Frank and Bill’s romance on The Last of Us gave us both a love story and an episode of television that will outlast any Clicker. Now it has also given Nick Offerman an Emmy. He took home a statue at this year’s Creative Arts Emmys. His win for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series is a fitting end to a truly memorable installment of TV. But is it actually the end? Maybe not. Offerman said there have been The Last of Us spinoff pitches on how to bring Frank and Bill back that go beyond just a flashback.
At a short press conference following his Emmy win, Offerman answered questions from Deadline‘s Rosy Cordero. She asked Offerman if him and Murray Bartlett could return to The Last of Us via a flashback. (Bartlett played Frank, the love of Bill’s life. He also earned a nomination in the same category.) Offerman said the possibility of appearing in a flashback was a great question, but he would “have to ask somebody with a higher pay grade than myself.”
What he said next confirmed how serious he is about potentially reprising the role. Offerman said, “It certainly has been pitched. I think we pitched 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.”
While the musical part sounds like a joke, the mini-series doesn’t. That’s likely a long shot, but it does portend well for those who hope to see more of Frank and Bill onscreen. Not that it will be up to Offerman and Bartlett to bring these ideas to life. The new Emmy-winner added they will have to see what showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann come up with, but he’s for “sure” on board for whatever they might come up with.
Because Nick Offerman is the best, he also offered insight into why he got the role in the first place. “I was lucky this time they needed a guy who could use a shovel. There are only three of us in Hollywood: Harrison Ford passed and Jane Lynch was not available.”
Maybe HBO can get Ford and Lynch to appear in a Frank and Bill prequel mini-series. Anyone know if Harrison can sing?
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.