Albertans tuning in to the most anticipated television series of the year will get a chance to see some pint-sized locals on screen.
last of usAn HBO series that was filmed over the course of a year in Calgary and throughout Alberta, subsequent episodes of the show will feature some familiar and beloved faces.
The series is based on the critically acclaimed video game of the same name and tells the story of a smuggler named Joel, who is tasked with leading a teenage girl, Ellie, out of an oppressive quarantine zone and into a post-apocalyptic America.
In the story, the country was ravaged by a fungus epidemic two decades earlier that turned most of the people into zombie mutants and turned the human survivors hostile and cannibalistic.
However, Ellie is believed to be immune to the disease and thus, may be the key to mankind’s survival.
Airdrie’s twins Mila and Luca Riccipopo are now eight months old but will make their big screen debut as three-week-old babies.
Eight-month-old Airdrie twins Mila and Luca Ricciopo with mom Lindsay Ricciopo.
lindsey ricciopo
Newborn twins were needed for parts in the show, and their mother, Lindsay Riquipopo, happened to be in the right place at the right time to help meet the needs of the series.
Lindsay met a talent agent by chance while getting her hair done at a local salon. She said the timing was perfect and the babies were inserted right after birth.
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“They made really prosthetic dolls that really looked like babies. They were so lifelike,” Riccipopo said.
“When they brought them in I had to do a double take. I was like, ‘Are you holding my daughter, or am I?’ It was really weird.
The twins even got their own trailer on set.
Trailer for Luca and Mila Riccipopo.
lindsey ricciopo
The children are shown for one second in the trailer, but their episodes do not air until the end of the series.
Ricciopo said, “Everybody’s going to end up, we’re going to see them here on the big screen.”
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The premiere episode aired last Sunday night on HBO and online on Crave, which hosts HBO content in Canada.
The show appears to be a popular one. It has a 98 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 96 percent approval rating among audiences.
It was the largest production in Alberta’s history, and more than 900 IATSE 212 crew members worked on the massive production over 17 months – this did not include crews of Teamsters, the Directors Guild of Canada, or artists.
The first season has nine episodes and is expected to cover the entirety of the first video game’s story.
The Last of Us Part II Video Game, but at the time of publication, a second season has not been announced by HBO.
– Karen Bartko, with files from Global News
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