The Season 2 premiere of HBO’s The Last of Us series outpaced Season 1’s by 10% on Sunday, according to the network.
The second season debuted this weekend, with the first episode being broadcast in the US on Sunday night. In the UK, the show was simulcast at 2 am on Monday on Sky Atlantic.
In the US, the episode reached 5.3 million “same-day cross-platform viewers”, according to HBO (via Deadline), beating the 4.7 million of Season 1’s premiere.
At the time, The Last of Us’s Season 1 premiere was HBO’s largest debut after House of the Dragon since Boardwalk Empire launched in 2010.
Season 2 consists of seven episodes, which cover some of the second game, The Last of Us Part 2. However, creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin have said that it will take “one or two more seasons” before the story of the second game is complete.
The first season of the show covered the events of the first game, but The Last of Us is a substantially shorter game than The Last of Us Part 2, meaning the latter will need more seasons to cover its plot.
The Last of Us season 2 adds Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Young Mazino as Jessie, Danny Ramirez as Manny, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Ariela Barer as Mel, and Spencer Lord as Owen. They will star alongside the returning Pedro Pascal as Joel, and Bella Ramsay as Ellie.
HBO has already announced that The Last of Us has been renewed for a third season.
It’s a busy month for The Last of Us. Last week, Naughty Dog released The Last of Us Complete, a two-game compilation for PlayStation 5, and a special limited edition DualSense controller based on The Last of Us.
