HBO enjoyed a big season premiere for its latest hit drama series on Sunday, The New York Times reports in its Media Decoder blog.

"Game of Thrones" returned for its second season, drawing 3.9 million viewers and ranking as the most-watched scripted show on cable television last week, the story reports.

The audience for the season premiere represented a 74% jump from the show’s first-season debut, which drew 2.2 million viewers, the story points out.

By comparison, AMC’s "Mad Men," which aired at 10 p.m. Sunday, drew 2.9 million viewers for the season’s second episode, the story notes.

Including all three airings Sunday night, the HBO drama attracted 6.3 million viewers.

"Game of Thrones" is growing its audience through word of mouth and readers who continue to buy the novels on which the TV series is based, the piece points out.