whatever, let’s just do it well one time and it will be over.' "But Patrick’s reaction in the episode is his genuine reaction. We all thought he was going to throw up. And Sam was like, 'It's fine, it's just a kiss, calm down!'" The actor was also pressed on why her character seemed to take such delight in seeing the brothers kiss, which was a moment that left Chloe in hysterics on the couch of her luxury yacht. Le Bon theorised: "I think Chloe is deeply, deeply bored. There’s a void inside of her. She fills that void with partying, sex and chaos. This kiss between the two brothers for her is just pure entertainment, which is obviously really evil when you think about it." The White Lotus is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW. New episodes weekly. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.