For those who are abreast with all things television, it is no surprise that HBO’s The Last of Us is one of the most beloved shows at the moment. And just like the contagious Cordyceps fungus that has ravaged the continental U.S. and the rest of the world on-screen, the love for the series continues to grow rapidly. According to Variety, viewership for the show’s latest episode comes in at 7.5 million viewers. This is a 17% increase on the 6.4 million viewers who watched the previous episode live. The episode titled, "Please Hold My Hand" refocuses on Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), who in their bid to get to Wyoming are trapped in a “liberated” Kansas City.
This recent feat pulled off by the series is impressive to note given that the episode aired on the same night as the telecast of the 65th Grammys. The Grammys in itself pulled viewership numbers of 12.4 million which helps to highlight just how much of an appeal the show currently has on audiences. This happens to be the second episode in a row wherein The Last of Us has had competition to stave off as it did last week with the AFC Championship on the East Coast.
Over its four episodes so far, the series has grown its viewership on a week-by-week basis, constantly outpacing the numbers from each past week. When compared to its premiere on January 15, this episode’s viewership was up 60%. This run being put together by The Last of Us is impressive, especially when compared to another HBO heavy hitter, House of the Dragon. Highly anticipated and telling the tale of the Targaryen dynasty of Westeros like never before, the series which stars Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke was already seeing a slight decline in viewership by its third episode. Episode 5 of The Last of Us is, however, set to air on February 10 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on HBO Max, a full two days before it airs on the network. This change was made given that the Super Bowl will be front and center come Sunday night. So fans of the show don’t have long to wait before a return to Ellie and Joel.
What Is The Last of Us About?
Based on the 2013 critically acclaimed PlayStation game of the same name, The Last of Us is set 20 years after much of the world has been devasted by a mutated fungus that has turned much of the human race into zombies. The series is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann.
The next episode of The Last of Us airs on Friday at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. Watch the trailer below: