Mof’s argument that The Wire will always stay a cult show because its on a smallish digital channel may be correct in some ways (and I’m sure hardcore fans of the show will want the show to remain a cult, rather than a mainstream hit), but the series two premiere of Mad Men in the US, on a small subscription channel, proved his argument wrong (sort of). In fact, the amount of awards and plaudits shows like The Wire and Mad Men garner kind of proves Mof’s argument wrong on some levels anyway – despite their ‘lowly’ digital channel status there’s still a buzz about them and people still want to watch them. And, in an age where viewing habits have changed (internet, box sets etc), viewing figures aren’t the be-all these days. Mad Men, for me, is one of the TV highlights of the year and deserves all the praise it gets. Thankfully, for both the channel’s home (AMC) and fans, series two started off extremely well.

Premiering on Sunday night, Mad Men attracted nearly two million viewers, which doubled its series one average. Pretty good going.

I’m not altogether surprised at these figures because AMC put everything into marketing the show, and the recent Emmy nomination announcement was timed beautifully – people would have sat up and taken notice of the show after reading its slew of nods. In fact, I did the same when the show one a Golden Globe last year - what was this show that had come from nowhere and won this major award?

I soon found out. It was excellent stuff. Now then, the question is: can it sustain these very creditable viewing figures? AMC, with a huge marketing budget, will have a jolly good crack at making sure they are.

Go here for our Mad Men coverage.