'The Last of Us' Ratings Continue to Climb for Latest Episode

6.4 million people watched the third episode of the video game adaptation on its premiere night.

According to Variety, love for HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us is becoming contagious after the series saw a 12% rise in viewership when its third episode aired this weekend. On Sunday night, 6.4 million people tuned in to the show's latest chapter, titled "Once Upon a Time." This episode deviates slightly from the journeys of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsay), introducing two new characters, Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Butter), who are embroiled in the Cordyceps disaster. Little). The two meet when Frank breaks into Bill's place while searching for shelter, prompting a romantic bond between the two.

"The Last of Us" has built a strong audience for itself since its premiere earlier this month, already generating significant engagement online. 4.7 million people tuned in to the series premiere, eager to learn more about Pascal's newest role as a reluctant father who must protect an important, abandoned cub. Viewership soars to 5.7 million a week later when Joel, Ellie and Tess (Anna Torv) are trapped in a desolate museum battling the infected. These metrics are obtained by combining data from Nielsen For cable broadcasts and Warner Bros. Report streaming via HBO Max.

These figures refer only to the night each episode aired and do not include the number of people who watched the series during the rest of the week. The growing demand for The Last of Us, which has already been renewed for a second season, is impressive compared to similar HBO hits released last year. House of the Dragon, the critically acclaimed Game of Thrones spinoff starring Emma Darcy and Matt Smith, has already seen a slight dip in ratings as its third episode aired.

While the Targaryen-themed series still draws millions of viewers each episode, it remains to be seen if The Last of Us can surpass those numbers given the growing audience. Based on the PlayStation-exclusive video game released in 2013, The Last of Us follows Joel and Ellie as they try to survive a zombie apocalypse that begins after the cordyceps fungus mutates and infects most of the world's population.

New TV adaptation to air HBO and HBO Max every Sunday night until March 12. Check out the trailer for Episode 4 below: