The Dead Zone may be worlds away from the modern-day Star Trek universe he helped shape, but Michael Piller's success continues with the new Stephen King spin-off series. The former Trek writer/executive producer has scored a major cable hit with the USA Network's premiere of the The Dead Zone last Sunday night. The show set records with a 4.7 household rating and 6.4 million viewers making it the network's highest-rated original dramatic series debut and earning it a place as the top basic cable original dramatic series of all time. The series premiere encore aired at 11:00 p.m. that same night to a 2.2 rating (another 3 million viewers).

The Dead Zone more than doubled the network's usual Sunday evening rating of 2.1 in its timeslot. Previously, the highest rating brought in by USA for the debut of a new series was in January 1995 with William Shatner's Tek War, which averaged a 3.4 rating.

Piller, justifiably, is excited. "I'm thrilled! They've just ordered additional scripts. [USA Network president] Doug Herzog just called me and told me how absolutely thrilled they are at the network."

He goes on to say, "I can tell you that Shawn [Piller, his son and producing partner] and I and everybody involved with this television show are thrilled by the reception and the ratings. The reactions we've been getting overnight have been extraordinary, the e-mails, telephone calls ... " said Piller, talking with STARTREK.COM. "What we're extraordinarily proud of — what I am told at least — is a new record for a cable television series in terms of how many people watched last night. I certainly think a great deal of our success can be attributed to the Star Trek fans who have supported me all these years, and obviously the Stephen King fans whom we've tried so hard to bring to the show and satisfy. I just couldn't be happier."

Crediting the audience as the real barometers of a show's merit, Piller is adamant about whose opinion really counts. "The real reviews that matter are the ones that come from the people who watch the show and tell their friends about it. A genre show depends on the buzz, both on the Internet and among people who care about quality, genre drama. I'm just hoping that the word of mouth now will carry us from week to week. As I've said to other people, I believe that the first ten shows that we've got are as strong as any ten shows I've ever been involved with. We are shooting the eleventh one now. Some of them are classics; some of them are just plain good. But all of them I'm proud of. I think we've got a real special series here."

Commenting on the lure of the first few episodes, Piller gives an indication of what's to come. "We only did a cliffhanger for the first episode, and I'm kind of glad now that we didn't extend the serial killer thing. I have no argument with the few critics who complain that it looks like Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) is going to immediately get involved with serial killers. Nothing could be less interesting to me. I've felt, however, that Stephen King had used a serial killer case to help define Johnny Smith's powers and I wanted to treat the original material, the novel, with a genuine reverence which generally, screenwriters don't give to the source material. I felt an obligation to explore this the way that Stephen King did. I think the second episode is terrific in the way we approach that story. We're true to the novel but we executed it, just as we did in the pilot, in a very original way. Once it's over it's over and we move on to other stories, some of which are inspired by the book and some of which we've come up with on our own based on characters in the book."

Would he like some feedback from Stephen King himself? "I can't anticipate it, although nothing would please me more!"

Speaking of successful Trek alums, may we remind you that The Dead Zone also features former Star Trek: Deep Space Nine star Nicole deBoer ("Ezri Dax") and David Ogden Stiers (former M*A*S*H star, but also seen in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Half a Life" as "Dr. Timicin").

For those who aren't familiar with the story, The Dead Zone follows the life of a young man who, after suffering a tragic car accident, awakens from a coma with extraordinary psychic powers. The show is based on characters from the Stephen King novel, "The Dead Zone," and explores how a common man must find his way in the most uncommon of lives as he struggles with his paranormal powers. The series stars Anthony Michael Hall ("61*," "The Pirates of Silicon Valley," "Sixteen Candles"), with deBoer, Chris Bruno (All My Children), and Stiers (who will also be heard in the upcoming animated feature "Lilo & Stitch"). The Dead Zone airs Sundays at 10:00 p.m. EDT/PDT on the USA Network.

The Dead Zone is produced by Lions Gate Television and Paramount International Television in association with Piller² and The Segan Company, and was created for television by Michael Piller & Shawn Piller.