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Today's News: Our Take - Ratings: Downton Abbey Premiere Draws Nearly 8 Million Viewers

TV Guide

Third time's really a charm!

The Season 3 premiere of Downton Abbey, which aired Sunday night in the United States, drew 7.9 million viewers, up a whopping 96 percent over its Season 2 premiere. The two-hour episode quadrupled PBS' average prime-time numbers.

Those figures spurred the Golden Globe-nominated series to a second-place finish Sunday night overall, beating all the major networks with the exception of CBS, which aired The Good Wife and The Mentalist in the same time slot, from 9 to 11 p.m.

Returning shows: Where we left off 

The third season of Downton Abbey, for which Shirley MacLaine joined the cast, has already concluded in Britain.

Were you one of the nearly 8 million people who tuned in for the premiere?

View original Ratings: Downton Abbey Premiere Draws Nearly 8 Million Viewers at TVGuide.com

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