Agents of SHIELD Ratings: Marvel-ous?

ABC debuted the most anticipated new show of the fall season last night, but did Marvel's Agents of SHIELD rack up the most viewers of the early new season?

Almost.

The series premiered to 11.9 million viewers, falling just short of The Blacklist (12.6 million) on Monday. However, Agent Coulson and company did rate as the highest new drama to date among 18-49-year olds (4.6) and network television's highest-rated premiere among young adults since V.

By comparison, No Ordinary Family delivered 10.7 million and a 3.2 in the same timeslot two years ago, while Once Upon a Time delivered the network's biggest launch that same year with 13 million/4.0.

Elsewhere:

• The Goldbergs held on to about three-quarters of SHIELD's audience, garnering 9.1 million total households and a 3.2 rating.
• Trophy Wife debuted to 6.6 million and a 2.3.
• Lucky 7 was anything but, falling behind the pack with 4.6 million and a 1.3.
• Dads fell 28 percent in the key demographic, while New Girl and The Mindy Project also saw decreases. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (4 million viewers, 1.8 rating) tumbled the most on Fox, falling 30 percent.
• On CBS: Person of Interest drew 12.3 million and a 2.3 rating for its move to Tuesday, while NCIS: Los Angeles brought in 16.2 million and a 3.0, slight drops from last year's opener.
• Chicago Fire also shifted to Tuesday and improved upon last year's Wednesday's premiere by one 40 percent across the board.

Did you catch the Agents of SHIELD premiere? Grade it now:

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.