After spending much of the past few seasons in fourth place among the Big 4 broadcasters, NBC is off to a strong start on the fall season.

The Peacock Network currently finds itself in first place, James Hibberd reports in EW.com’s Inside TV, but the question is whether NBC can hold its lead.

According to the story, NBC has been No. 1 in the key demo of viewers 18 to 49 for the past two weeks. As previously reported, NBC had a big night in Monday night’s ratings, with the new drama "Revolution" drawing a 4.1 average rating in the 18-49 demo. It was the strongest drama premiere on any network in the past three years.

Also performing well have been the network’s new sitcoms “The New Normal” and “Go On.”

"None of NBC’s new shows is loved by critics. Yet all managed to open to respectable numbers," Hibberd points out.

"NBC’s pre-season primetime performance has been … good. It’s weird to type that. So let’s sit and appreciate it for a moment. Because analyzing NBC’s fall right now is like watching a wind surfer heading toward a typhoon," he adds.

The network’s early-season success comes against less than top-shelf competition, with many of the other broadcast networks still airing largely repeat programming in prime time.

"NBC’s next major beat comes this Thursday, when the network re-launches its troubled comedy block," Hibberd writes. "One of the remarkable things about NBC’s fall schedule is how little has changed on Thursdays despite how poorly the lineup performed last season."

Next week will pose the biggest test for NBC, with more broadcast debuts slated across the dial than in any other week this year, the story notes.

Hibberd writes, "NBC successfully got viewers in the door. Now let’s see if they stick around."