Canadians flocked to the Corner Gas finale, with 2.9 million viewers tuning in to CTV for the last episode of the beloved comedy. It was a new record for the show, which bested CSI: Miami and Global’s House as the most-watched show of the night. CTV, which heavily promoted the final episode, says the numbers are the highest on record for a Canadian scripted series since it began keeping track in 1994. (All numbers 2+.)

The episode entitled ‘You’ve Been Great, Good Night’ was kept tightly under wraps, and the storyline was a return to the show’s roots, with Brent LeRoy (Brent Butt) forgoing a promising career as a stand-up comedian to stay put in Dog River. Butt, who grew up in a farming community in Saskatchewan, has said Gas was based on how his life might have turned out, had he not pursued a career in comedy.

Network execs including Ivan Fecan and Susanne Boyce made brief appearances in one scene, in the crowd at a comedy club.

Venerable medical drama ER also bowed out after 15 seasons with its largest Canadian audience in five years. The two-hour finale averaged 2.8 million viewers on CTV at 9 p.m., which marks a 58% increase in total viewers over its season average. New NBC cop series Southland has taken over ER’s timeslot. ER exec producer John Wells is also behind the series, about a police unit in downtown Los Angeles.

Elvis Costello found an audience for his musically minded talk show Spectacle and, despite a trying Friday timeslot, scored the best debut of a Canadian series on CTV since So You Think You Can Dance Canada in September. The first episode of Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…, featuring guest Elton John, premiered with 861,000 viewers Friday at 10 p.m., helped by a new episode of Flashpoint with 1.3 million viewers at 9 p.m. The 13-part show is a Canada/U.K. copro by Tri-Fi Productions in Toronto and Rocket Pictures, the production shingle of Elton John and David Furnish. It was created and executive produced by Canadian music journalist Stephen Warden.