Episode 2 of THE LAST OF US tallied 5.7 million viewers throughout HBO Max and linear telecasts within the U.S. Sunday night time, based mostly on Nielsen and first get together information, including greater than 1 million new viewers vs. the collection premiere. This 22% soar marks the most important week two viewers development for any HBO Original Drama Series within the historical past of the community.
THE LAST OF US was additionally successful on social media, with the collection trending #1 each within the U.S. and worldwide on Twitter throughout its collection debut. To date, season one teasers and trailers have amassed greater than 100 million views globally. Additionally, the primary episode of the collection’ companion podcast hit #1 on the Apple Podcast US charts throughout all genres inside 48 hours of its launch.
“Craig and Neil, alongside EP Carolyn Strauss, and the rest of our phenomenal cast and crew, have defined a genre with their masterful debut season of ‘The Last of Us,’” mentioned Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films. “After pulling off this unforgettable first season, I can’t wait to watch this team outshine themselves again with season two.”
“I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey. The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast & crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations,” mentioned government producer Neil Druckmann. “Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog & PlayStation, thank you!”
“I’m so grateful to Neil Druckmann and HBO for our partnership, and I’m even more grateful to the millions of people who have joined us on this journey,” mentioned government producer Craig Mazin. “The viewers has given us the possibility to proceed, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be extra able to dive again in.”
THE LAST OF US takes place 20 years after fashionable civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is employed to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old lady, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What begins as a small job quickly turns into a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they each should traverse the U.S. and rely on one another for survival.
Season one stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, and Elaine Miles as Florence. Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker additionally star.
With a 97% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, THE LAST OF US has been declared “HBO’s next big hit” by Rolling Stone, with Variety noting, “one sees the near future in which the show winds up among television’s best.” IndieWire declared the brand new collection “better than every video game adaptation that comes to mind,” with IGN hailing it as “a brilliant retelling of one of video games’ most beloved stories” and including that it “delivers an enriching show for fans of the PlayStation hit, while also managing to stay welcomingly thrilling to newcomers.” CNN referred to as the storytelling “absolutely fearless and unflinching, creating horrifying scenarios and moments that can be alternately touching and utterly tragic.”
New episodes of the collection debut Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and can be found to stream on HBO Max, main as much as the finale on March 12. Starting at present, the primary episode of The Last of Us might be made obtainable totally free on HBOMax.com. Fans can even tune in to The Last of Us Podcast, the collection’ official companion podcast the place host Troy Baker, who performs Joel within the online game, sits down with collection creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for a scene-by-scene deep dive of every episode.