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NEW YORK — Those repeated ads about a dead boy returning to his father after 32 years struck a nerve with television viewers, who proved curious enough to check out the debut of ABC's new drama "Resurrection."

The series drew just fewer than 14 million viewers for its debut on Sunday night, more than AMC's "The Walking Dead" or any other program on what is usually television's biggest night of viewing, the Nielsen ratings company said.

That's behind only CBS' "Intelligence" as the most-watched drama debut of the season, Nielsen said. It's the best opening for a Sunday night drama on ABC since "Brothers & Sisters" in 2006.

Fox's "Cosmos" debuted to 6.6 million people on Sunday night, a strong showing for a program that's unusual for the network. It was Fox's most-watched program last week after "American Idol."

The news isn't particularly good for "Idol," however. The long-running hit reached just fewer than 9.8 million people Thursday, its second-smallest Thursday audience and the smallest audience among the 18-to-49-year-old demographic that Fox seeks. NBC's "The Voice" is now the clear favorite in music competition shows.