Fear not, uninfected, you only have to avoid clickers for a few more days before the next episode of “The Last of Us” hits the streaming airwaves. HBO announced that it will premiere Episode 5 of the breakout series two days early on both HBO Max and HBO on demand, so the episode will drop on Friday, Feb. 10 at 9 p.m. ET. The catch? This early episode is available only on HBO Max and HBO On Demand, while its linear premiere will happen as scheduled this Sunday, Feb. 12 at 9 p.m. ET.
Feb. 12 also happens to be the night of Super Bowl LVII which will air on FOX, so it stands to reason that Warner Bros. Discovery would want to bump up the release of its four-quadrant hit show to avoid competing with the biggest viewing event in the country.
In addition to avoiding the NFL's biggest night, HBO can use the occasion to help get its latest ratings juggernaut in front of even more eyeballs; HBO would not be the first network to find creative ways to entice viewership by adjusting how and when their most popular shows are released.
In December, Paramount+ made the premiere of its newest Taylor Sheridan hit “1923” available for free on YouTube. Late last year, Disney aired the first two episodes of its “Star Wars” series, “Andor” on a variety of platforms, including Hulu and Freeform. Even HBO Max made the first episode of “The Last of Us” available to stream on the service for free.
Expanding the release of hit shows to get audiences excited is certainly not a new tactic, but by releasing this episode two days early, WBD is showing it won’t let anything — including the Super Bowl — slow down the show’s momentum. Unlike most cable channels, HBO does not have to worry about timeslots and initial ratings, because it does not have advertising. Similarly, on HBO Max, while there is an ad-supported tier, when people watch a show doesn’t matter, as long as they watch it. So, getting a little extra press by moving the episode directly in the middle of the nine-episode season while also giving people a chance to watch without the complications of the Super Bowl is a win-win.
Regardless of the motivation behind “The Last of Us” Episode 5’s early release, fans of the show will no doubt be pleased to hear the news. The show has become an almost immediate fan favorite after it attracted 4.7 million viewers to its debut on HBO Max and the HBO linear channel on Jan. 15. This made it the second-largest cross-platform debut of an HBO series, second only to “House of the Dragon.”
“The Last of Us” is set 20 years after modern society has been destroyed, and centers around Joel (played by Pedro Pascal), a survivor in the post-apocalyptic world, who is hired to smuggle a young girl, Ellie (Bella Ramsey), out of an oppressive quarantine zone. HBO has already picked up the show for a second season, as it continues to provide the channel with record-setting numbers.
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