A&E's LONGMIRE Debut is Network's No. 1 Original Series Premiere of All Time

A&E's new scripted drama series "Longmire" set ratings records for the network with the series premiere last night, June 3 at 10:00PM ET/PT, becoming the network's most watched original series launch of all time with 4.1 million total viewers.

"Longmire" launched as cable's top new scripted drama of 2012 among total viewers and adults 25-54 with 1.4 million in the demo tuning in.Also on Sunday night, the season three premiere of the hit original scripted drama "The Glades" attractEd Strong numbers as well with its return at 9:00PM ET/PT. The series posted double-digit gains in all key demos compared to its season two averages, garnering 3.1 million total viewers (up 19%), 1.4 million adults 25-54 (up 27%) and 1.1 million adults 18-49 (up 17%).

New episodes of "The Glades" and "Longmire" air every Sunday on A&E at 9:00PM ET/PT and 10:00PM ET/PT respectively.

Based on the Walt Longmire Mystery novels by best-selling author Craig Johnson, "Longmire" stars Australian actor Robert Taylor (The Matrix) as Walt Longmire, the charismatic, dedicated and unflappable sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. "Longmire" also stars Katee Sackhoff ("Battlestar Gallactica"), Lou Diamond Phillips ("Numb3rs"), Bailey Chase ("Damages"), Cassidy Freeman ("Smallville") and newcomer Adam Bartley.

In Season three of "The Glades," Callie (Kiele Sanchez) decides to stay in Palm Glade to make it work with Jim (Matt Passmore). However, when she finds jobs in the area to be scarce, their relationship is put to the test. Meanwhile, the station gets shaken up when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) sends Jennifer Starke (Taylor Cole), the beautiful, dynamic FDLE bureau chief, to evaluate the station's track record as well as Detective Longworth's unorthodox style.

"Longmire" is produced by Warner Horizon Television. Hunt Baldwin ("The Closer," "Trust Me") and John Coveny ("The Closer," "Trust Me") wrote the project and serve as executive producers along with Greer Shephard ("The Closer," "Nip/Tuck") and Michael M. Robin ("The Closer," "Nip/Tuck"). Christopher Chulack ("Southland," "ER") served as director and executive producer of the pilot.

"The Glades" is produced by Fox Television Studios for A&E Network. The series executive producers are Clifton Campbell ("White Collar," "Profiler," "21 Jump Street") for Innuendo Productions, Inc. and Gary Randall ("Saving Grace") for Grand Productions, Inc. The series is created by Clifton Campbell.

A&E is "Real Life. Drama." Now reaching more than 99 million homes, A&E is television that you can't turn away from; where unscripted shows are dramatic and scripted dramas are authentic. A&E offers a diverse mix of high quality entertainment ranging from the network's original scripted series, including "The Glades" and "Longmire," to signature non-fiction franchises, including the Emmy-winning "Intervention," "Duck Dynasty," "Hoarders," "Beyond Scared Straight" and "Storage Wars," and the most successful justice shows on cable, including "The First 48." The A&E website is located at www.aetv.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.