The Last of Us Season 1 episode 5 set for early release
The Last of Us episode five will be available early in the US this week in order to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Super Bowl.
Announcing the news via Twitter, HBO confirmed that the episode will be available to stream on HBO Max on Friday, February 10 at 9pm – two days before its network premiere on Sunday evening.
While the Super Bowl isn’t explicitly mentioned as a reason for the schedule change, the one-off nature of the change suggests that HBO is keen to avoid viewing competition with the sports event.
The announcement also featured a brief 30-second teaser for the episode, showing Joel and Ellie in Kansas City, dealing with Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey) who is leading an uprising in the city.
Sky has yet to confirm whether it will follow suit and make episode five available early for UK viewers.
Meanwhile, HBO and Sky have officially confirmed that the apocalypse series has been renewed for a second season, following the show’s phenomenal success.
“I’m humbled, honoured, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey,” executive producer Neil Druckmann said in an official statement.
Executive producer Craig Mazin added: “I’m so grateful to Neil Druckmann and HBO for our partnership, and I’m even more grateful to the millions of people who have joined us on this journey.
“The audience has given us the chance to continue, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in.”
The Last of Us airs on HBO in the US, and on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW in the UK.
It’s likely this decision has been made due to the episode’s HBO broadcast coinciding with the Super Bowl, meaning fans can watch the episode early rather than having to choose between the two.
In the trailer for the episode, Melanie Lynskey’s character Kathleen can be seen saying: “Things have gone great. Haven’t you heard? Kansas City is free,” while later asking: “They told me to forgive, but where is the justice in that?” as carnage ensues.
Lynskey’s Kathleen was introduced in episode 4, as the leader of a group of bandits looking for a young man named Henry.
When will The Last of Us episode 5 air in the UK?
It has now been confirmed that The Last of Us episode 5 will also stream early on Sky and NOW in the UK, to coincide with the US release.
This means episode 5 will be made available on demand from 2am on Saturday 11th February, before then airing as normal on Monday morning as well.
The show has so far proved hugely popular with both fans of the game and newcomers to the franchise alike, with a second season already having been confirmed.
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