The Last of Us’HBO premiere was an absolute hit, so much so that the video game adaptation managed to beat one of the network’s most successful shows ever,House of the Dragon, as proven by Nielsen streaming analytics.
Suffice it to say, even early impressions forThe Last of Ushad suggested that it would surpass every other HBO series debut sinceBoardwalk Empire, except forHouse of the Dragon. As if that wasn’t enough,The Last of Ushas also been welcomed with open arms by fans of Naughty Dog’s franchise, with both Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey’s performances in this infected world being praised.
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PerNielsen’sspecific numbers,The Last of Us’first episode, with a bit of help from the second entry, amassed 837 million minutes from American audiences in the week between January 16 and 22, whereasHouse of the Dragonobtained 741 million minutes worth of viewing time. That madeThe Last of Usthe sixth most-watched series in streaming during that period, with the five that stood above it being Netflix exclusives that rely on a much larger user base and complete seasons.
It bears saying that Nielsen’s data only accounts for HBO Max streaming, not cable viewership, meaningThe Last of Us’first couple of episodes were seen by even more people, though in that larger scope the series is believed to fall slightly behindHouse of the Dragon. Overall,The Last of Uswas quite the hit, but Netflix will be happy to see thatCocomelon,Vikings: Valhalla,The Walking Dead,That ‘90s ShowandGinny & Georgiadid well, especially the latter two.
Besides the premiere, the following four episodes have also done well, particularly as they have satisfiedThe Last of Usdie-hards with easter eggsand pinpoint references to the games. On that premise alone, many people are excited for whatThe Last of Us’season 2 will belike as Neil Druckmann and fellow showrunner Craig Mazin wrap up the plot from the first game in these 9 episodes.
UnlikeHouse of the Dragon, which had the backing of a massive phenomenon inGame of Thrones,The Last of Ussuccess further proves that theso-called video game curse was dispelled a long timeago.
