The Last of Us has HBO’s biggest premiere in years (behind House of the Dragon)

According to Variety, the TV adaptation of the PlayStation game The Last of Us premiered to a whopping 4.7 million viewers on HBO this past Sunday. The hour-and-20-minute premiere netted HBO its second largest opening for any show since 2010, only behind the premiere of Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, which was watched by almost 10 million viewers last year.

“We are thrilled to see fans of the series and game alike experience this iconic story in a new way, and we extend our gratitude to them for helping to make it a success,” said executive Casey Bloys. “Congratulations to [showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann] and the brilliant cast and crew who worked tirelessly to bring this show to life. We look forward to fans around the world enjoying the rest of the season.”

Neil Druckmann is excited for fans to watch the rest of The Last of Us season 1

The Last of Us will air eight more episodes over the course of its first season, with new ones dropping Sundays at 9:00 p.m. EST. The show mainly focuses on the characters Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), who must make their way across a post-apocalyptic United States filled with zombies and desperate people who can be even more dangerous.

The unlikely duo set out on their trek toward the end of episode 1, when we find out that Ellie is somehow immune to the fungus that has turned so much of the world’s population into monsters.

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