The premiere episode of the new season of a drama series that has been a big hit for HBO was down from its premiere last summer, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s Live Feed.

The supernatural drama “True Blood” returned for its fifth season Sunday night with 5.2 million viewers. Including an 11 p.m. encore, Sunday’s program drew 6.3 million viewers, a 4% decline from the summer premiere. But that number marked a 3% increase from the fourth-season finale, the story notes.

"True Blood" has averaged between 5 million and 5.4 million viewers during the past two seasons. The fifth-season debut marks the first time "True Blood" hasn’t added to its previous season’s premiere, the story says.