Alliance Atlantis trumpeted the acquisition of HBO’s Six Feet Under, and its enthusiasm was not ill placed.

The AAC Broadcast Group enjoyed its biggest-ever numbers for a single-play performance when the drama’s premiere drew 735,000 viewers (2+) on specialty channel Showcase on Aug. 24. According to Nielsen Media Research, the show also drew the highest average-minute audience for a non-sports program on a Canadian specialty, broadcast year to date.

The following episode, airing on Aug. 31, drew an audience of 698,000, which is particularly impressive considering that was the Labor Day long weekend, when many viewers are traditionally not in town.

‘It really shows that specialty is putting a stake in the ground and really starting to catch up with conventional in a lot of ways,’ says AAC spokesperson Deborah Wilson.

Six Feet Under, a darkly comical look at the Fisher family, who run an L.A. funeral home, leads all TV programs this year with 16 Emmy noms. While Showcase has just begun airing season one, three seasons have been produced and air in a first window in Canada on The Movie Network.

Other HBO programs in Showcase’s lineup include Curb Your Enthusiasm, Oz and the doc series Real Sex. Showcase has also picked up HBO’s Mind of the Married Man.

-www.allianceatlantis.com