Dollhouse

The second season debut of AMC’s "Breaking Bad" showed major growth compared to last year.

Sunday night’s "Bad" (1.7 million viewers, 929,000 adults 18-49 viewers) was up 21% in total viewers from its first season premiere and 18% in the adult demo. AMC points out that compared to the first season’s average, both measurements are up even further — 40% in viewers and 36% in the demo.

Considering the debut season of "Bad" was cut short by the writers strike, and how other serialized dramas in the same boat fared when they returned, any improvement at all would have been considered an accomplishment. Gushing reviews for the new episodes couldn’t have hurt, either (THR: "It’s difficult to fathom a more dangerous and enthralling piece of television ... this is television as God intended.").

Also, for those wondering: Week two of DVR data showed both "Dollhouse" and "Terminator" improved 29% from their original airings. For "Dollhouse," that roughly matches the premiere episode’s DVR gain while for "Terminator," its slipping a bit compared to the show’s midseason debut. In either case those are some strong numbers.