#Gladiators helped the highly anticipated return of ABC‘s ‘Scandal’ triumph over competitors this week with a whopping viewership.

Led by Emmy-nominated actress Kerry Washington, the series‘ season 3 opener opened to a series high of 10.5 million!  The story below:

Via THR:

“With so much of Thursday’s attention fixed on three brand-new comedies, the spotlight may have been stolen by ABC‘s Scandal. The drama returned to the 10 p.m. hour with series highs, averaging a 3.6 rating with adults 18-49 — a 71 percent jump year-over-year — and 10.5 million viewers.”

The news came as a surprise to Washington, who spent most of the night tweeting the show’s faithful followers.

Via AccessHollywood:

“It really is amazing! I’m so happy that so many people caught up with the show on Netflix and with the DVD during our hiatus,” she said. “It feels like we were able to have a lot of new Gladiator converts.”

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