"STEEL MAGNOLIAS," WITH JILL SCOTT, QUEEN LATIFAH, SNAGS 6.5 MILLION VIEWERS

[Tony Neal]

Hats off to Jill Scott, Queen Latifah and crew.  Their loyal fans must have tuned in Sunday night for the Lifetime original movie Steel Magnolias, giving the remake 6.5 million total viewers in its world premiere.

That's according to Deadline, which reports that the movie has become Lifetime's third most-watched original telecast.  The movie, also starring Phylicia Rashad, Adepero Oduye, Condola Rashad and Alfre Woodard, posted the network's best ratings since 2006's Life is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story.

Jill, who played Truvy in the film, tweeted, "Soooo happy to hear you enjoyed the movie. We worked hard and had the best time ever. Love those women for the duration."

According to Deadline, Steel Magnolias is the #1 cable movie among total viewers since 2007, excluding miniseries.  The made-for-TV film averaged 3.2 million adults 25-54 viewers, Deadline reports.  And here's another thing for the history books -- among women 25-54, Steel Magnolias is now the most-watched movie in the history of the network, according to Deadline.