Just two episodes in, and The Last of Us’ TV show is already coming back for more.
HBO announced the season two renewal for its live-action adaptation of Naughty Dog’s stealth zombie game. The show’s premiere on January 25 reportedly had nearly 5 million viewers, making it the network’s second biggest premiere since 2010.
Not surprising to hear, particularly since HBO has spent weeks marketing the show. And Naughty Dog’s found another way to benefit from the series’ success, as sales of The Last of Us Part I for PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation 4 remaster both received huge sales spikes after the first episode.
“I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey,” wrote Naughty Dog co-president (and series’ co-showrunner) Neil Druckmann in a press release.
“Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog and PlayStation, thank you!”
Fellow co-showrunner Craig Mazin said, “The audience has given us the chance to continue, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in.”
To further mark the occasion, HBO has made the first episode of The Last of Us free for everyone to watch.