'Steven Seagal Lawman' breaks A&E record

It's been a pretty good week for A&E.

The network's new original series "Steven Seagal Lawman" premiered Wednesday with two back-to-back episodes and a record-breaking 3.5 million total viewers and 2.0 million viewers in adults 18-49, making it the most-watched original series launch in A&E's history in all key demos.

The campy cop series chronicles Seagal's work as a Louisiana sheriff's deputy while intoning lines like, "As a lifelong practitioner of martial arts, I'm trained to remain calm in the face of adversity and danger." It drew 3.4 million viewers for the first episode at 10 p.m., climbing to 3.6 million for the second one at 10:30 p.m.

The "Lawman" debut follows the Monday second season premiere of "Hoarders," which was seen by 3.2 million viewers and 1.9 million adults 18-49, ranking as best season opener for any original A&E series ever in the adult demo. "Lawman" is produced by ITV Studios and Steamroller Prods.