'Weeds' Series Finale Hits Season High, Still Shy of Previous Record Ratings

Weeds ended its eight-season run on Showtime with a recent ratings high on Sunday night, though the numbers still pale in comparison to the ratings the show pulled as recently as last year.

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The final one-hour telecast of the Mary-Louise Parker comedy was watched by 864,000 viewers during its first airing at 10 p.m. ET. That's up seven percent from the 805,000-strong opener. With an encore at 11 p.m., Weeds grossed 1.28 million viewers for the night. Over season seven's ender, the show saw 74 percent growth.

For a season average -- a cumulative score of live viewers, On Demand, replays and DVR -- the show was bringing in 3.2 million viewers per episode. It's the same average as last year.

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After seven years on the air, Weeds' strong showing is still a bit softer from its previous highs. Seasons five, six and seven all debuted to north of 1.2 million viewers in their inaugural airing.