The Last of Us Premiere Has the Second Highest Debut in a Decade Beating Game of Thrones, Euphoria, Chernobyl and More

Following weeks of waiting, HBO finally debuted the premiere episode of the long-awaited The Last of Us TV series.

The live-action adaptation of the hit PlayStation title from Naughty Dog features Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as the protagonists, Joel and Ellie, respectively. The premiere features the heartbreaking story of the characters and their lives inside a Cordyceps-infected world.

Ever since the series was announced to be in the makings, fans have hyped it up, due to the somber story of the game it’s based on. And the premiere ratings definitely show that, as The Last of Us HBO series gets off to a flier.

According to Variety, the premiere garnered 4.7 million U.S. viewers from both HBO and its popular streaming service, HBO Max. The viewership numbers have been garnered from Nielsen Ratings and Warner Bros. Discovery’s own first party data.

The 4.7 million U.S. viewers makes it the second biggest premiere debut for an HBO series in over a decade. While Game of Thrones spinoff show, House of the Dragon ranks at the top with around 10 million U.S. viewers, The Last of Us has had the biggest opening for a show since the debut of Boardwalk Empire in 2010.

Following the release of its premiere, fans can now be hooked on to HBO or any other streaming service, which showcases the series for the next eight weeks leading up to the big finale in March, and we for one can’t wait to take this journey with both Ellie and Joel.