FX drama “Sons of Anarchy” revved up in the ratings Tuesday night, kicking off its sixth season with record highs.
According to Nielsen, the Kurt Sutter-created drama about an outlaw motorcycle club averaged 5.87 million viewers for its premiere, up from 5.37 million for its year-ago premiere and 4.93 for its fourth-season bow in 2011. It was cable’s most-watched program of the night.
FX says that last night’s debut episode of the penultimate season of “Sons” will likely become the #1-rated single telecast in FX history when Live+7 data becomes available in approximately three weeks.
Of course, the show is a demo darling, with more than two-thirds of its audience comprised of adults 18-49. It earned a 3.1 rating (about 3.94 million viewers in the age group, a network series record for Live+Same Day) — up from a 2.8 a year ago and 2.5 two years ago.
“Sons” was the No. 1 program on television for the night in 18-49, with its 3.1 well ahead of runner-up “America’s Got Talent” on NBC (2.3). It also was on top in adults 18-34, adults 25-54, men 18-49, men 18-34, men 25-54, women 18-49 and women 18-34.
Always a big draw with men, “Sons” on Tuesday saw impressive increases of 43% in women 18-34 (to 973,000) and 35% in women 18-49 (to 1.83 million) vs. last year’s premiere.
