- March 31, 2023

"The Last of Us" Clicks With Digital Audiences

HBO’s latest hit, the video game adaptation The Last of Us, has been making waves even beyond the streaming universe.

With the show’s release in January 2023, HBO’s website saw the highest levels of visitation since January 2022, when they launched a new season of the hugely popular show Euphoria and the Harry Potter reunion.

The Last of Us

Comscore MMX, HBO, Jan 2022 – Feb 2023, U.S.

The Last of Us has made quite a splash on social as well. When we look at weekly rankings for streaming shows’ social engagement, The Last of Us is one of only two shows to be in the top 5 for eight weeks since its release. It is second only to Netflix’s Outer Banks and first among premiering shows for total weeks in the top 3 and average weekly actions.

Top Streaming Shows by Weekly Social Media Engagement, 2023

Show

Platform

# of seasons

Weeks in top 5

Weeks in top 3

Average actions per week (Jan 9 – Mar 26)

Outer Banks

Netflix

3

8

8

6.9m

The Last of Us

HBO Max

1

8

6

1.8m

You

Netflix

4

6

3

995k

The Mandalorian

Disney+

3

6

3

952k

Ginny & Georgia

Netflix

2

4

3

949k

Wednesday

Netflix

1

4

3

840k

Bridgerton

Netflix

2

3

1

594k

Shadow and Bone

Netflix

2

3

3

540k

The Chosen

Prime Video

2

2

1

361k

And Just Like That

HBO Max

1

2

0

338k

Comscore Social PowerRankings, US Streaming & Premium Cable shows, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Jan 9 – Mar 26, 2023; weeks are defined as Monday – Sunday.


The show’s owned profiles on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have racked up 20.4 million actions year to date. Posts mentioning The Last of Us generated 42.5 million actions and over 100 million video views across Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

Top posts about the series range from fans celebrating the cast to recreating characters with makeup to behind-the-scenes details. Several of the top posts are simply stats about the success of the show itself. The Last of Us fandom doesn't just care about the content; they are also invested in the show's success and popularity among viewers

Top Instagram Posts

Top TikToks

@latenightseth last of us is so saaaaaad omg #pedropascal #sethmeyers #lnsm #funny #lastofus #thelastofus #lol #snl #omg ♬ original sound - Late Night with Seth Meyers
@madeyewlooklex Possibly my most detailed SFX makeup yet. I've been wanting to make a Clicker from The Last of Us for forever! Man, I love being scary. | Audio IB: @hollymurraymakeup #makeup #sfx #bodypaint #lastofus #fyp #foryoupage ♬ possibly in michigan - shaywee

Top Tweets

Streaming studios are leaning into creating gaming adaptations: Bioshock, Assassin’s Creed, Tomb Raider, and more adaptations have been announced for release in the coming months. If The Last of Us is any indication of just how successful they can be for the gaming audience and beyond, this is a great genre for them to back.

That said, now is a great time to brush up on the gaming industry. Find out more about gamers and their behavior in our latest State of Gaming report.