‘The Last of Us’ Finale Reaches 3.7 Million Viewers, Down 30% From Premiere, Though Season 2 Is Averaging Above Season 1

“The Last of Us” Season 2 came to a close Sunday night, pulling in 3.7 million viewers across all platforms.

That marks a 30% drop from the Season 2 premiere, which reached 5.3 million viewers back in April. However, Season 2 is overall outperforming Season 1, tallying roughly 37 million viewers per episode. These figures are drawn from a combination of Nielsen’s data of linear viewers who watch “The Last of Us” on HBO, plus Warner Bros. Discovery’s own numbers regarding streams on HBO Max.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey lead the cast of “The Last of Us,” which was an instant hit upon its release back in January of 2023. The show had the second-most watched HBO premiere in a decade, and then followed it up with the largest-ever increase between a series’ first and second episode, with a jump of 5.7 million viewers. A series high of 8.2 million viewers came with the Season 1 closer. After 90 days of its release, “The Last of Us” Season 1 finale amassed 32 million viewers.

The logline for “The Last of Us” Season 2 reads, “Five years after the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.”

The show was created and written by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the latter of whom created the highly influential video game upon which the show is based. They both executive produce alongside Carolyn Strauss, Jacqueline Lesko, Cecil O’Connor, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan and Evan Wells. Halley Gross serves as writer and co-executive producer. Sony Pictures Television produces with PlayStation Productions, Word Games, Mighty Mint and Naughty Dog.