Nellie Andreeva

CMT’s new sitcom, the Melissa Peterman/Ed Asner starrer Working Class, drew 1.2 million viewers and a .50 rating in adults 18-49 in its Friday premiere to rank as the highest rated and most watched series debut in the network’s history. Of course, Working Class is CMT’s first scripted series, so that means it outperformed all of the network’s reality series debuts. Working Class didn’t come close to the blockbuster summer premiere of TV Land’s first original sitcom, Hot In Cleveland (4.8 million), but  is nevertheless off to a solid start, especially given its 8 PM timeslot and the lack of sitcom tradition on CMT.

Meanwhile, the second season finale of Style Network’s reality series Jerseylicious averaged 925,000 viewers, a series high and the most watched telecast in the network’s history.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.