"The Last of Us" on HBO Max depicts a zombie apocalypse caused by a fungus pandemic.
Here's the science fact and fiction behind the show, and the possibility of a fungal pandemic.
The new scenario, first realized in the video game that the show is based on, is making viewers wonder whether a fungus pandemic can happen in real life.
"A fungal pandemic is definitely possible," Norman Van Rhijn, a mycologist researching fungal infections at the University of Manchester, told Insider in an email.
Still, fungal infections are on the rise worldwide, and researchers are concerned that more and more people are at risk.