HBO’s hit series ‘The Last of Us’ made a strong return Sunday night, as its Season 2 premiere pulled in 5.3 million viewers across HBO and Max. That figure marks a 13% increase over the show's first season premiere, which debuted to 4.7 million viewers in January 2023.

Viewership numbers come from a combination of Nielsen’s data on linear TV audiences and internal streaming data provided by Warner Bros. Discovery. WBD also noted a surge in catch-up viewing ahead of the new season, with Season 1 streams increasing by 150% last week compared to the previous week.

Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, ‘The Last of Us’ was a breakout success from its very first episode, becoming HBO’s second-biggest premiere in over ten years. The show saw impressive growth early on, with Episode 2 drawing 5.7 million viewers — HBO’s biggest jump ever from a debut to a second episode. The momentum continued throughout the season, with viewership steadily climbing and peaking at 8.2 million for the finale. Over a 90-day window of delayed viewing, the series averaged an audience of 32 million.

Season 2 picks up five years after the events of Season 1, following Joel and Ellie as they face new dangers and growing tensions between each other in an even more volatile world.

The series is based on the acclaimed video game created by Neil Druckmann, who co-created the HBO adaptation with Craig Mazin. Both serve as executive producers, along with Carolyn Strauss, Jacqueline Lesko, Cecil O’Connor, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Evan Wells. Halley Gross joins as a writer and co-executive producer. The show is produced by Sony Pictures Television in association with PlayStation Productions, Word Games, Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog.

MORE NEWS