HBO’s The Last of Us continues to be a huge success for the pay cable network, with the penultimate episode of Season 1 on Sunday night setting a new same-day viewership record.
The hit series garnered 8.1 million viewers for the new Sunday night episode titled When We Are In Need, according to the hollywood reporter.
The 8.1 million same-day viewers mark a whopping 74% increase over the series premiere that aired on January 15, which was watched by 4.7 million viewers.
The premiere was the second most-watched premiere in more than a decade, behind Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon (5.7 million viewers).
HBO also revealed that the first five episodes of the series, based on the 2013 video game of the same name, are approaching an average of 30 million viewers per episode on HBO Max and other on-demand viewing options.
Series High: HBO’s The Last of Us continues to be a huge success for the pay cable network, with the penultimate episode of Season 1 on Sunday night setting a new series record for same-day viewership.
Viewers: The hit series garnered 8.1 million viewers for the new Sunday night episode titled When We Are In Need, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
If those numbers hold up for the rest of the season, it would surpass the average of 29 million viewers per episode for HBO’s House of the Dragon.
Viewership for the first four episodes of The Last of Us continued to rise, with 5.7 million viewers for the second episode, the largest increase between a premiere and a second episode in HBO history, leading to a renewal of season 2.
The third episode drew 6.4 million viewers with 7.5 million viewers for the fourth episode, reaching a series record despite airing in conjunction with the Grammy Awards.
The show had its first ratings break, in a way, in the fifth episode, which debuted two days earlier on HBO Max to avoid colliding with the Super Bowl that night.
While the ratings dipped in the fifth episode, they continued to pick up in the sixth and seventh episodes, with the seventh episode surpassing 1 million viewers for HBO’s linear broadcast alone for the first time.
Next week’s season 1 finale may suffer from a ratings loss as it will take on the Oscars on ABC, even though it didn’t take a hit from the Grammys last month.
The Last of Us is based on the video game of the same name created by Neil Druckmann that debuted on PlayStation 3 in 2013.
The series is set in an America that has been ravaged by a mutated cordyceps fungus that turns humans into terrifying creatures and has wiped out most of humanity.
Numbers: If those numbers hold up for the rest of the season, it would surpass the average of 29 million viewers per episode for HBO’s House of the Dragon.
Viewership: Viewership for the first four episodes of The Last of Us continued to rise, with 5.7 million viewers for the second episode, the largest increase between a premiere and a second episode in HBO history, leading to the season 2 renewal.
The show centers on Joel (Pedro Pascal), who has been tasked with taking a young woman named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to the West, hoping that her immunity to the fungus could help create a cure.
The series also stars Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry , Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon and Elaine Miles as Florence.
Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, who played Ellie and Joel in the hit video game and its sequel, also guest-star on the series.
The show is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, with each of the creators also directing an episode.
The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and is executive produced by Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan and Rose Lam.
While the show is clearly a huge hit, it made headlines last month for something of a blunder in the sixth episode.
The episode featured Joel and Ellie walking across a snow-covered bridge, and during one of the wider shots, some eagle-eyed fans noticed that some of the crew could see themselves in the shot… if they got too close.
The error reminded many fans of the Starbucks cup that was clearly seen in a shot in the final season of Game of Thrones in 2019.
Ellie and Joel: The show centers on Joel (Pedro Pascal), who has been tasked with taking a young woman named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to the West, in the hope that her immunity to the fungus may help create a cure.
Troy: Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker (above), who played Ellie and Joel in the hit video game and its sequel, are also guest stars on the series.