John Paino: Last News

Valerie Wu Intern Before the saga of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsay) plowing their way through a post-apocalyptic world became appointment TV, “The Last of Us” only existed in a computer-generated reality. The creators of this HBO series had a huge task before them: make the unthinkable real.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This contains spoilers from the Season 1 finale of “The Last of Us,” now streaming on HBO Max. Sunday’s season finale of “The Last of Us” tackled two of the video games most famous scenes: the giraffe moment and the final hospital shootout. Joel (Pedro Pascal) shoots his way through the Salt Lake City hospital as he upholds his commitment to saving Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and chooses her life over the future of humanity. In the final minutes of the episode, Joel decides to take Ellie away from the hospital, where her immunity to the deadly cordyceps fungus could’ve provided a cure, but in performing the operation, she would’ve died. Amid a hail of bullets from Firefly soldiers, Joel makes his choice to take Ellie back to Jackson, Wyo., and massacres nearly everyone in the hospital.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from Episode 7 of “The Last of Us,” now streaming on HBO Max. “The Last of Us” production designer John Paino’s biggest challenges is bringing the much-beloved world of the video game to life and populating the HBO show with easter eggs. This week, Paino delivers one of his most significant nods yet in a “blink-and-you-miss-it moment.” Named after the game’s downloadable expansion pack, Episode 7, titled “Left Behind,” explores Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) backstory before she meets Joel (Pedro Pascal) and reveals what happened the night she discovered she was immune to cordyceps infection. In the present, Ellie is desperately trying to save Joel’s life after he was stabbed last episode. In doing so, she remembers one of the happiest, and saddest, days of her life. The episode flashes back to when Ellie’s friend and crush Riley (Storm Reid) snuck her through an abandoned mall. Tragically, the two are attacked and bitten by clickers after a night of fun. It was that night that Ellie discovered she was immune, but Riley was sadly not as lucky.

Matt Grobar Assistant Editor, AwardslineOn The Morning Show, production designer John Paino was tasked with designing the set for a show within a show, embracing the chance to dive into a world he’d never before explored.Created by Jay Carson and Kerry Ehrin, the drama centers on a popular breakfast news program broadcast out of New York, which is rocked to its core when one of its longtime anchors is fired, due to accusations of sexual misconduct.An Emmy nominee behind such prestige series as Sharp Objects and Big Little Lies, Paino is always compelled by the notion of a new design challenge.