‘Lopez Tonight’ Starts Strong for TBS

The new late-night series draws more young viewers than David Letterman in its debut.

Oye como wow: George Lopez’s new TBS talk show got off to a solid start Monday in the ratings.

"Lopez Tonight" averaged 1.7 million viewers, just over 1 million of whom were adults 18-49. In the key demo, "Lopez" outperformed the season-to-date averages for veteran late-night staples such as "The Daily Show" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," according to Nielsen data.

"Lopez" also did particularly well with adults 18-34, attracting 608,000 viewers in that deno. That’s more than CBS’s "Late Show with David Letterman" is averaging among the under-35 crowed.

As part of a marketing strategy to increase sampling, "Lopez Tonight" was also simulcast on TNT and Tru TV. That added another 1.5 million viewers to the show’s overall ratings, for a total of 3.2 million viewers (and 1.8 million adults 18-49).

Eva Longoria-Parker, Kobe Bryant and Carlos Santana were among the guests for Monday’s first episode. Ellen DeGeneres also made an unannounced walk-on.

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