The Season 3 finale of "Downton Abbey" on PBS drew a jaw-dropping 8.2 million viewers on Sunday night, beating out the season premiere of the drama in January, and easily besting the Season 2 finale, PBS and WGBH said Tuesday.

January's season premiere of the series drew 7.9 million total viewers, then a record for the series. The Season 2 finale last year  drew 5.4 million total viewers.

In household ratings, the "Downton Abbey" finale posted a 5.2, compared to the 3.5 that the Season 2 finale drew. The season premiere in January had a 5.1 household rating.

The  third season of "Downton Abbey" consistently drew an audience more than quadruple that of PBS's primetime average.