Ratings: ‘Steel Magnolias’ Draws 6.5M

Lifetime's third largest audience ever stops to smell the "Steel Magnolias"

An impressive 6.5 million people stopped to smell the "Steel Magnolias" Sunday, giving Lifetime its third-most watched original telecast ever.

The film scored Lifetime's best audience since "Life is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story" in 2006 and was the top cable movie among total viewers since 2007. 

Also read: Judge Allows 'Steel Magnolias' to Air

Among women 25-54, "Steel Magnolias" was Lifetime’s most-watched movie in network history with 2.5 million viewers, a cable best since at least 2004, according to Nielsen Research.

The new version of the movie and play, produced by Sony Pictures Television, was executive produced by Queen Latifah and stars Latifah, Phylicia Rashad, Adepero Oduye, Condola Rashad, Jill Scott and Alfre Woodard.

The Sony Pictures Television-produced film averaged 3.2 million adults 25-54, Lifetime’s best delivery in the demo for a movie since the 1995 premiere of "Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story." 

On Saturday, the premiere of the Lifetime original "Abducted: The Carlina White Story" also generated strong viewership, earning 4.1 million total viewers.

“We couldn’t be happier with the great response "Steel Magnolias" and "Abducted: The Carlina White Story" received from viewers this weekend,” said Rob Sharenow, Lifetime's executive vice president of programming.

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