Hatfields & McCoys Makes Cable Ratings History

Part one of the Hatfields & McCoys mini-series made history for The History Channel last night.

The western-based drama - starring Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton as the feuding heads of two real-life, post-Civil War families - drew a (non-sports) cable ratings record of 13.9 million viewers on Memorial Day Eve.

“With all the success we have had at History, we felt strongly for some time that we should own historical drama, and in true History fashion, we have done it, with – pardon the pun – guns a-blazin!” said network president Nancy Dubuc in a statement. “We couldn’t be more proud of the entire cast and crew … from Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton, Mare Winningham, Powers Boothe, Tom Berenger, and everyone involved in truly making history!”

Hatfields & McCoys airs Part Two and Part Three tonight and tomorrow night at 9/8c. You can read our exclusive interview with star Lindsay Pulsipher now to get an idea of what's in store.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.