Never question the thrall of Sons of Anarchy. FX's bloody biker drama returned Wednesday night with another impressive spike in viewers.



The 10 p.m. premiere of Sons of Anarchy's sixth season averaged 5.87 million viewers, up 9 percent from last year's previously record-setting return. With adults 18-49, it bested all of broadcast and cable for the night with 3.94 million viewers in the key demo. That's a 14 percent jump from last year.



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The premiere telecast and encore runs over the night total to 8.09 million viewers, 5.3 million of them adults 18-49.



Like all FX series, Sons of Anarchy sees significant boosts in DVR usage. And with Live+Seven Day returns, the network expects the episode will rank as the top-rated single telecast in FX history.



Sons of Anarchy continues to skew male (2.12 million men 18-49), but the increase in female viewers between seasons gave the series its biggest percentage growth. Women 18-34 (973,000) were up 43 percent, while women 18-49 (1.93 million) were up 35 percent.



The Kurt Sutter drama, which concluded the episode with a controversial school shooting, ranks as the most watched original series in FX history.