NEWS

The Last of Us season finale breaks another viewership record

March 14, 2023

Another week, another record breaking episode debut for The Last of Us.

The show’s season finale, which aired on Sunday evening/Monday morning depending on which side of the pond you are, saw 8.2 million viewers tuning in for the conclusion of Joel and Ellie’s journey to find the Fireflies. This number is for viewers across “HBO Max and linear telecasts”, and based on Nielsen and first party data.

In a press release, HBO stated the series is currently averaging 30.4 million viewers across its first six episodes. Its pilot episode, meanwhile, is now approaching 40 million viewers. These figures make The Last of Us “the most-watched show in the history of HBO Max in both Europe and Latin America”.

The Last of Us stars Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie.

You can see a complete breakdown of The Last of Us’ weekly premiere viewership below:

Episode 1 – 4.7 million (15th January)
Episode 2 – 5.7 million (22nd January)
Episode 3 – 6.4 million (29th January)
Episode 4 – 7.5 million (5th February)
Episode 5 – 11.6 million (10th February – 12th February)*

*Early premiere, includes data from Friday to Sunday

Episode 6 – 7.8 million (19th February)
Episode 7 – 7.7 million (26th February)
Episode 8 – 8.1 million (5th March)
Episode 9 – 8.2 million (12th March)

As you can see, the series’ viewership almost doubled in quantity throughout its run, with the season’s finale even more impressive as it aired at the same time as the Oscars – an event HBO dubbed as “enhanced Sunday night competition”.

The Last of Us has already been renewed for a second season, with Pedro Pascal (who plays Joel in the adaptation) stating there is a chance it could begin filming as soon as this year.

Meanwhile, for those keen to see more action in the series’ future, the showrunners recently confirmed there will be “a lot more infected” in season 2. Additionally, this upcoming season will not be covering the entirety of the game’s sequel, The Last of Us Part 2.

For more on The Last of Us’ season finale, you can read my thoughts on everything that went down here (and yes, there are spoilers).