The Last of Us, with its highly acclaimed third episode, grew audience for a second straight week since its premiere. The video game adaptation also has marked yet another milestone for HBO.
Episode 3 of The Last of Us, “guest”-starring Parks and Recreation‘s Nick Offerman and The White Lotus‘ Murray Bartlett, drew 6.4 million viewers this Sunday night, up 12 percent from Episode 2 (which delivered a record-setting jump in viewership), and up 37 percent from premiere night.
In addition, Season 1 of the dystopian, video game-based drama is averaging 21.3 million viewers (across its first two episodes), meaning that four current HBO Original series now have cross-platform audiences exceeding 15 million viewers per episode:
House of the Dragon Season 1: 29 million weekly viewers
The Last of Us Season 1: 21.3 million viewers
Euphoria Season 2: 19.5 million viewers
The White Lotus Season 2: 15.5 million viewers
This thus marks the first time that HBO has had multiple current series averaging more than 15 million viewers, across all genres. (For example, in 2002, The Sopranos Season 4 averaged 18.2 million viewers, while Sex and the City Season 5 averaged 13.8 million and Six Feet Under Season 2 averaged 12.1 million.)
Want scoop on The Last of Us, or for any other show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.
