Fox executives woke up to a very happy tune today, as Empire Season 1 Episode 1 aired on Wednesday night to 9.9 million total viewers and a 3.8 rating among 18-49-year olds.

Those figures make Empire the network’s highest-rated series launch since Touch in 2012 and they tie broadcast TV’s top debut of the season, ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder.

Watch Empire Season 1 Episode 1 Online

As a comparison: Red Band Society‘s debuted in the same time slot to 4.1 million viewers in September, while Gotham opened this fall to 8.2 million.

ELSEWHERE:

• American Idol Season 14 premiered to 11.2 million viewers and a 3.3 rating, a drop of 26 and 32 percent from its previous opener.
• The Middle, Modern Family and The Golbergs all returned up, while black-ish dipped slightly.
• The Mentalist garnered 9 million viewers in its new timeslot.
• On NBC,  The Mysteries of Laura fell 16 percent in total audience, while Law & Order: SVU  and Chicago PD both increased by double digits.

Empire Photo Gallery: Meet The Characters

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