FX premiere draws strong ratings, beats 'Runway' finale

The finale of "Project Runway" set an all-time record for Bravo Wednesday. But it wasn't the most-watched show on cable that night.

That honor goes to the premiere of FX's provocative series "Black. White.," in which an African-American and a Caucasian family trade races through extensive makeup work and see what it's like to live in a different color. Aided by a wave of critical buzz, the show brought in 4 million viewers, tying "The Real Gilligan's Island" for the second-best premiere ever for an unscripted series on cable. (No. 1, believe it or not, was the 2002 debut of "The Anna Nicole Show.")

"Black. White." outperformed the "Project Runway" finale, which drew 3.4 million viewers. Bravo is hardly upset, though: The crowning of Chloe Dao as the winner of the fashion-design competition is the most-watched telecast in the network's history.

Of those 4 million viewers for the FX series, 2.8 million fell into the adults 18-49 category that advertisers love so much. Again, "Black. White." finished ahead of "Project Runway," which drew 2.5 million members of the demographic.

The performance of both shows continues a strong week for cable series. The premiere of MTV's "8th & Ocean," a "Laguna Beach"-esque series about Miami models, drew 4.3 million viewers after its lead-in "The Real World: Key West," picked up 5 million. And, of course, "The Sopranos" returns to HBO Sunday.