“Homeland” kicked off its third season with its best-ever premiere numbers — but fell short of equaling viewership for last season’s finale.
Sunday night’s Season 3 premiere — airing opposite the “Breaking Bad” steamroller at 9 p.m.— averaged 1.9 million viewers, up from 1.7 million viewers who watched the Season 2 premiere. It was the highest-rated premiere episode in the show’s three-season history.
That was down, however, from the 2.3 million who watched “Homeland’s” second-season finale, which aired last December on Showtime.
That season ended with a huge explosion at CIA headquarters — and with Nicholas Brody (Damien Lewis) on the run, aided by CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), who snared her second Emmy for the role Sept. 22. Lewis — who won in 2012 — lost to Jeff Daniels (“The Newsroom”).
“Homeland” added another 700,000 viewers with a repeat Sunday night.