'The Gifted' Ratings Are In

Marvel and Fox's X-Men television series The Gifted debuted last night, and the ratings suggest that the series is off to solid start.

Premiering in Fox's 9 p.m. Monday time slot, The Gifted was viewed by 4.85 million people, scoring a 1.5 in the key 18 to 49 demographic. That's an improvement in the time slot compared to Lucifer, which opened in that spot for Fox last year to a 1.3 key demographic rating. By comparison, CBS's broad audience sitcom Kevin Can Wait played to an audience of 6.77 million people and a 1.4 in the key demo in the same time slot last night.

With a respectable start under its belt, and praise from critics, The Gifted can hopefully begin generating some positive buzz to draw new and delayed viewers in as Matt Nix and company continue to grow their version of the X-Men universe.

Last night's premiere episode, "eXposed," saw the Strucker family go on the run and meet up with the mutant underground, represented by Eclipse, Blink, Thunderbird, and Polaris.

Next week's episode, "rX," will find Reed Strucker separated from his family, and the introduction of scientist Roderick Campbell, played by Garret Dillahunt, who is better known ot Marvel Comics fans as the mutant-hunting, cyborg villain from the future called Ahab.

The premiere also featured some Easter eggs, references and cameos for Marvel fans, including an appearance by Stan Lee and a callback to X-Men: The Animated Series.

The Gifted airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.