"The Last of Us" is a complete success for the US broadcaster HBO, the in-house streaming service HBO Max and the parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. According to a press release, the ninth episode, the just-released finale of the first series starring Pedro Pascal (47) and Bella Ramsey (19) in the lead roles of Joel and Ellie, achieved a new audience record.

In the USA, 8.2 million people tuned in to linear television or via stream in just one day - even though the Oscars were being broadcast on another channel at the same time. For comparison: In January, "The Last of Us" had the second best start of an HBO production after "House of the Dragon" with 4.7 million viewers.

Since then, the numbers have increased almost consistently. Despite the Grammys being broadcast at the same time, the fourth episode had already attracted around 7.5 million people to the screens. Episode five had even reached 11.6 million viewers, but because of the Super Bowl the episode was published earlier and there is only information here for the entire weekend from February 10th to 12th.

The first episode alone is said to have seen almost 40 million series fans in the United States. In Europe and Latin America, "The Last of Us" is also the most-watched series ever via HBO Max.

Warner Bros. Discovery had already confirmed at the end of January that there will be a second season. The makers Craig Mazin (51) and Neil Druckmann (44) are planning at least two more seasons, as they explained in a new interview. Mazin is best known for the acclaimed HBO miniseries Chernobyl, and Druckmann was the mastermind behind the two The Last of Us video games that inspired the series.

When asked if season two will cover the entire story of the second video game, co-creator Mazin told GQ magazine: "No, absolutely not." His colleague Druckmann added: "It's more than one season." However, they do not want to reveal exactly how many seasons are planned. In Germany, "The Last of Us" can be seen, among other things, via the Wow streaming service.