UPDATE, Monday 1:39 p.m.
The premiere numbers for "Girls," Enlightened" and "Banshee" have been added.
Previously…
The season premieres of "Californication" "Shameless" and "House of Lies," turned out to be potent combination for Showtime on Sunday night, as all three series grabbed record ratings, the network said Monday.
Also on Sunday, the second season of HBO's "Girls" — which cleaned up at Sunday night's Golden Globe Awards — returned for a second season down slightly from its series premiere.
The third season premiere of "Shameless" at 9 p.m. took in 2 million viewers, the series' highest-rated episode to date and a 46 percent boost over the show's Season Two average. The Season Three opener was also up a considerable 26 percent from last season's kickoff.
Also read: Bradley Whitford to Guest on "Shameless"
With re-airings taken into account, the "Shameless" premiere amassed 2.6 million viewers, a 26 percent jump over its cumulative total for the Season Two premiere.
The second season of the Don Cheadle-starring "House of Lies," meanwhile, kicked off at 10 p.m. and drew in 1.19 million total viewers — a series best for the show, and up 43 percent from its Season One average. (Compared to its series premiere, "House of Lies" was up 15 percent.) Overall for the night, "House of Lies" accumulated 1.54 million total viewers, up 33 percent from its Season One average.
The most senior series of the trio, "Californication," also started its latest season on a personal best, drawing a series-high average of 1.07 million viewers with its 10:30 airing, a 48 percent surge over its Season Five average and a 41 percent boost over its previous season's premiere. With re-airings taken into account, the "Californication" premiere amassed 1.3 million total viewers, a 39 percent jump over last season's average and a 26 percent leap over its Season Five premiere.
In the meantime, HBO's "Girls" — which took home two Golden Globes on Sunday night — premiered its second season on Sunday with 866,000 total viewers with its initial 9 p.m. airing, down slightly from the 872,000 that tuned in for the series premiere last April.
Across three plays, "Girls" accumulated 1.6 million total viewers, 42 percent higher than last year's series premiere, though that episode only had two airings for its premiere night. (Maybe fans were busy watching "Girls" creator Lena Dunham collect her trophies at the Globes when the show had its first airing Sunday night?)
HBO's "Enlightened" also kicked off its second season Sunday night, enjoying a 43 percent boost over its series premiere (which aired on a Monday) last year with 300,000 viewers for its initial 9:30 p.m. airing. Over the course of three airings, the "Enlightened" premiere accumulated 609,000 total viewers.
The season premiere of "True Blood" creator Alan Ball's new drama, "Banshee," got off to a decent start Sunday on Cinemax, attracting almost 1 million viewers over three plays. The initial 10 p.m. airing drew 483,000 viewers, the network's best performance for an original series since the series premiere of "Strike Back" in August 2011.