Max has announced that season two of the HBO’s Emmy-winning original drama series "The Last of Us" will be available to stream in American Sign Language (ASL) alongside the show’s episodes each week beginning with the season debut on April 13 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Season one of the series will be available to stream in ASL starting March 31 in the run-up to the debut of season two.
The streamer reported that this marks the first time that HBO’s original programming will be available to stream in ASL on Max, following the ASL versions of Warner Bros. films such as “Barbie”, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire”, and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”. This expansion in availability of ASL programming continues to build on Max’s commitment to create a premium and accessible streaming experience for all subscribers.
“We are thrilled to expand our ASL program and debut our first HBO Original series in ASL with The Last of Us,” said Naomi Waibel, senior vice president of global product management at WBD. “This debut brings the show to life in an authentic and fully accessible way for Deaf audiences and is another meaningful step towards our goal of offering an inclusive streaming experience.”
"The Last of Us with ASL" is performed by Daniel Durant (Academy Award-winning “Coda,” “Green Day’s American Idiot,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Flash Before the Bang“) and Leila Hanaumi (Deaf Austin Theater (DAT) and ZACH’s “Cinderella,” DAT's “Tiny Beautiful Things,” DAT and Ground Floor Theatre’s “The Laramie Project”), who delivered a highly-acclaimed performance in "Barbie with ASL" — the first film available on Max with ASL interpretation. Hanaumi also directed the first season of "The Last of Us" with ASL.
“With ASL” titles, including "The Last of Us", will be displayed on the Max app along with key art featuring the sign language symbol. The Max platform also offers features such as audio descriptions, closed captions, screen reader compatibility, magnification, keyboard navigation, and color contrast to ensure an accessible streaming experience.
"The Last of Us", based on the acclaimed video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation ® consoles, is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and is also executive produced by Carolyn Strauss, Jacqueline Lesko, Cecil O’Connor, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Evan Wells; with writer/co-executive producer Halley Gross. Production companies: PlayStation Productions, Word Games, Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog.
