SCI FI strikes gold with Eureka premiere

SCI FI Channel took one giant step toward expanding its original series offerings on July 18, with the 2-hour series premiere of Eureka drawing over 4 million viewers. The new series earned a 3.2 average household rating, tying the July 2004 premiere of Stargate Atlantis but exceeding it in viewers.

Eureka is now the highest rated series telecast in SCI FI Channel history, the network boasts. The premiere was also the most-watched cable program on Tuesday, and the highest-rated and most-watched premiere telecast of
a cable original series in Tuesday prime time so far this year.

Starring Colin Ferguson (“The Opposite of Sex”) as Jack Carter, Eureka is set in a small, seemingly ordinary Pacific Northwest town that is actually a community of scientific geniuses assembled by the government to conduct top-secret research in various fields (story). SCI FI has ordered an initial season of 13 hours (including the 2-hour pilot).

Stargate SG-1 guest star Salli Richardson-Whitfield (“Drey’auc”) co-stars in the series. Actors Maury Chaykin (Stargate‘s Nerus) and Garry Chalk (“Colonel Chekov”) also guest starred in the pilot.

Eureka airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern/Pacific on SCI FI. The pilot will reair this Friday at 7 p.m., and several more times in the days following.

(Thanks to nell for contributing)