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The season 1 finale of The Last of Us achieved an incredible feat despite being released on the Oscars 2023 night. Titled Look for the Light, the episode was watched by a whopping 8.2 million viewers across all HBO platforms, including linear HBO (channel) and the streamer HBO Max, as per Variety.
Interestingly, the numbers (combined data from Nielsen and Warner Bros. Discovery) are higher than what the show’s penultimate episode brought in. Episode 8 titled When We Are in Need garnered 8.1 million views, which was the highest for the post-apocalyptic drama until the finale aired.
The show, created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, has been a fan favorite since its launch on January 15, 2023. The premiere episode saw 4.7 million viewers tune in, which was reportedly the network’s highest since 2010, according to Nielsen and HBO.
In March, HBO stated that The Last of Us averaged about 30.4 million views across its first six episodes. The zombie-themed series has surpassed fellow HBO show, House of the Dragon.
The Last of Us has maintained solid ratings throughout its run
Adapted from a Naughty Dog-developed video game of the same name, published in 2013, the TV series followed a weekly release pattern for all its nine episodes, except episode 5, which was preponed to avoid a clash with the Super Bowl.
But the 4th episode, which competed against the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, remained on schedule, just like the finale.
On Sunday, March 12, 2023, the 95th Academy Awards (Oscars 2023) hit ABC at 8 pm EST. The season 1 finale, lasting 46 minutes, commenced at 9 pm. Considering the timing of the broadcasts, the finale viewership numbers are indeed remarkable. So, even when faced with stiff competition, The Last of Us raked in good numbers.
Not only that, but it is also doing better than HBO's golden show, House of the Dragon.
The first episode of The Last of Us, alone, is inching close to the 40 million viewer mark. But House of the Dragon averaged 29 million viewers (cross-platform) over its entire run from August 21, 2022, to October 23, 2022.
As far as the final episodes are concerned, the Game of Thrones prequel surely defeated the zombie drama since it was watched by 9.3 million as compared to the latter's 8.2 million.
Will Bella Ramsey's Ellie be back in season 2?
To recall, The Last of Us starred Bella Ramsey as Ellie and her Game of Thrones co-star Pedro Pascal as Joel. In January, the hit show was renewed for season 2, and recently, creators Mazin and Druckmann confirmed that Ramsey will be back as Ellie despite part two seeing a five-year leap.
The Last of Us is now streaming on HBO Max.
