HBO Max
The Last of Us is HBO’s second biggest premiere of the decade, which one is the first?
The network has shared viewer numbers and ratings for The Last of Us’ first episode, and they’re only below one other series the company has ever released.
HBO has shared data about the audience for the pilot episode of The Last of Us, which can already be crowned as the first big hit of the television season. On its release day, the series had approximately 4.7 million viewers, making it the second biggest release for the network since 2010. This decade there’s only been one show that managed to gather more people around the small screen, and as you can imagine, it’s House of the Dragon.
While critics state that The Last of Us is superior to House of the Dragon, what’s true is that the Game of Thrones spin-off is leading when numbers are compared. Its first episode managed to reach 9.986 million viewers when it was released this past August 21, 2022. But to find another HBO series that goes above Joel and Ellie’s adventure you’d have to go back all the way back to Boardwalk Empire (2010), which garnered only a thousand more, 4.81 millions.
“Our focus was simply to make the best possible adaptation of this beloved story for as big an audience as we could,” said Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the series’ showrunners, in a joint statement. “We are overjoyed to see how many fans, both old and new, have welcomed The Last of Us into their homes and their hearts.”
Casey Bloys, HBO and HBO Max Content Chairman, said the following: “We are thrilled to see fans of the series and game alike experience this iconic story in a new way, and we extend our gratitude to them for helping to make it a success.” Bloys had already mentioned before that he believed The Last of Us would be even more successful and popular than Succession, White Lotus or Barry, three of the most lauded original creations of the network of this past decade. Of course, the numbers have spoken. Now we’ll have to wait and see during awards season.
Will viewers stay hooked? There’s still 8 more episodes to go to test the waters. Don’t forget you can check each episode’s release date right here, as well as find out how long each of them will be.
