The series premiere of HBO’s The Last of Us was a major success on Sunday night, reaching 4.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen and first-party data. The series debut, an adaptation of the video game of the same name, was HBO’s second largest behind Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon.
The hype around the show has extended far beyond the streaming platform itself. The series was trending at No. 1 in the US and worldwide on Twitter Sunday night, the trailer and teaser gained over 100 million views globally, and the first episode of the series companion podcast grabbed the top spot on Apple’s TV and Film chart within 24 hours in the US, according to an HBO release.
“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,” Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO for HBO and HBO Max content, said in the release.
The Last of Us episodes roll out Sundays at 9 p.m. ET with the series finale premiering on March 12. The series chronicles a post-apocalyptic world in which cannibals run amok after a fungal brain infection wipes out a majority of the human population. Noting astounding performances from lead actors Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, CNET’s Sean Keane called HBO’s The Last of Us a “stunning triumph of a video game adaptation.”
