The CW took a risk by debuting its fall schedule a full three weeks ahead of most of the other networks, and starting on Labor Day no less, a night that usually sees pretty low ratings. But it looks like the strategy is off to a good start.

The network’s buzzy second-year show “Gossip Girl” debuted to its best-ever ratings in the network’s target women 18-34 demographic, according to Nielsen overnights, averaging a 2.3 rating and finishing a close second behind Fox’s “Prison Break” in the 8 p.m. timeslot.

“Girl,” which launched a racy campaign earlier this summer that included criticism from the Parents Television Council as part of the promotion, also hit series-high ratings among women 18-34 (3.2), women 18-49 (2.3) and adults 18-49 (1.7).

The show drew its second-best numbers among total viewers, averaging 3.4 million, behind last year’s premiere. Last year, “Girl” had the advantage of airing behind “America’s Next Top Model,” the CW’s top-rated show.

This year, after a brief Monday run during the spring, “Girl” led off the night against decent competition, including the young-skewing “Break” and NBC’s much older skewing “Deal or No Deal.”

“Girl” lead-out “One Tree Hill” held its lead-in’s numbers among all the major demos, and it actually built in women 18-34 to a 3.3. The combination of the two gave the CW its best Monday night ever in its target demos.

That certainly bodes well for the highly touted premiere of “90210” tonight on the CW. The network has heavily promoted the show, a spinoff of Fox’s seminal 1990s series, and the original series’ stars have appeared on a slew of magazine covers in recent weeks, from Entertainment Weekly to Us.

Meanwhile, Fox’s “Break” didn’t set any new highs. The fourth-year drama averaged a 2.6 for its two-hour debut, off 19 percent from a 3.2 for last year’s one-hour opener, though it also debuted two weeks earlier than last year. Still, that was enough to secure the nightly win.

Fox led the night among 18-49s with a 2.6 average overnight rating and a 7 share. NBC was second at 2.2/6, Univision third at 1.7/5, CBS and CW tied for fourth at 1.6/4 and ABC sixth at 0.7/2.
 
At 8 p.m. NBC was first with a 2.6 for “Deal,” followed by Fox with a 2.5 for “Break.” Univision was third with a 2.1 for “Al Diablo con los Guapos,” CW fourth with a 1.7 for “Girl,” CBS fifth with a 1.6 for repeats of “The Big Bang Theory” and “How I Met Your Mother” and ABC sixth with a 0.6 for “High School Musical: Get In the Picture.”
 
Fox took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 2.8 for another hour of “Break,” while NBC slid to second with a 2.4 for “America’s Toughest Jobs.” CBS was third with a 2.2 for repeats of “Two and a Half Men” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” Univision fourth with a 1.9 for “Fuego en la Sangre,” CW fifth with a 1.6 for “One Tree Hill” and ABC sixth with a 0.7 for an hour of “Samantha Who?” reruns.
 
NBC regained the lead at 10 p.m. with a 1.6 for news coverage of Hurricane Gustav, with Univision second with a 1.3 for “Cristina.” CBS followed at 1.2 and ABC at 0.9, each for Gustav coverage.
 
Among households, NBC was first for the night with a 4.9 average overnight rating and an 8 share. Fox was second at 3.8/6, CBS third at 3.5/6, CW fourth at 2.2/3, Univision fifth at 2.1/3 and ABC sixth at 1.8/3.