Showtime drew 1.45 million viewers for the initial airing of the second-season finale of “Shameless” and 2 million for the night, topping the previous year’s season finale by approximately 30%.
In addition, the season finale of freshman halfhour “House of Lies” grabbed 775,000 viewers on first airing and 1.1 million viewers for the evening, while “Californication” ended its fifth season with 768,000 viewers on first blush and 984,000 for the night.
All three series have been picked up for new seasons, returning in winter 2013.
The finales came on a competitive night of viewing that also included the season premieres of AMC’s “The Killing” and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
“House of Lies” premiered Jan. 8 to an initial audience of 1.03 million (1.6 million in aggregate over three airings that night) and averaged approximately 700,000 viewers over its most recent three episodes before the season finale.
The second-season premiere of “Shameless,” also Jan. 8, drew 1.6 million overall for its season premiere and 2 million total for the night. Its penultimate episode of season two (last week) attracted 1.5 million viewers for its first airing.
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