HBO’s “The Last of Us” not only scored some of the best reviews of an HBO series in years, it has also pulled in some of the best ratings numbers the premium cabler has seen in a long time too.
TV Line reports that the series, based on the acclaimed video game franchise and co-created by “Chernobyl” helmer Craig Mazin and game director Neil Druckmann, pulled in 4.7 million cross-platform viewers on Sunday night in Live+Same Day numbers.
That number is according to Nielsen and first-party data from HBO. Except for the nearly 10 million who tuned into the launch of “Game of Thrones” spin-off “House of the Dragon,” that’s the biggest new series premiere on HBO in over a decade. The last one to reach that high was “Boardwalk Empire” with 4.81 million in 2010.
The 4.7 million viewers encompass the on-air premiere on HBO, replays later in the night and streaming on HBO Max. These days the Sunday night viewership for an HBO series represents just 20-40% of the total gross audience per episode. Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, says in a statement:
“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. 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.”
The Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey-led series sits at a stunning 99% with critics (with over 100 reviews counted) and 96% with audiences (with over 3000 counted) on Rotten Tomatoes.
To put that in perspective with other recent HBO high-profile series, it’s above “I May Destroy You” (98%/74%), “Watchmen” (96%/56%), “Chernobyl” (95%/97%), “House of the Dragon” (93%/82%), and “The White Lotus” (89%/73%).
“The Last of Us” will continue airing its nine-episode run weekly until early-mid March.
