Sunday evening’s TV ratings are in, and the series finale of Breaking Bad unsurprisingly stole everyone’s thunder.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

  • The final episode of Breaking Bad scored 10.3 million viewers and a 6.7 rating in the 18-49 demo, marking series-best numbers in both categories.  Obviously quite a few people made a point of catching up in time for the finale, as those numbers shatter last Sunday’s record of 6.6 million viewers and a 4.3 rating.
  • Opposite BB, the season premiere of Showtime’s Homeland (which apparently couldn’t wait one more week) scored 1.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched season premiere of the show yet.
  • Over on ABC, Once Upon a Time’s season premiere hit a 2.6 rating in the demo and 8.45 million viewers, which is down 33% from last year’s season two premiere.
  • Fox’s season premiere of Family Guy was also down, notching a 2.6 rating and 5.25 million viewers for a drop of 21% from last year’s season opener.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Sunday, September 29th, including Masters of Sex, Bob’s Burgers, Revenge, American Dad, and more.

Showtime

  • homeland-season-3-episode-1
    The promising season three premiere of Homeland scored 1.9 million viewers, which is a record season opener for the Showtime drama series.  That said, one wonders how much better it could have done if the network had waited one more week for the premiere.  Alas, egos prevailed and Showtime went ahead and aired the opener directly opposite Breaking Bad’s series finale.  Read Allison's recap here.
  • The new drama series Masters of Sex got off to a solid start, notching 1 million total viewers.  That puts it right behind Ray Donovan’s 1.35 million viewers as one of the top series openers in Showtime history.  Read Allison's recap here.

AMC

  • The Breaking Bad series finale with out with a bang, garnering 10.3 million viewers and a 6.7 rating.  That makes “Felina” the most-watched and highest-rated episode of Breaking Bad in history.  Read Allison’s full recap here.

ABC

  • once-upon-a-time-the-heart-of-the-truest-believer
    Once Upon a Time     earned a 2.6 rating and 8.45 million viewers for its season premiere, marking a drop of 33% from last year’s season premiere 3.9 rating.  However, the episode was up 13% from last year’s finale rating.
  • The return of Revenge was also down, garnering a 2.4 rating and 8.04 million viewers against last year’s 3.2 rating for the season two opener.  Again, though, it was an improvement over the finale, rising 41% from a 1.7 rating.
  • The series premiere of Betrayal (what’s with these ABC soap titles?) notched a 1.5 rating and 5.29 million viewers, which is not exactly a strong start.

FOX

  • Over on Fox, Animation Domination kicked off with the season premiere of The Simpsons, which hit a 2.8 rating in the demo and 6.29 million viewers.  That’s down 26% from last year’s 3.8 rating for the season opener.
  • Bob’s Burgers was also down from last year’s 2.6 season premiere rating, scoring a 2.1 rating and 4.41 million viewers.  Regardless, Fox has already renewed the show for a fourth season.
  • Family Guy notched a 2.6 rating in the demo and 5.25 million viewers, dropping 21% from last year’s 3.3 rating.
  • Finally, American Dad was down 16% from last year’s 2.5 rating, garnering a 2.1 rating and 4.28 million viewers.

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