The Last of Us TV series viewership increases for third straight week, and the wait for the next episode is shorter than usual

The HBO adaptation of The Last of Us continues to get more and more popular with each passing week.

Viewership for the TV version of the 2013 classic PlayStation 3 game has grown for the third week in a row, according to a report by Variety. The fourth episode of the first season, “Please Hold to my Hand,” received 7.5 million viewers.

Last night’s episode marked the third week in a row that the show had increased in viewership. This week’s episode saw a 17 percent increase in viewers from the 6.4 million that tuned in to the previous week’s entry, the critically acclaimed “Long, Long Time.”

Variety says that The Last of Us is on a better pace than HBO’s other most recent hit show, House of the Dragon, which saw its cable viewership drop “significantly by its third episode before steadying out for the rest of its run.”

The fifth episode of the first season has been pushed up to this Friday night in an effort to avoid a clash with the NFL’s Super Bowl, which kicks off at about 5:30pm CT on Sunday night. This will give viewers extra time to view the newest episode before the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off.

The Last of Us has already been renewed for a second season, which will likely adapt the events of the video game sequel, The Last of Us Part II.