The Last of Us overtakes House of the Dragon viewing figures with finale
The video game adaptation has broken new records for HBO over the last few months.
HBO's The Last of Us has broken records for the broadcaster after raking in 30.4 million viewers for its first six episodes – overtaking House of the Dragon's figures from last year.
The video game adaptation, which stars Pedro Pascal as a smuggler escorting a teenager (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic America, brought its first season to a close on Sunday night (12th March), bringing in the show's biggest audience so far with an average of 8.2m viewers across all HBO platforms.
While the final figures for The Last of Us's last three episodes are still being finalised, the dystopian drama's 30.4m cumulative figure makes it the biggest HBO show since the last season of Game of Thrones aired in 2019 with 44m.
In comparison, Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon brought in 29m in its first season across HBO's platforms when it aired from August until October in 2022.
The Last of Us may have only just wrapped up its first season, however it will be back for a second outing and possibly a third, with executive producer Craig Mazin saying that the Last of Us Part II video game will need "more than one season" on screen.
"More than one is factually correct," he told GQ UK, while fellow executive producer Neil Druckmann added: "Some of the stuff I'm most excited for [in Part 2] are... seeing the story come to life again in this other version. And I think it's exciting because it leans into those feelings you had from the game, really heavily, in a new way."
Read more:
- The Last of Us season 2 "will be different" as star teases what's to come
- The Last of Us episode 9 features key cameo you might have missed
Meanwhile, Mazin told ComicBook.com that season 2 will "be different" from the video games – sometimes "radically" so.
Ashley Johnson, who plays Ellie in the original games and guest-starred as the character's mother Anna in Sunday's finale, recently revealed that she was "devastated" by the episode, adding that it's "harder to sort of take in the decision that Joel makes".
The Last of Us is exclusively available on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV.
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