Burns' 'Roosevelts' sets 20-year PBS record

Ken Burns' latest project, The Roosevelts, scored big ratings for PBS.

The 14-hour documentary on Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor, an American political dynasty, averaged 9.2 million viewers across its run last month.

In all, 33.3 million viewers tuned in to at least six minutes of the series, ranking as the prolific documentary filmmaker's third most-popular series, behind only The Civil War (1990) and Lewis and Clark (1997), according to newly released Nielsen figures that include 7-day delayed viewing. The average viewer watched for more than four hours. And because PBS scheduled the series over eight consecutive days, beginning Sunday, Sept. 14, the week that included its final 12 hours represented the network's most-watched week in 20 years, since Burns' Baseball aired in a similar pattern in 1994.

"We slowly assemble these films in a studio in New Hampshire," Burns said in a statement. "So when we are able to touch a nerve, as we did with The Roosevelts, we are beyond thrilled. It is as if we are speaking to all of our fellow citizens through the complicated and rich past that we share. We appreciate greatly the response we've received and thank everyone who shared their thoughts with us."