Based on last week's ratings, "The Starter Wife" [1] is shaping up to be television's first hit of the summer. Last week's 2-hour season premiere of the mini series averaged 5.4 million viewers [2] and scored big with women in the 18-49 demographic, beating out reruns of Shark and Grey's Anatomy.

The series still has 4 more installments to follow, but the network is already toying with the idea of turning The Starter Wife into a regular series, depending on how well it does during the rest of its run. I'm a little skeptical about the idea of stretching the storyline beyond the novel, but hey - whatever works for the network.

Personally, I thought the show got off to a great start [3], and am interested to tune in for the rest of the story. I have to wonder, though: What exactly caused such excellent ratings? The show's massive marketing campaign [4]? Debra Messing's charm? Or simply the fact that it's the summertime and our options are limited?

What do you think?


Source [5]