'The Last of Us' Season 1: Another Massive Success for HBO

The first season of HBO's “The Last of Us” has officially come to a close with its ninth and final episode premiering this past Sunday night. With an audience of 8.2 million, the series broke its own viewership record despite the finale being released during ABC’s telecast of the Oscars.

“The Last of Us” takes place amidst an alternate post-apocalyptic America in the year 2023, 20 years after a parasitic fungus called Cordyceps has turned most of the population into zombie-like monsters referred to as “the infected.” The story follows a hardened middle-aged man named Joel (Pedro Pascal), who has been tasked with escorting across the country Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a teenage girl with an immunity to the infection.

For a “zombie show,” there weren’t many of the infected creatures in the later half of the series. After the feature-length premiere, hours of the remaining eight episodes go by without a single monster appearance. “The Last of Us,” as the title implies, chooses to focus more on survivors than monsters. Instead of highlighting the infected as the show’s defining feature, the central idea is what humans will do with their free will. Ultimately, this isn’t a story about humans versus zombies. It’s a story about humans versus humans.

When “The Last of Us” was released back in January, it was an instant success, becoming the second-most watched HBO premiere in over a decade with 4.7 million viewers. The series then built to 5.7 million viewers for Episode 2, HBO’s largest ever increase between a launch and a second episode. Following this episode’s release, the show was quickly renewed at the end of January for a second season.

The show’s immediate popularity is unsurprising as the series is an adaptation of the hit video game of the same name that has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Before the series even premiered, glimpses of the series’ success could be seen when the show’s teasers and trailers amassed more than 100 million views globally.

Alongside reaching another then-series high of 6.4 million viewers, Episode 3 received major acclaim for the guest performances of Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett, jumpstarting conversations about awards potential for the actors and the show as a whole.

The show has been praised for its emotional performances, faithful adaptation of the game's story, and high production value. While video game adaptations to film and TV have a mixed track record, “The Last of Us” has been praised by some as the best video game adaptation ever made. Although the HBO series is full of moments from the games, some nearly shot-for-shot, it’s not arbitrarily pledged to replicating the game’s contents.

That being said, viewers don't need to have played the games to appreciate it. While the show honors the source material, there are some diversions and additions to better aid the transition of mediums. The series strikes a balance between action, drama, and emotional depth for fans of the game and newbies alike by bolstering the beats of the existing story without alienating the show for non-gamers.

In a recent interview with GQ, creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann stated their intentions to stretch the storylines of the second “The Last of Us” video game into multiple seasons. After being asked if the next season would span the entire course of the second game, Masin answered “No. No way,” with Druckmann confirming “It’s more than one season.”

While it’s unclear how many more seasons of “The Last of Us” will be made, given the massive success of the first season paired with an early renewal for a second season, there’s a good chance the series will settle for three seasons total.

Warner Bros. Discovery shared that the first six episodes of the series are now averaging 30.4 million viewers, including ongoing viewership past initial airings, with Episode 1 alone approaching 40 million total viewers in the weeks since it debuted.

In addition to the show’s success, its companion podcast reached the top spot on Apple’s TV & Film chart in the U.S. within 24 hours of the release of Episode 1. The podcast is hosted by Troy Baker, who plays “The Last of Us” character Joel Miller in the games.

Currently, the series boasts a 9.0 rating on IMDB, a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and an average audience score of 89%.