It’s already been a couple of months since The Last of Us made its HBO series debut, but in a short two months, the series has become one of the most highly acclaimed shows in the network’s history. It has continued to break barriers and records every week, and in its penultimate episode, the show refused to slow down in its quest for greatness.
The Last of Us hit a whopping 8.1 million viewers on Sunday night, making it the most viewed episode of the series so far, according to Variety. This is also a massive 74 percent viewership increase when compared to its series premiere, which had only brought in around 4.7 million people.
That debut was, however, a record-breaker for HBO as well, since it quickly became the second-most watched HBO debut in over a decade, sitting behind the Game of Thrones‘ prequel series, House of the Dragon. Ultimately, The Last of Us is poised to continue pushing upward into the stratosphere as one of the most popular shows of the year.
Related: The Last of Us HBO show is breaking its own records with each episode
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey have also garnered worldwide praise for their depictions of Joel and Ellie, who have become beloved characters in the general pop culture world after the rise of both the show and the video game over the past year. Supporters are also convinced that Ramsey could be considered for multiple acting awards, due to her heart-wrenching performance throughout the latest episode.
With eight episodes down, many people expect the show to hit even greater viewership numbers with its season finale. Those numbers could be slightly affected by the 95th Academy Awards, which will be airing at the same time as the show this coming weekend. Not many people are worried, however, especially after episode four racked up 7.4 million viewers at the same time as the 2023 Grammy Awards.
The final episode of The Last of Us is scheduled to drop on Sunday, March 12 at 8pm CT.
Published: Mar 7, 2023 01:42 pm