The Last of Us HBO

6.4 million people tuned in to watch the third episode of HBO's The Last of Us TV adaptation on Sunday night, meaning the series has pulled in more viewers than ever before for a second week in a row. The show's debut pulled in 4.7 million viewers upon its first airing, which was beaten by the second episode at 5.7 million. The latest instalment represents a 12 per cent increase in viewership over episode two and a 37 per cent jump over the premiere.

The TV series' first two episodes are now averaging at around 21.3 million viewers, which is only beaten by House of the Dragon at 29 million. Capitalising on the instant success, HBO has announced it's renewed The Last of Us for a second season, adapting at least some of PS4 game The Last of Us: Part II.

These latest stats mean HBO now have four original shows pulling in more than an average of 15 million viewers across all platforms. As well as The Last of Us and House of the Dragon, season two of Euphoria gets 19.5 million views per episode while the second stint of The White Lotus draws 15.5 million people on average.

Described as the best episode in the first season by many, it deviated from the game's narrative to tell the story of Bill and Frank. "It drew light to a different side of one of the game's most iconic characters, while fleshing out the narrative threads that were present on PlayStation, but never explored," we explained in our review. "It's perfectly paced, disastrously emotional, filled to the brim with terrific performances, and assuredly an episode of TV we aren't likely to forget for a long, long time."

[source deadline.com]