Putting the final bite on its sophomore season, HBO's vampire series True Blood averaged 5.1 million viewers for the premiere of its season-concluder Sunday night.
Although the Sept. 13 episode didn't measure up to the 5.3 million who watched the Aug. 23 installment, the season finale improved 109% over its rookie-season predecessor, which drew 2.5 million watchers.
Factoring in encores, DVR viewing and HBO On Demand showings, True Blood averaged 12 million viewers per episode, making the Anna Pacquin-starrer HBO's second-ranked series behind The Sopranos.
For its part, gigolo series Hung's first season finale averaged 2.9 million watchers on Sept. 13. With a gross audience of 9 million viewers, Hung ranks as HBO's most-watched freshman show ever, according to network officials.
Entourage, HBO's other Sunday night original comedy, pulled in 2.6 million viewers on Sept. 13. The Hollywood buddy
series has cumed about 8.4 million watchers per episode in concert with the aforementioned platforms.
HBO plans to return the trio next summer.
