‘The Last of Us’ gets HBO approval for season 2 after record 22 million views

The Last of Us will be returning for second season on HBO, reports confirmed on Friday.

The video game adapted series’ renewal has been announced after only two episodes aired and scored the second-largest premiere after House of the Dragon on the streaming platform.

The Last of Us – based on the legendary PlayStation video game series from developer Naughty Dog. The renewal announcement comes after show achieved a record-breaking debut on the streaming channel with 22 million viewers in January, becoming HBO's most-watched series debut in over a decade.

It has been reported that over 5.7 million people streamed the service for episode 2 last Sunday. The third episode airs on HBO and HBO Max this Sunday.

"The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast and crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations," Neil Druckmann, the show's writer, executive producer and original game developer, said in a statement.

"Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season 2! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog and PlayStation, thank you!" read the statement – obtained via The Hollywood Reporter.

The Last of Us – created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann – stars Pedro Pascal, Joel Miller, Bella Ramsey, Ellie Williams and Gabriel Luna in pivotal roles.