Somebody go tell HBO Max and Naughty Dog that viewership is supposed to taper off over time and not increase the day after. After posting the second-best launch on HBO in over a decade, HBO's The Last of Us enjoyed an even bigger outing the next day.
Inside HBO Max confirmed that 10 million people tuned in to the premiere of HBO's The Last of Us in two days. This means that 5.3 million people either rewatched the first episode or got curious about the platform's next viral sensation, which is nearly a million viewers more than on the actual premiere date.
Released at a time of budget cuts, HBO's The Last of Us is an outlier twice fold. Keep in mind that video game adaptations with huge budgets don't usually fare well. However, not only has the live-action adaptation of Naughty Dog's award-winning franchise become a huge draw, it might have put itself in contention to win awards down the road.
It probably too early to tell but that's the vibe we're getting judging from the initial reviews of the debut season.