Great news for TLOU fans!
Episode five of “The Last of Us,” staring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as main characters Joel and Ellie, will be available to stream early on HBO Max this Friday, Feb. 10 at 9 p.m. EST – two days before the series’ regularly scheduled Sunday night time slot, to avoid competing with 2023 Superbowl.
Most of HBO’s viewership comes from their main steaming service, HBO Max. By allowing viewers access to “The Last of Us” Episode 5 before Superbowl Sunday, HBO avoids losing its weekly premier audience like it would if they attempted to compete with the Superbowl – which reigns supreme as one of the most watched television events of the year.
“The Last of Us” has had massive cross-franchise success between the original video game and the new show adaptation. It comes in second for viewership only to “House of the Dragon”, the long-awaited prequel series of sorts to Game of Thrones, which ended in 2019. With 4.7 million viewers, “The Last of Us” pilot episode was HBO’s second-most watched series premiere in a decade. Viewership has only grown from there, with episode two wrangling over 5 million viewers and episode three’s 6 and a half million viewers. All in all, the show is so far a major accomplishment for the network giant, and its popularity only seems to be growing.
HBO seems to be on a roll. Between the terrifying and tender “The Last of Us,” the incredibly popular “Euphoria,” the massive fantasy success “House of the Dragon,” and the hilariously off-putting “The White Lotus,” they have four currently airing series that bring in well over 15 million viewers per episode.