HBO's The Last of Us has continued its streak of an ever-growing audience every week, as its 4th episode now boasts the show's highest viewership numbers. Considering the exciting talk surrounding the series consistently since its premiere, this proves that this video game adaptation not only knows how to draw in audiences, it knows how to keep them.
As an adaptation of one of Naughty Dog's most beloved games, The Last of Us was always bound to garner some attention. It's not often that a video game gets satisfactory treatment by a movie or TV adaptation, at least in the eyes of the fans. So when HBO's take on this modern interactive classic proved to be something truly special, it went beyond bringing in the hesitant gamers. It quickly began to draw crowds of viewers who'd never even heard of The Last of Us games.
According to Warner Media, this post-apocalyptic cross-country story boasted an incredible 7.5 million viewers checking out The Last of Us episode 4 on Sunday. That's a 17% increase from the previous week and a whopping 60% above the already massively successful series premiere. Any show can market well enough to bring in a huge crowd at the start, but it takes something special to keep them coming back with more and more friends each week. HBO viewers are seemingly keen on having their hearts ripped out in the best way every week.
This episode, titled "Please Hold My Hand," saw the introduction of Melanie Lynskey as a new character separate from The Last of Us video game. It's a substantial deviation from the source material, yet the audience still showed up in droves. This is likely partly thanks to the tragically beautiful story of Bill and Frank in episode 3 (helped along by the incredible performances by Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett, respectively). But it may still indicate that audiences are ok with some changes. The viewership numbers for The Last of Us episode 5 could confirm or deny that trend.
The Last of Us sees the always enjoyable Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller, a family man who lost everything right at the beginning of a deadly global pandemic. 20 years later, after surviving for so long against the mindless and deadly "infected" with no end in sight, he's tasked with escorting a young girl named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the country with the hope that her apparent immunity to the plague could finally be the catalyst for a cure. Their journey takes them across treacherous terrain and introduces them to many interesting characters, which many will argue serves as the main draw of the series.
Many have compared Joel and Ellie to Mando and Grogu from The Mandalorian, another of Pascal's popular roles. Aside from sharing an actor, it's not difficult to see why both series are such hits. They know how to play to their audiences. However, the thing about The Last of Us is that it has cultivated its own audience separate from the game's fans. That's certainly an accomplishment worth acknowledging. Here's hoping it can keep that train rolling.
The Last of Us episode 5 will release early on HBO Max starting Friday, February 10th, 2023.
Source: Warner Media
