What is The Last of Us's IQ Score?

The Last of Us has an IQ Score of 164/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient framework, placing it in the Masterclass tier. The score breaks down to 47/50 Cognitive Stimulation, 33/50 Educational Value, and 43/50 Craft & Quality.

Is The Last of Us educational?

The Last of Us is moderate on educational value, 33/50 on TVI's rubric. Some learning happens, but it isn't the show's primary work.

How does TV Intelligentsia calculate IQ Score?

TV Intelligentsia's IQ Score is calculated as round((Cognitive Stimulation × 0.4 + Educational Value × 0.35 + Craft & Quality × 0.25) × 4), scoring titles from 0 to 200 across five tiers: Masterclass (≥160), Stimulating (≥130), Competent (≥100), Passive (≥70), and Numbing (<70). The framework is published at tvintelligentsia.com/methodology/.

The Last of Us , IQ Score 164/200

The Last of Us has an IQ Score of 164/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Masterclass tier.

By Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH·Updated 2026-06-19·Methodology

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164/ 200

Masterclass

Measurably increases domain knowledge or cognitive capacity

Score Breakdown

Cognitive Stimulation/50

Educational Value/50

Craft & Quality/50

Cinematic Score/50

IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4) · How we score →

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Why you should trust this score

Scored under Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH

Physician and founding editor. Maintains the adult catalog against the published rubric and reviews the rubric application.

Methodology

Published rubric, v1.2

Formula

round(C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4

Database scale

2,338 titles, version-controlled

How we stay independent. We accept no studio money. We pay for our own streaming subscriptions. Our reviewers see no sponsor data, no affiliate revenue, and no screener access in exchange for coverage. More about how we work →

The TVI Take

Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann adapt the 2013 Naughty Dog game with HBO production values and the willingness to use the season's third episode for a 75-minute love story (Bill and Frank, 'Long Long Time') that has no functional plot purpose and is one of the most-cited single episodes of streaming-era TV. The infected-cordyceps premise is grounded in actual mycology, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis exists, just not in humans, and the show uses the post-collapse landscape for sustained ethical questions about surrogate parenthood and the cost of love.

Characters Scored Here

People search for these characters by name. TVI doesn't invent fictional-character IQ numbers, but The Last of Us's score is the honest answer to how seriously the work treats each mind.

Joel MillerIQ →

Where to Watch

We don't have live streaming data for this title yet. Find where to watch on JustWatch →

Streaming availability data via JustWatch + TMDB.

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