HBO scores with Sex, Six

Sex and the City outscored even last year's performance with the first episode of the new season and black comedy Six Feet Under had a strong debut.

Sunday night's two-episode debut for the HBO series' fourth season at 9 p.m. (ET) averaged a 13.3 Nielsen household rating or an 18% share in homes that get the pay network. That's a 47% jump over last year's season debut, which generated a 9 rating with one episode. HBO's new darkly comic series Six Feet Under, held on to most of that audience, averaging an 11.2 at 10 p.m. ET. However, neither show beat even a routine episode of The Sopranos, which scored as high as a 20 rating this past season.
- John Higgins