Entertainment

"Duck Dynasty" season 5 premiere watched by 8.5 million viewers

/ CBS/AP

Nielsen says 8.5 million viewers flocked to "Duck Dynasty" to watch its fifth-season premiere on Wednesday night.  

That audience was slightly higher than for October's fourth-season finale of the A&E reality show. But last summer, 12 million viewers caught the fourth-season premiere.

“Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson reinstated

Set in Louisiana bayou country, "Duck Dynasty" follows the Robertsons, a family that manufactures duck calls and loves to go bird hunting.

Wednesday's airing gave viewers their first fresh look at the series since it got caught up in an uproar.

Phil Robertson, the family patriarch, was briefly suspended by A&E after GQ magazine quoted him declaring that gays are sinners and African-Americans were happy under Jim Crow laws. Supporters of Robertson's right to voice his opinions flocked to his defense before the network reinstated him and said filming would resume in the spring with the entire Robertson family on board.

First published on January 16, 2014 / 5:17 PM EST

© 2014 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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