The season premiere of Showtime's "Ray Donovan" hit a record for series premieres on the cable network on Sunday, while the premiere of the eighth and final season of "Dexter" was the highest-rated premiere in the series' history.
The premiere of "Ray Donovan" drew 1.35 million total viewers with its initial 10 p.m. airing, a best-to-date number for series premieres on the network, which bested the 2011 premiere of "Homeland" by 25 percent. With an encore airing factored in, the "Ray Donovan" premiere accumulated 2.22 million total viewers for the night. The series stars Liev Schreiber as Hollywood "fixer" Ray Donovan.
Also read: 'Ray Donovan' Review: A Fixer Who Needs Fixing
The Season 8 premiere of "Dexter" continued its trend of reaching new highs with its series premieres on Sunday night, drawing 2.5 million total viewers with its 9 p.m. airing. That's up slightly from the 2.4 million that the serial-killer drama pulled for its Season 7 premiere. Over the night, the "Dexter" premiere amassed 3.2 million total viewers, a small boost over the 3.04 million that last season's premiere accumulated.