The Last Of Us Episode 8 Sets New Viewership Record For The Series

HBO's The Last Of Us is picking up steam as it heads towards the season finale, with 8.1 million viewers tuning in for episode 8 on HBO Max and linear telecasts, Deadline reports. The figure is 74% higher than the series' debut episode in January, and set a new viewership record for the show.

Based off the PlayStation game of the same name, The Last Of Us has been HBO Max's top title for all eight weeks since it first premiered. With a massive premiere under its belt, becoming HBO's second largest season one premiere after House of the Dragon, the show only increased in popularity, regularly beating its own viewership numbers in the following weeks.

This is the first time HBO has updated its viewership numbers for The Last Of Us in about a month, after being interrupted by a schedule change caused by the Super Bowl. HBO's silence led some to speculate that the later episodes weren't performing as well, though Nielsen data released around the same time showed that the show had reached a new milestone of topping 1 billion hours streamed in a single week.

Episode 8 is one of the most faithful to the events of the game, following Ellie's struggle to fend for herself in harsh winter conditions, as well as a clash with other survivors who are just as much a threat to Joel and Ellie as the Infected are.

You can check out our breakdown of the most recent episode, or get ready for next Sunday's finale by checking out the episode 9 trailer. The Last Of Us season 1 finale airs next Sunday on HBO and HBO Max at 9PM EST.