The Last of Us arrived on HBO Max last night as one of the most anticipated TV shows of the month, if not the year. For that reason, reports of the HBO Max app crashing under the strain of huge volumes of watchers was not the best start for the show that has gained almost perfect audience and critical reviews so far.
The popularity and media coverage of the new series, which is based on the equally-popular video game of the same name, ensured that the premiere of The Last of Us was always going to be a big viewing event. While there have been no official numbers announced at the time of writing, it was widely reported across social media that users were struggling to get on the HBO Max app and others were experiencing errors once on the platform. Sites such as DownDetector also reported spikes in problems being reported at the same time as the 9 p.m. premiere episode of the Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey-led series.
While this undoubtedly caused frustration among those experiencing the issues, there is nothing to suggest that the actual launch of The Last of Us has been anything short of a huge success. Reviews have continued to praise the series’ opener as not only one of the best video game adaptations of all time, but also one of the greatest pieces of television of the last decade and beyond. With audience volumes expected to mirror the high amount of interest in the series, it is a much needed boost for HBO Max in the wake of recent cancelations and uncertainty following the WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. merger.
The Last of Us’ Success is Down to its Loyalty to The Video Game
There have been many survival horror video games that have been adapted for the big screen, but none have been as widely praised as The Last of Us. Resident Evil and Silent Hill are two previous game-to-movie adaptations that have failed to do what should have been a relatively easy transition to the big screen. Although both franchises have found some success, they have had greater failures, particularly when it comes to the many attempts at making a truly successful Resident Evil project outside the games.
The Last of Us seems to have rooted its success in the simple rule of sticking close to the source material to the point that cutscenes from the game have been translated shot for shot into the series. While the huge success of the show would usually instigate talks of an ongoing, multiple-season deal, creator Neil Druckmann has made it clear that there is no intention of dragging out the story beyond the tale it has to tell. He recently told Collider:
“Yeah, I remember, early on, I asked Craig and HBO, 'How many episodes does this season need to be?' And the answer was, 'As many as the story requires, and no more.' And likewise, that would be our approach for future seasons to say, 'Okay, this will be as many seasons as required to reach that ending, and no more.'"
The Last of Us releases new episodes weekly on HBO and HBO Max.