It has been announced that episode five of The Last of Us – titled “Endure and Survive” – will be available to watch two days early this week.
Sharing the news on social media, both broadcaster HBO and creator/co-producer Neil Druckmann confirmed that episode five will be debuting on Friday, February 10.
The change in date is due to Super Bowl LVII, which is taking place on Sunday, February 12. The episode will still air at the usual 9 pm EST slot on lineal television but those who wish to watch both the big game and the new episode will be able to do so as it will be available on both HBO on Demand and HBO Max.
The announcement had initially been met with some concern from international audiences over whether the change would also apply to them. Those watching in the UK and Ireland, at least, have an answer to this question as Sky confirmed that episode five will be available on Sky and NOW TV at the equivalent time of 2am on Saturday, February 11.
Both broadcasters have confirmed that the lineal broadcast times will remain the same and that this change only applies to this week’s episode. All following episodes, including the season one finale, will remain on the regular release schedule.
The post-apocalyptic series, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey and based on the 2013 video game of the same name, has been a smash hit for HBO since it premiered in January. The first episode gave HBO Max their second-biggest audience ever, with only House of the Dragon drawing a bigger audience. A second season has already been confirmed by HBO.
The Last of Us is currently airing on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK and Ireland and on HBO and HBO Max in the United States.
Words by Megan Roxburgh
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