The Last of Us scares up second largest HBO debut in over a decade
It's still too early to say if The Last of Us is proving predictions by becoming the next Game of Thrones, but the hotly anticipated video game adaptation is certainly clicking with audiences.
The series premiere, starring Thrones veterans Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, drew in 4.7 million viewers across linear TV and HBO Max streaming platforms on Sunday in the U.S. That's according to HBO, which reports based on Nielsen and first-party data.
This is the second largest HBO series debut in the past 12 years, trailing only House of the Dragon, which had 9.986 million viewers on premiere night. The last time an HBO show had such high numbers was Boardwalk Empire, which premiered in 2010 with 4.81 million viewers — before HBO programming was broadly available on a streaming app.
"Our focus was simply to make the best possible adaptation of this beloved story for as big an audience as we could," series creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann said in a joint statement, released Tuesday morning after the holiday weekend. "We are overjoyed to see how many fans, both old and new, have welcomed The Last of Us into their homes and their hearts."
The Last of Us, based on the high-selling video game of the same name, largely takes place 20 years after a global pandemic, stemming from an evolved cordyceps fungus, has ravaged humankind. Victims are taken over by a brain infection that transforms them into zombie-like monsters.
Joel (Pascal), a grizzled survivor, is living in a Boston quarantine zone on a mission to find his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna). He and his partner Tess (Anna Torv) get tapped by a rebel group called the Fireflies to smuggle a teen, Ellie (Ramsey), out of their militarized compound to their allies on the outside. Despite carrying the virus, the girl remains miraculously immune to it, making her humanity's best avenue yet to creating a vaccine.
Season 1 will adapt the main events of 2013's The Last of Us game. Mazin and Druckmann have said they hope to explore the events of 2020's The Last of Us Part II in future seasons. With premiere numbers like these, it's likely they'll get the opportunity.
"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 of HBO and HBO Max Content, said of the ratings. "Congratulations to Craig, Neil, and the brilliant cast and crew who worked tirelessly to bring this show to life. We look forward to fans around the world enjoying the rest of the season."
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Based on the award-winning video games, set in a world where humanity has been decimated by a fungal plague, HBO is bringing the story of survivors Joel and Ellie to life.
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