The Last of Us

Joel and Ellie travel through an America reshaped by a fungal outbreak in The Last of Us. The immediate dangers are clear, but the first season depends on whether these two very guarded people can learn to rely on each other.

Pedro Pascal's restraint gives Joel a heaviness that suits the role. Bella Ramsey makes Ellie more than a responsibility he has been handed: her impatience and curiosity repeatedly disrupt the way he expects a journey to work. Encounters along the route broaden the picture of how people have adapted to the collapse.

My viewing stops after season one, so this is not a recommendation based on the later adaptation. The strongest reason to try that opening season is the central relationship, rather than the prospect of another outbreak story. Its quieter stretches give the danger something personal to put at risk.