The Last of Us continues establishing firsts for HBO, with the dark drama defeating House of the Dragon’s total viewership, making it the network’s most successful current series.
According to THR, The Last of Us has attracted an average of 30.4 million cross-platform viewers to date since its Jan. 15 premiere, with more numbers from the last three episodes of Season 1 forthcoming. If the number holds, it puts the live-action adaptation of Naughty Dog’s video game series ahead of House of the Dragon’s Season 1 average of 29 million viewers. Indeed, The Last of Us’ average viewership surpassed the Game of Thrones prequel to become HBO’s most-watched original series since Game of Thrones itself, which averaged 44.5 million during its 2019 eighth and final season.
The Last Us Season 1 Finale Viewership
The Season 1 finale of The Last of Us, “Look for the Light,” was a big draw for HBO and its streaming service, HBO Max. Upon premiering on March 12, 8.2 million viewers watched the finale across both platforms on its first night. It was the highest audience number for Season 1, despite its fight for attention with the 95th Academy Awards. The viewership figure for the finale is nearly 75% higher than the number of people who watched the show’s premiere, “When You’re Lost in the Darkness,” which drew 4.7 million viewers, becoming the best-performing HBO original series opener since House of the Dragon.
The Last of Us brought Neil Druckmann’s video game title to life in live-action post-apocalyptic splendor, with the Naughty Dog co-president having created the series alongside Craig Mazin. While the duo made several key changes from the video game version, including featuring less gore and focusing increasingly on relationship-building, the show connected well with critics and viewers, with Season 1 boasting a 96% critical rating and 89% audience score. The instant success led HBO to renew the show for Season 2. Additionally, the co-creators are already mapping out Season 3 as they seek to maximize its momentum.
The Last of Us Stars Return for Season 2
Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us chronicles their respective characters Joel and Ellie as they navigate their way through an increasingly unpredictable post-apocalyptic world. Joel is a middle-aged survivor constantly tormented by past trauma who smuggles Ellie through a quarantine zone across the U.S. border, with Ellie potentially offering a solution to the Cordyceps infection due to her immunity from the parasitic fungi. Both Pascal and Ramsey are confirmed for Season 2 returns, with the former suggesting the second frame could start filming later this year.
Season 1 of The Last of Us also featured Nick Offerman (Bill), Murray Bartlett (Frank), Storm Reid (Riley, Gabriel Luna (Tommy) and David (Scott Shepherd), with appearances from Merle Dandridge (Marlene) and Troy Baker (James), both of whom are regular voice actors for the source material video games. Baker, who voiced Joel in the action-adventure games, played a conflicted cult member in the TV series. The award-winning voice actor initially didn’t want the video game to be transformed into a live-action series but was soon won over as The Last of Us project gradually developed.