The Last of Us series adds Nick Offerman as Bill

Nick Offerman
(Image credit: NBC)

The Last of Us series has found its Bill: Parks & Recreation actor Nick Offerman.

As per Variety, Offerman is replacing Con O'Neill, who previously had the role. O'Neill departed the project after a "scheduling conflict."

Some may have seen the recasting coming, all thanks to a prior interview with Frank actor Murray Bartlett.

Bartlett, who is set to play Bill’s partner Frank in The Last of Us series, told The Guardian that "A lot of my scenes are with Nick Offerman. Playing off him was awesome."

On The Last of Us series, Bartlett had nothing but praise for show co-creator Craig Mazin. "The scripts he’s written blew my head off. It’s an epic show, but beautifully human and intimate," Bartlett said.

Offerman may be best known as Ron Swanson, the surly director of Pawnee's Parks & Recreation department, but he's also struck out in more dramatic roles, including on Fargo and Deadwood.

The Last of Us series is currently filming in Canada, and a handful of leaked set videos and photos have given us a sneak peek of what to expect. There’s Joel, Ellie, and Tommy in Jackson in one video, while a previous fungus-filled image marks the beginning of Joel and Ellie’s journey out west.

No word yet on a release date, though Tommy actor Gabriel Luna says it’ll be "sooner than later" and one director had a ‘2022’ release window on their Instagram page. Here’s hoping.

For a look ahead on what’s coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X next year, here’s our rundown of 2022's video game release dates.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

Read more
The Last of Us
The Last of Us season 2 is giving a game character the Bill and Frank treatment – and he's so deep-cut you might barely remember him
Bill getting teary-eyed in The Last of Us
A potential The Last of Us season 1 plot hole has sparked a lot of debate among the fans
The Last of Us season 2 first look
The Last of Us season 2 will tell "a different version" of the story, but Neil Druckmann loves the changes they've made: "Its DNA is in there"
Clicker and Ellie
The Last of Us season 2 trailer brings the heart and the horror back to Joel and Ellie
The Last of Us
The Last of Us 2 Remastered finally gives the most underrated character from Part 1 the love he deserves by making him one of two new playable heroes in the roguelike mode No Return
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says newcomer Kaitlyn Dever was "within The Last of Us DNA" before the show existed
Latest in Drama Shows
Pacific Rim
The 35 greatest 2010s sci-fi movies
The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2
First trailer for The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 sees Maggie fight a bear, Hershel plot revenge, and Negan give Lucille a terrifying upgrade
Hughie in The Boys season 1
Rapture's number one fan Jack Quaid is back with a perfect idea for a BioShock TV show
Adolescence
Viewers are raving about Stephen Graham's hard-hitting new Netflix crime drama with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score: "Some of the best TV I've ever seen"
Adolescence
Peaky Blinders star Stephen Graham's new Netflix one-shot crime drama is out now, and it has a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score
Nicole Kidman in The Perfect Couple
Nicole Kidman’s hit Netflix show could be returning for another season, but she won’t be coming back
Latest in News
A screenshot from MindsEye showing a character leaning out of a car, shooting another car with a gun.
GTA veteran says the games industry needs to "get smarter" about what people actually want: "There are so many games, and I think we're starting to feel the effects"
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Yasuke looking over the water to a shrine during sunset in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has an entire island stuffed with adorable kittens you need to check out, and it's based on an actual Japanese cat paradise
phase zero key art showing zombies in a hallway
Former Witcher 3 and Dying Light devs reveal their Resident Evil homage, complete with PS1-style fixed cameras
Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System was only created because WB Games wanted something to combat Batman Arkham Asylum's second-hand sales, exec says