'Tara,' 'L Word' Premieres Power Showtime Sunday

The series premiere of Showtime's The United States of Tara was one of the strongest in the network's history when it premiered Sunday.

Tara attracted 1.5 million viewers that evening, including on-demand, outpacing the series premieres of Dexter, Californication, The Tudors and Weeds.

With streamed views online from its extensive marketing campaign expected to hit around 1 million views, Tara would have been seen by over 2.5 million people.

Tara's lead-in was the final season premiere of The L Word, which had its best numbers since the series premiere in 2004. The L Word drew just over 1 million viewers P2+ for the evening, up 44% from last season's 9 p.m. premiere.

The second season premiere of Secret Diary of a Call Girl retained 63% of its Tara lead-in, and got a 7% boost over the first season finale, drawing 766K P2+.