"Better Call Saul," the new "Breaking Bad" spinoff series, had some serious shoes to fill following the end of that acclaimed drama. It turns out that AMC had nothing to worry about, as "Saul" debuted to almost universal critical acclaim, and now monster ratings, too.

"Saul" has already nabbed 6.9 million total viewers for its Sunday series premiere, and a whopping 4.4 million viewers in the coveted 18-49 demographic. That latter figure is a record-breaker for cable, marking the highest-rated cable series debut ever in that demo; it bested previous champ "The Dead Zone," which premiered to 4 million 18-49-year-old viewers in 2002.

And those numbers aren't even taking into consideration "Saul"'s eventual time-shifted viewership (DVR and on demand views) totals, which should be available later this week.

The two-night series premiere of "Better Call Saul" continues Monday night at 10 p.m. on AMC.

[via: The Hollywood Reporter, TVMoJoe]