If you’ve recently found yourself roaming the pages of SciFi Mafia, we thank you. Secondarily, you may have noticed we’ve devoted a fair amount of space to Syfy‘s new series Helix. That’s not just because Battlestar Galactica‘s Ron Moore is an executive producer of the show, though he is, and it’s not just because the creator of the series, Cameron Porsandeh, is a really terrific guy who has given us two exclusive interviews (the first is here, the second will be posted soon), though he has.

Nor is it because SciFi Mafia attended a really cool set tour and panel interview in Montreal, though that’s true as well. The fact of the matter is that Helix has been given a lot of space here because one, it sounded like it would be a great series, and two, because it turned out that it is a great series. Check out our review here.

Well it turns out that we weren’t the only ones watching, when the series premiered last Friday. And that is excellent news, because we need to see what happens in this show, both throughout this season and in the season(s) that are hopefully now to come. Well done, us and everyone who watched! Here’s the press release:

SYFY’S HELIX INFECTS 1.8 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS AND 900K ADULTS 25-54 DURING JANUARY 10 DEBUT

#2 CABLE ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM AMONG A25-54 IN ITS TIME PERIOD

BEST SERIES PREMIERE DAY EVER ON SYFY.COM

NEW YORK – January 13, 2014 – Helix, Syfy’s highly anticipated new series from Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica), garnered robust numbers during its special 90-minute premiere on Friday, January 10 from 10-11:30PM (ET/PT), ranking as the #2 cable entertainment program among Adults 25-54 (893K) in its time period.

Helix also delivered 1.82 million total viewers and 734K Adults 18-49.

This represented Syfy’s best performance in the time period (Fridays at 10-11:30pm) in more than four years among total viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

As well, the 11:30PM encore delivered nearly one million total viewers (988K).

Powered by Helix’s debut, Syfy was the #2 cable entertainment network from 8-11PM (ET/PT).

Helix also set records across Syfy’s diverse digital platforms:

· Helix was Syfy.com’s best series premiere day ever in all key metrics, ranking as the #1 section of Syfy’s Digital Portfolio.

· Helix’s premiere was Syfy’s second most social scripted series premiere (behind only Defiance), outperforming recent competitive cable series premieres including BBCA’s Orphan Black, Showtime’s Masters of Sex and Starz’s The White Queen.

· Driven by Helix, the Syfy Now website and mobile app set records for full episode segment starts.

Helix is an intense thriller about a team of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control who travel to the high-tech research facility, Arctic Biosystems, to investigate a possible disease outbreak, only to find themselves pulled into a terrifying life-and-death struggle that may hold the key to mankind’s salvation or total annihilation. However, the lethal threat is just the tip of the iceberg, and as the virus evolves, the chilling truth begins to unravel.

Billy Campbell (Killing Lincoln, The Killing) stars as Dr. Alan Farragut, leader of the Centers for Disease Control outbreak field team called upon to investigate and control a potential outbreak. Hiroyuki Sanada (The Wolverine, 47 Ronin) also stars as Dr. Hiroshi Hatake, director of Arctic Biosystems and its mysterious viral research program.

Helix also stars Kyra Zagorsky (Supernatural) as Dr. Julia Walker; Mark Ghanimé (Emily Owens, M.D.) as Major Sergio Balleseros; Jordan Hayes (House at the End of the Street) as Dr. Sarah Jordan; Meegwun Fairbrother as Daniel Aerov; Catherine Lemieux (White House Down) as Dr. Doreen Boyle, and Neil Napier (Riddick) as Dr. Peter Farragut.

Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Outlander), Steven Maeda (Lost, The X-Files) who is also showrunner, Lynda Obst (Contact, Sleepless in Seattle), and Brad Turner (Hawaii Five-0, 24) are Executive Producers. The 13-episode series is produced by Tall Ship Productions, Kaji Productions and Lynda Obst Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television. Prolific director and producer Jeffrey Reiner (Friday Night Lights) directed the premiere episode, which was written by creator and co-executive producer, Cameron Porsandeh.

Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in more than 98 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is owned by Comcast Corporation. (Syfy. Imagine Greater.)

Helix, starring Billy Campbell, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kyra Zagorsky, Mark Ghanimé, Jordan Hayes, Meegwun Fairbrother, Catherine Lemieux and Neil Napier, airs Fridays, at 10/9c on Syfy.