HBO has knocked it out of the park with the latest game to live-action adaptation, the runaway train that is The Last of Us. The series has been breaking records since it premiered, and has just added a new one to the list.
The show has now passed the one billion minutes viewed in a single week since the release of its fifth episode. It was watched roughly 1.2 billion minutes this week per the latest Nielsen figures. These numbers only account for minutes watched via streaming on HBO Max, and do not include figures for HBO’s linear channel.
The Last of Us became the second-biggest debut for HBO within the last decade, managing to outstrip HBO’s other mega-hit House of the Dragon when it comes to streaming figures. Of course, HBO has already renewed the series for a second season with shooting set to start soon.
The reason for such popularity likely comes down to the fact that the game was already immensely well-known and had a dedicated fanbase that was ready to cross the bridge to see it get adapted for television, as well as HBO’s reputation for top-tier episodic content.
Along with these pre-existing fans, there were also many who wanted to tune in thanks to the star power behind the characters of Joel and Ellie, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. Both actors have appeared in hit series in the past (and ongoing), with the former serving as the lead in one of the most well-received Star Wars projects ever in The Mandalorian, while the latter first appeared in Game of Thrones at the tender age of 11 (which Pascal was also involved for a short time as well).
With seven episodes having passed already, there’s only two more to go before the first season comes to a close. The season’s penultimate episode will air on March 5.
Published: Mar 3, 2023 01:38 am