
Nick Offerman was perfectly cast as Bill in the HBO adaption of The Last of Us, providing fans with a more nuanced look at the taciturn survivor in one of the season's standout episodes. The performance was so good it earned Offerman an Emmy, and he must have resonated with the role; he's already pitched HBO on a Bill and Frank spin-off series.
Following the Emmy Awards earlier this week, the Parks & Recreation actor was asked whether Bill or Frank would appear in the show's second season, perhaps in a flashback sequence. According to Deadline (thanks Kotaku), Offerman didn't offer any juicy exclusives but did say he'd had Bill on the mind, going so far as to approach HBO with a pitch and floating "a whole mini-series of a prequel of their lives before they met each other. It could be a musical. We're not short on ideas". Ultimately, Offerman says the decision is above his pay grade: "We'll just see what Craig [Mazin] and Neil [Druckmann] come up with."
Season 2 of The Last of Us begins filming imminently, previously delayed by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The Last of Us Part II's Lost Levels may be incorporated into the storyline, and Kaitlyn Dever is reportedly in talks for the role of Abby.
Would you be up for a Bill and Frank spin-off? We could see it, and it might even be an interesting way to address Joel and Tommy's darker days before the first game's events, which remains a fascinating story thread in desperate need of pulling. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
[source deadline.com]
Comments 30
They got a whole episode dedicated to these extremely minor characters in the first game. I think that’s enough IMO. I’d rather them make a spin off with more relevant characters in the games if it’s returning characters. Just my take tho
@CWill97
As nice as their story was, we saw everything we really could have seen from them feasibly. Not sure where you would even go with a spin off.
@PegasusActual93 exactly. The episode was fine. Unless the premise is absolutely amazing (it won’t be), I’d rather them explore other characters. TLOU has so many potential untold stories.
That one episode already was the spin-off, it told their whole story
There are as many people asking for this as there are for another Star Wars trilogy starring Rey.
What would Ron say? Story's been told, top tier TV, let's move on.
Most series are way too long and bloated in my opinion anyways and would work better within 4 to max 8 episodes.
I rather have a Ron Swanson spin-off.
Not everything needs to be it's own series. Leave it as it is.
Loved the episode, it expanded on the game well, but can’t see the point in a whole series
@LifeGirl bad example, outside the echo Chambers rey has loads of fans.
@Skeletor85 I was going to say “I’d watch it”, but your idea is SO much better. Ron Swanson is a personal hero of mine…
@EchoRange "Outside the echo Chambers"
I feel like that would be an excellent name for a thesis.
(We're in report mode in work...)
@EchoRange For a streaming series perhaps, but a full cinematic release? I have my doubts there.
@Skeletor85
A Ron Swanson spinoff where he's in a post-apocalyptic scenario is something I would unironically watch the s--t out of.
Please, no spin offs. The story of TLoU benefits greatly from being so tight and focussed. If we must have a TLoU expanded universe, give us entirely new characters and, hell, even new settings. So much zombie stuff is based in the USA, which is cool and all, but I'd love to see how other cultures would deal with such a catastrophe (e.g. countries with a history of collectivism/communism could get really dystopian, cultures where tribe and family matters a whole lot more might fragment in different ways, etc).
It could be great but is it honestly going to be better than that one episode? Likely not. Sometimes great things are best left as they were.
I'm good. It was a good episode, but like others have said, it told the story. Yes, obviously scenes and such could be fleshed out, but we still got the gist of all of it.
It was one of the best episodes I've ever seen, so please no more. It was simply perfect. It had a beginning, a middle, and an ending. What would we get? More middle?
No thanks. The episode was fine, but added nothing to the story and was only inserted to attract awards attention, not having the cajones to depict the characters relationship as it was implied to have unfolded in the game. Ironically, they pussied out.
Please god no
I thought their episode was one of the finest I've ever seen, I absolutely loved it. However... I'm never really that bothered about learning more about characters who are already dead in the main show and so won't have any stakes in the main narrative going forward. Just my take. But I have watched that episode a lot, and love watching people reacting to it on Youtube too. There's something great about watching people descend into emotional wrecks haha.
"There's only one thing I hate more than lying: skim milk, which is water that's lying about being milk." - Ron Swanson
@PegasusActual93 c'mon dude, don't you want to see where Bill sources all his hair and beard cosmetics to keep them so clean and awesome while fighting for dear life. Must be worth at least one season.
What about a Nick Offerman anthology that breaks the 4th wall with each episode a spin off of every character he's ever played, with Nick Offerman sat in a wingback chair with a glass of brandy narrating the set up for each episode 😁
Before some spooky 'The Twighlight Zone' final reveal that Nick Offerman never existed, he was just in our collective imagination 😱
I adored that episode, it was absolutely perfect, making another or a spin-off series would just undermine it. Please leave it alone.
If we get any spinoff, I would want it to be with new characters and in another country. Tokyo would be really interesting.
“Offerman added jokingly” is crucial context intentionally left out from the original article, I think. He clearly wasn’t being serious.
No thanks, next idea
@Victor_Meldrew I think a series would focus on who they were before they met. I think that's interesting for quite a few characters. Kinda like in One Piece anime, as the MC gains friends, there's' usually an episode dedicated to their backstory. I think that's a cool concept for a mini-series.
Episode 1 - Joel's backstory and firefly days
Episode 2 - Tess backstory
Episode 3 - Bill's backstory
etc...
He wasn’t being serious about it being pitched, the next thing he says in the video clip is that it could be a musical.
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