This past Thursday, the brand new episodes of Futurama we’ve spoken so much about (and begged you to watch) debuted on Comedy Central!

For fans all across the land, the ultimate concern was not only whether we could help deliver the numbers that would see more new seasons of the animated futuristic comedy ordered, but if we’d help it to even achieve the 26-episode order that Fox had pushed through!

Now comes words that will comfort your worried minds: Futurama did well in its return to TV, and it even took in some records for Comedy Central.

According to Nielsen Media Research, Futurama‘s two-episode, one-hour premier on Thursday averaged a fantastic 2.9 million viewers and a 1.9 rating among people ages 18-49! Not only that, but it was tied for the highest-rated show on Thursday among adults aged 18-49, and the absolute highest-rated show among us gentlemen aged 18-34. Comedy Central also shared that Futurama made two huge impacts in its sixth season debut: for one, it was the highest rated night of the year so far; for two, it was the networks very best Thursday night performance of ALL time.

Now, this does not mean that we’ve won the war. What it does mean is that we’ve won one battle. Futurama is officially back, and in brought in some fantastic numbers for its debut, but this was just the start; there are still 24 more episodes to come. It’s unlikely that the number will be this good throughout the season, but if we keep them relatively steady from here on out, we’re all but guaranteed to see more seasons ordered…barring any more contractual complications among the wonderful voice cast.

Well done, folks. I for one am proud of you as a faithful fan base. Let’s keep it going strong as it can possibly be!

[Source: THR]