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Filmed partly in Okotoks and High River, The Last of Us premieres Jan. 15

The much-anticipated HBO adaptation of triple-A videogame title has spent the last year filming across Alberta, including in Okotoks and High River.
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Okotoks and High River played host to filming in 2022 for the HBO series 'The Last of Us' starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, which airs Jan. 15, 2023.

The TV adaptation of triple-A videogame The Last of Us is set to hit screens this weekend.

While it may be quicker to list the locations around Alberta where the production did not film, among those that may be seen in the new series are Okotoks and High River. In February 2022, film crews moved into north Okotoks to film on Suntree Lane.

It is yet to be seen how many locations in the Foothills will feature in the finished product, but benefits of filming of the major HBO production, among others, have not gone unnoticed.

The series, like the 2013 game, is set 10 years after an apocalyptic event that decimated the world with a parasitic fungus that turns people into violent zombies.

The story follows a smuggler named Joel, played by Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal, who must protect the young Elle, played by Bella Ramsey, who played Game of Thrones’ Lyanna Mormont, as they make their way across a ravaged United States.

Along the way, they are beset by both zombies and other human survivors.

In a January 2022 interview, Brock Skretting, the head of advocacy for non-profit Keep Alberta Rolling, extolled the town’s hospitality toward the film industry.

“It’s very positive and exciting to see. Okotoks has been extremely welcoming to the film industry,” Skretting said in the phone interview.

“They’re interested in putting in film-friendly policy, they have leadership that embraces and understands the industry.”

Crews were on site from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6 and set dressing took place on Suntree Lane and Suntree Place as well as in Suntree Park.

This involved decorative prep work, a leaflet distributed to area residents explained, with crews bringing in trees, grass and greenery as well as creating additional snow.

Filming took place the following week and Robinson Drive and Waldron Avenue played host to various production and support vehicles.

Two weeks later, the neighbourhood was all but cleaned up as crews moved out of the streets.

Not counting the wider economic benefit at local businesses, the Town of Okotoks alone brought in $18,000 from the production's stop in town, after the $20,000 deduction used to pay staff hours associated with it such as municipal enforcement presence.

The past year has been a fruitful one for the Alberta film industry, with 2022 seeing a record-breaking number of major screen productions in the province and thousands of industry jobs created.

On a provincial level, Alberta-based screen and stunt industry legend John Scott said the Alberta Film and Television Tax Credit helped roll out the red carpet for productions.

“This whole thing is built on 2021 when the government finally came on side, put in a decent tax credit, and threw some money into the film fund," Scott said, pointing out the credit is contingent on in-province spending.

“That means for Alberta labour and Alberta products."

Canadian viewers will be able to catch The Last of Us on Crave, premiering Jan. 15.

With files from Lauryn Heintz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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