Cinemax Makes Ratings 'Strike' With Original Series Debut

Cinemax's first original series, Strike Back, jumped out to a strong start in its Aug. 12 debut.

The series, which stars Sullivan Stapleton as a former U.S. Special Forces operative who teams with an elite British military unit led by Philip Winchester to try to thwart an international terrorist group, drew 1.1 million viewers over three plays this past Friday, according to network officials.

The 10 p.m. premiere broadcast drew 567,000 viewers, triple the time period's year-to-date average and marking the best performance in the time slot since an airing of the movie Titanic more than six years ago, said the network.

An additional 286,000 and 248,000 viewers watched the 11:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. plays, respectively, according to network officials.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.