The HBO drama is a big hit, as the first episode has now surpassed 22 million viewers domestically, up nearly five times that of its premiere episode. As previously reported, the second episode added 1 million viewers to the series, a 22% jump that marks the largest week two audience growth for any HBO original drama series. “I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey," said the show’s executive producer and co-president of Naughty Dog, Neil Druckmann. “The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast and crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations. Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two. On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog and PlayStation, thank you.” “I’m so grateful to Neil Druckmann and HBO for our partnership, and I’m even more grateful to the millions of people who have joined us on this journey,” said executive producer Craig Mazin. “The audience has given us the chance to continue, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in.” Based on the critically acclaimed video game, The Last of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. In it, a hardened survivor named Joel is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal journey as both must traverse the US and depend on each other for survival. Season one stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, and Elaine Miles as Florence. Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker also star. New episodes of the series debut Sundays at 9pm ET/PT on HBO and are available to stream on HBO Max, leading up to the finale on March 12. Starting today, the first episode of The Last of Us will be made available for free on HBOMax.com.
