Game of Thrones Season 4 premiere draws biggest HBO ratings since Sopranos finale

The Season 4 premiere of HBO's smash hit Game of Thrones succeeded not only critically, but commercially, as the episode hauled in a series-high audience and brought HBO its biggest ratings since The Sopranos series finale in 2007.

The episode earned 6.6 million viewers, and two replays later in the night brought the total to 8.2 million. And this, of course, does not include those who watched (or tried to watch) the installment on HBO Go.

The Season 3 premiere brought in 4.4 million viewers, and last year hit a high of 5.5 million in the sixth episode. The Red Wedding episode, surprisingly, was not a series high, nor was the finale that drew 5.4 million people. The series averaged 14.4 million viewers per episode last season, which was second only to The Sopranos as HBO's most-watched series. The show could overtake the mob drama this season, but only time will tell.

In other Game of Thrones news, the "Spoiler Chat" column at E! Online reports that the diabolical King Joffrey will make a move next week that will shock people even by Joffrey standards.

"Eric M.: The Game of Thrones premiere was so epic! What can we expect next week?

Only one of the show's biggest and best outings yet...with Joffrey managing to out-Joffrey himself, which we didn't even know was possible. We don't want to spoil anything, but a couple of teases we are willing to part with? Jaime Lannister and Bronn, two of our favorites, share a scene that we couldn't stop smiling during, and Tyrion will most likely make you cry by the episode's end."

Do the Game of Thrones numbers surprise you? Let us know in the comments below.