HBO’s The Last of Us is one of Max’s most streamed shows

If it wasn’t obvious already, HBO’s The Last of Us has been incredibly successful, so much so that it’s actually Max’s second most watched show.

Whether you liked the live action adaptation of The Last of Us or not, the show has obviously done incredibly well for itself. That’s obviously in part due to the fact that it had a pre-established fanbase from the games, as well as having the showrunner of the highly rated Chernobly attached, but before it was released it wasn’t clear just how well it might do. Well, according to Warner Bros Discovery’s recent financial results (thanks, VGC), it’s done very well: as it stands, it has been viewed by over 30 million users on HBO Max.

The only show that has more viewership is Game of Thrones’ final season, but as noted by VGC this is specifically the numbers for the US, Europe, and Latin America. HBO Max, or simply Max as it will soon be known, isn’t currently available in the UK, meaning the numbers are almost definitely higher than that. These numbers shouldn’t be much of a surprise though, as the show did also end up as HBO’s second biggest debut ever, only behind House of the Dragon.

Obviously all of this success means that the show would continue, with HBO renewing it for a second season just a couple of episodes in when it was airing earlier this year. There’s no concrete word on when we can expect the second season to arrive, though the show’s own Ellie, Bella Ramsey, said that it should arrive by the end of 2024, or early 2025 at the latest.

We don’t know how far in the second season might be, but it should be noted that there is currently a writer’s strike happening over in the US at the moment. Streaming has proven incredibly profitable for numerous companies, and writers aren’t seeing the benefits of that. This could impact when the second season releases, but that literally doesn’t matter because writers getting paid properly for their work is much more important.