The Last of Us Season 3 Levels Up With Patrick Wilson and Jason Ritter

Fresh blood is joining HBO's post-apocalyptic smash in pivotal roles, pushing the story past Joel's death and into a brutal new chapter.

Patrick Wilson is trading haunted houses for fungal nightmares. The genre vet is joining HBO's The Last of Us in a role that fans of the game know is small in screen time but massive in consequences.

Patrick Wilson heads to The Last of Us Season 3

Wilson will play Dr. Jerry Anderson, Abby's father. If the name just made your stomach drop, you remember why: Jerry is the surgeon Joel kills in the Season 1 finale while rescuing Ellie. That scene set the fuse for everything that followed. The doctor was not played by Wilson at the time, so this is a new face for a character whose death still casts a long shadow.

Abby, now played by Kaitlyn Dever, arrived last season and wasted no time changing the show's temperature. In the second episode of Season 2, she tracked down Joel (Pedro Pascal) and killed him, a bold swing that split some viewers and thrilled others for sticking close to the game. Season 3 shifts the lens to Abby's side of the story, which means expect flashbacks of Wilson's Jerry as both gifted surgeon and fiercely devoted dad.

When it lands and where it’s shooting

Cameras are already rolling in Vancouver as of earlier this month. HBO is lining up Season 3 for a 2027 premiere, so buckle up for a long, anxious wait.

New faces and familiar resumes

Wilson is not walking into this apocalypse alone. Jason Ritter is joining the cast as Henley, a soldier in the WLF militia. Ritter, 46, is currently on the gender-swapped Matlock revival with Kathy Bates over on CBS.

As for Wilson, he is no stranger to big franchises or supernatural trouble. He anchored both The Conjuring and Insidious series, went full comic-book nemesis as Ocean Master in Aquaman (2018) and its 2023 sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, suited up in Watchmen (2009), and even lent his voice to the President of the United States in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

• Role: Patrick Wilson is Dr. Jerry Anderson, Abby's father and the surgeon Joel killed in the Season 1 finale.
• Perspective: Season 3 centers on Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), likely with flashbacks that put Jerry front and center.
• Timeline: Filming started in Vancouver this month; HBO is eyeing a 2027 premiere.
• New casting: Jason Ritter plays Henley, a WLF soldier; he also appears on the current Matlock revival with Kathy Bates.
• The fallout: Abby killed Joel in Season 2, Episode 2 — controversial to some, faithful to the game to others.

The show's heat check

Based on the 2013 game from Naughty Dog, The Last of Us has been both a ratings monster and an awards magnet since its 2023 debut. Its first season became HBO's most-watched debut season ever and stacked up multiple Primetime Emmy nominations, including nods for Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, whose cracked-but-loving father-daughter dynamic turned into the show's heartbeat.

The series still rides high with a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes, while the reader-voted Popcornmeter sits at 62%. Season 3 is widely expected to close out the story as the game's major arcs wind down, which should keep interest just as intense as it has been since day one.