The 65th annual Grammy Awards proved no match for Joel and Ellie's brush against bandits in The Last of Us Episode 4. In what's become a given since the series' record-setting premiere, The Last of Us' viewership has continued to climb after its fourth episode.
After the highly divisive Episode 3 posted huge numbers, Episode 4 saw a 17% jump from 6.4 million to 7.5 million across both HBO and HBO Max.
The Last of Us has made a point of beating the odds and bucking trends. The survival horror drama fought off a second big event in a row after tussling with the AFC Championship two weekends ago.
Of course, HBO knows that one of its most expensive shows can't compete with America's most beloved holiday. With this year's Super Bowl happening on Sunday, HBO is steering clear of the prestigious event by making The Last of Us Episode 5 premiere earlier for everyone to watch.
This just goes to show that no matter how big you are, there's always going to be someone bigger.
It will be interesting to see if HBO's The Last of Us can continue posting larger numbers despite the timeslot change later this week.
Speaking of competition, The Last of Us' season finale will air on the same day as the 95th Academy Awards on March 12. Also, Naughty Dog confirmed that The Last of Us Part 1 for the PC has been delayed by a couple of weeks. Finally, The Last of Us has become so big that Activision Blizzard is using it to justify the Microsoft buyout.
