It has been revealed that The Last of Us season two finale aired to a massively reduced audience compared to the end of the first season, which first streamed in 2023. It was confirmed that a drop of 55% was recorded in viewership for episode seven of the second season, representing a gap of more than 4.5 million viewers.
It has been suggested that the holiday weekend could have contributed to the lower viewership and that numbers might pick up as the week goes on, but it could also be that the second season just didn’t hit well with viewers.
Two Years to Wait
The Last of Us season two is over, and we now need to wait around two years for the next season to arrive. Based on the precedent set by the first two seasons, I estimate it’ll drop in 2027, and it’s almost inevitably going to reveal Abby’s story in Seattle and beyond.
A report published by The Wrap revealed that the season finale suffered a monumental viewership hit, losing 4.5 million viewers compared to the first season’s finale. This 55% drop came just weeks after the show was review-bombed based on some more sensitive events that unravelled in the episode titled ‘Day One’.
The sentiments of the wider viewing community were split down the middle as season two played out. Many had issues with Bella Ramsey’s ongoing portrayal of Ellie Williams, the relationship between Ellie and Dina, the casting choice of Abby in Kaitlyn Dever, and of course, the demise of Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal).
Others were perfectly pleased with the authentic representation of the show and the additions to the story content that helped to flesh out what we were given in 2020 with the launch of The Last of Us Part II.
Did you watch the season two finale of The Last of Us? Let me know what you thought on the Insider Gaming forum.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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