The Last of Us returned to HBO on Sunday night with a promising performance for the Season 2 premiere.
The episode managed 5.3M same-day U.S. cross-platform viewers, which outpaces the Season 1 premiere by about 10%, HBO says.
When it debuted, the premiere episode brought in a same-day audience of 4.7M, which at the time was the largest debut after House of the Dragon since Boardwalk Empire launched in 2010.
For context, the Season 1 premiere eventually went on to amass nearly 32M viewers, which is the largest audience for an HBO and Max debut season ever.
It seems as though audiences were catching up on Season 1 last week, as viewership for the season surged 150% over the week prior.
Based on Naughty Dog’s award-winning video game, The Last of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
Season 2 picks up five years after the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.
In addition to Pascal and Ramsey, returning cast includes Gabriel Luna and Rutina Wesley. Joining Season 2 are Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, Spencer Lord, Danny Ramirez and Jeffrey Wright. Catherine O’Hara also guest stars.
The Last of Us is written and executive produced by Mazin and Druckmann. The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and is also executive produced by Carolyn Strauss, Jacqueline Lesko, Cecil O’Connor, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan and Evan Wells; with writer/co-executive producer Halley Gross. PlayStation Productions, Word Games, Mighty Mint and Naughty Dog produce.
