The Last of Us sets new HBO two-week audience growth record

Following HBO’s announcement last week that The Last of Us was its second-highest-rated series premiere in more than a decade, the network has now announced that the second episode saw the largest audience growth in HBO’s original series history.

Variety reports that a combination of official numbers and Nielsen data shows that The Last of Us Part II drew 5.7 million viewers on HBO and HBO Max, a 22% increase from the premiere’s 4.7 million viewers. The data only considers viewers in the continental United States.

HBO has previously said that Sunday night viewership for the platform's other shows typically accounts for 20-40% of an episode's total audience, meaning its latest numbers for Episode 2 could be a big jump. Episode 1, for example, now has nearly quadrupled its audience, garnering more than 18 million views in a week.