Fox said today that Tuesday’s premiere of Prison Break was its highest-rated nonsports Tuesday broadcast in Live+3 in more than 18 months. The series revival also post a 40% gain from its same-day performance (1.5/5), the second-highest lift among all midseason drama launches and a 40% jump from its Season 4 finale in 2009.

Fox

The premiered powered Fox to its highest-rated Tuesday night with entertainment programming in a year and also ranked No. 1 in adults 18-34, women 18-34, men 18-49 and men 18-34.

The DVR boost comes after a so-so start for Prison Break‘s first of nine new episodes following eight years away. In overnight numbers last week, the premiere was down 53% from what The X-Files revival drew in its regular slot premiere on January 25 last year, a Monday. Compared with its two-hour Season 4 premiere back on September 1, 2008, Tuesday’s debut of sorts was down 44% in the demo but up three-tenths from the Season 4 finale on May 15, 2009.

Original series stars Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller are back in the new iteration, along with such franchise veterans as Sarah Wayne Callies and Robert Knepper. The action has moved to war-torn Yemen, where Miller’s presumed-dead Michael Scofield is alive and behind bars. The gang sets out to rescue him.