But it did debut to great ratings, the best, in fact, for a series in ad-supported cable history.

Airing behind TNT’s “The Closer,” the No. 1 show on cable, “Bar” drew 7.7 million total viewers for Monday night’s premiere, surpassing “The 4400’s” previous record by about 300,000 viewers.

It also smashed the record for most households, drawing 5.7 million, or nearly half a million more than “Closer” drew in 2005.

“Bar” averaged 3.5 million adults 25-54 and 2.8 million 18-49s, becoming ad-supported cable’s top launch of the year in those demos and passing USA’s “In Plain Sight.”

The debut, while impressive, is also hardly surprising. The show is close in both tone and presentation to a broadcast program, beginning with its executive producer, Bochco, a veteran of such NBC and ABC hits as “Hill Street Blues,” “LA Law” and “NYPD Blue.”

Bochco declared himself pretty much done with broadcast during his press blitz for “Bar,” pointing to the networks’ fascination with reality TV and new obsession with fantasy programming.

On cable, he said, you’re left alone to do your thing, and while he did admit to budget constraints, the show has a broadcast-worthy cast.

The stars include Mark-Paul Gosselaar (“NYPD Blue”), Jane Kaczmarek (“Malcolm in the Middle”) and Gloria Ruben (“ER”), all veterans of hit Big Four shows.

The big premiere came on a night where broadcast also offered several debuts, including Fox’s “Prison Break” and CW’s “Gossip Girl,” though “Bar,” which aired at 10 p.m., did not go directly against any of them.

Still, it’s fodder for the case TNT is building as the sixth broadcaster of sorts.

The network has been arguing for years that very little separates cable and broadcast any more, and it even held its upfront presentation during the same week as the broadcasters for the first time this year.

“Bar’s” debut should, if anything, strengthen that argument, though it remains to be seen how many viewers will return after the debut.

Critics were not kind to the show. The Washington Post’s Tom Shales, in addition to criticizing the overacting and hair, writes, “It is hard to take the show very seriously.” Others said Bochco seemed stuck in the 1990s, the last time one of his dramas really thrived.