America, no matter your thoughts on the word "adorkable," you like Zooey Deschanel. You really, really like her.

Around 11 million viewers tuned in to 'New Girl' for the actress' series regular TV debut Tuesday night, making the new Fox sitcom the highest-rated show for the night with a 4.8 rating among adults 18-49. The comedy, about a woman who moves in with three dudes after a bad breakup, fared even better among women 18-34, scoring a 6.6 rating in that demo.

'New Girl' is Fox's biggest fall sitcom debut since 'Cedric the Entertainer Presents' in 2002. (Though let's hope 'New Girl' fares better than that one-season wonder.)

What's most interesting about the 'New Girl' ratings is that the pilot for the show has been available to watch (for free) since early September via cable On Demand, Fox.com, Hulu and iTunes. Which means that it's likely (and probable) that a good chunk of the target audience had already watched the first episode of the show, yet still tuned in to watch Deschanel be adorable (the adjective we're all contractually obligated to use when describing her) on Tuesday night.

Fox's other shows fared well, too. Although 'Glee' was down from its Season 2 premiere with a 4.0 rating and 8.9 million viewers, it still managed to win the night among teens. Sophomore sitcom 'Raising Hope' drew a series high 3.4 rating among adults 18-34.



Tell us: Did you watch 'New Girl' on TV last night even though you had seen the pilot before it aired? Or did you wait to watch the old-fashioned way? Or, are you one of those people who "hates" Zooey Deschanel for an unspecified reason?