*Fox’s new drama series “K-Ville” debuted to big numbers on Monday, drawing 9 million viewers to win the night’s coveted 18-49 demographic, according to early Nielsen data.
The series, starring Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser as police detectives in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, also outperformed last year's debut of "Vanished" in the same time slot by 5% in total viewers and 13% among adults 18-49.
The show’s 9 p.m., Monday competition included repeats on ABC and CBS and an original "The Singing Bee" on NBC, which drew 7.8 million viewers.
“Prison Break,” which began its third season at 8 p.m. Monday with Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) in a Panamanian jail, averaged an estimated 7.4 million viewers. Unfortunately, it was the series’ least watched premiere – down nearly 2 million viewers from the opener last year. It was beaten in the ratings by reruns of “How I Met Your Mother (10.9 million) and “The New Adventures of Old Christine (12.4 million) on CBS.
“K-Ville,” slang for “Katrina-Ville,” expanded its “Prison Break” lead-in by 6% in adults 18-49 and 22% in total viewers. Next Monday, both shows will face serious competition from the season premieres of NBC’s "Heroes," ABC’s "Dancing With the Stars" and CBS’ "Two and a Half Men."