HBO's 'The Last of Us' has a nod to New Bedford. Here's where you can find it.

Seth Chitwood, Standard-Times
·2 min read
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NEW BEDFORD – The Whaling City has gotten a nod in another television series as a location in the new HBO hit “The Last of Us.”

Featuring a sign that reads “New Bedford Gas,” the series’ third episode follows survivalist Bill (Nick Offerman) as he breaks into the power plant to restore power to his home.

"It's kind of pretty neat to see it," said Stephen Kanuse, owner of New Bedford Gas Service Company in Fall River that services the SouthCoast.

"It's pretty cool to see the name and the logo out there, a little bit of advertising or at least gets people talking and any publicity is good publicity. It just would have been nice if they put the correct phone number out there with it."

Kanuse said he did not know anything until some shared a screenshot with him from the show.

'It'll probably be something that just comes and goes but it generated some conversation about the company which is always good," he added.

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Based on the Playstation 3 video game, the series picks up 20 years after an infectious outbreak with the main characters planning to leave the Boston Quarantine Zone to seek a safer spot.

According to the Digital Commonwealth database, New Bedford Gas and Edison Light Company operated until it was acquired by NSTAR in 2003. Earlier this month, the facility was coincidentally demolished.

HBO's "The Last of Us" features New Bedford Gas in a scene.
HBO's "The Last of Us" features New Bedford Gas in a scene.

However, in the episode, Bill lives in Lincoln, which is 72 miles north of New Bedford, so it's unlikely that facility would power his home. (The emergency phone number on the sign in the scene is also a non-working number.)

This isn’t the first time New England fans have called out the show’s geographic inaccuracy. In one scene, the characters travel to a valley which is supposedly only 10 miles west of Boston.

"Getting belligerently angry when 'The Last of Us” tries to claim that a mountainous terrain that’s clearly northwestern is “10 miles west of Boston,” tweeted Hannah Gais.

Fans also noted that characters seem to jump from one side of Boston to the other, only on foot, in mere minutes. The actual filming took place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

HBO's 'The Last of Us' thinks a mountain terrain in 10 miles west of Boston in its first episode.
HBO's 'The Last of Us' thinks a mountain terrain in 10 miles west of Boston in its first episode.

Regardless of some confusion about the Massachusetts map, the series has already been renewed for a second season at HBO.

Kanuse said although he's not a Sci-Fi/Apocalyptic fan, he started watching the show. "I'll probably end up watching the series because it was actually pretty good and it does have a nice storyline to it," he said.

"If nothing else it gained one viewer."

HBO and the series production company Naughty Dog did not immediately respond to an inquiry.

Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at schitwood@s-t.com. Follow him on twitter:@ChitwoodReports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford Gas featured in HBO's 'The Last of Us' series