'Downton Abbey' Premiere Hooks 10.2 Million, Shattering Record

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By Andrea Romano2014-01-09 22:38:45 UTC

Times my be bleak for the Crawley family, but they're certainly not for Julian Fellowes, the show's creator. According to the New York Times, Sunday's season 4 premiere on PBS returned to record-breaking ratings for the series with 10.2 million viewers.

The premiere attracted about the same audience size as the series finale of Breaking Bad (10.3 million). Both numbers count just those watching as the shows aired. The Downton Abbey premiere audience also closely matched that of the Scandal premiere (10.5 million), the Times reported. Ratings from season 3 of the show held steady between about 7 and 8 million viewers.

The upcoming season will prove to bring even more changes for the characters and viewers alike. With the sudden death of Matthew Crawley and the introduction of several new personalities on the horizon, it seems that viewers are anxious to find out what's next for the ostentatious abbey and its inhabitants.

There is one thing for certain, though: No end is in sight for the juicy drama. With incredible ratings and season 5 in the works, it seems nothing can stop this well-loved show.

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Image: Facebook, Downton Abbey