HBO Max continues its hot streak. It is true that the platform recently canceled successful projects such as Westworld and Raised by Wolves, however, its two big bets for this season not only triumphed but did so in style. According to UPI, The Last Of Us, which premiered last Sunday, Jan. 15 on the platform, was watched by 4.7 million viewers around the world, thus achieving the network's second-best streaming performance in the last decade.
The only series that managed to beat the fiction starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, was the Game of Thrones spin-off, House of the Dragon, which during its debut, in Augustlast year, got 10 million viewers to follow it live. To find similar data, we have to go all the way back to 2010. That year, Deadline recalls, the fiction Boardwalk Empire aired its pilot on the platform and got 4.81 million viewers to tune in to the network.
The figure is double that of 'Euphoria'
As HBO Max revealed to Deadline, the figure accumulated by The Last of Us, is double that achieved by the premiere of the second season of another of its big bets, Euphoria. Having premiered in January of last year, the series starring Zendaya racked up a total of 2.4 million viewers. The fiction then went on to have an average audience of 19.5 million viewers per episode in the United States alone.
In fact, HBO said that the audience that, in the United States, watches a series or program on a Sunday night, i.e., during its premiere, represents between 20% and 40% of the average total audience that decides to watch the series on tape delay. In other words, the first episode of The Last of Us could still generate many, many more views.
HBO is confident in the success of 'The Last of Us'
However, the figures are already good enough for Casey Bloys, president and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, to consider the fiction a success, thanks, in part, to the reception it is getting from video game lovers:
We are thrilled to see fans of the series and game alike experience this iconic story in a new way, and we extend our gratitude to them for helping to make it a success. Congratulations to Craig, Neil and the brilliant cast and crew who worked tirelessly to bring this show to life. We look forward to fans around the world enjoying the rest of the season.
Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the executive producers behind The Last of Us, were also very pleased with the reception of their fiction, as they said during a press release picked up by Variety:
Our focus was simply to make the best possible adaptation of this beloved story for as big an audience as we could. We are overjoyed to see how many fans, both old and new, have welcomed ‘The Last of Us’ into their homes and their hearts.
