The Last of Us: How to Watch the First Episode for Free

The first episode of The Last of Us is now available for everyone to watch, regardless of if you have HBO or any of the other services the show is premiering on. The Last of Us is not only the most well-received video game adaptation to date, partially because it's excessively faithful to the source material. It has shattered all kinds of viewership records for HBO, which is a high bar given the immense popularity of Game of Thrones and other shows on the network. It was so successful, in fact, that ahead of the premiere of the third episode, HBO gave the greenlight for a second season of The Last of Us which is expected to adapt the highly controversial second game. We have no idea when the second season will release, but it seems HBO is eager to get things moving.

With that said, HBO is also ramping up its marketing efforts for The Last of Us by making the first episode available for free online. If you don't have an HBO Max subscription, you can click here or head to the HBO Max website and scroll to the very bottom of the page and click on the "free episodes" tab. The first episode of The Last of Us, which is nearly an hour and a half long, will then be available to watch at your leisure. If you're outside of the US, particularly in the UK or in a region where Sky TV is offered, you should be able to watch the first episode on Sky TV's YouTube. 

It's a pretty great marketing tactic because not only does it give people free content, but most people will probably want to find out what happens in the next episode and be encouraged to sign up for the service. As of right now, there's no way to purchase episodes al a carte, but it wouldn't be surprising if HBO releases them for sale after the first season ends in March.

The Last of Us airs every Sunday at 9PM ET. Are you going to check out the free episode? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.