Enjoying the coveted “Morrissey bump,” Duck Dynasty tops its own record-breaking ratings 

So powerful are the emotions of Steven Patrick Morrissey that targets of the singer’s rage and disgust often find themselves growing stronger after being condemned by the one-time Smiths frontman. The People’s Republic of China, for instance, or the A&E series Duck Dynasty, which enjoyed its largest audience ever mere days after its stars were described by Morrissey as amounting to “animal serial killers.” The show’s third-season première drew 8.6 million total viewers last night, becoming the most-watched telecast in the history of A&E—a record previously held by… the second-season finale of Duck Dynasty. The show’s audience grew by 2.1 million viewers between seasons, a tally that nearly equals the total viewership for Wednesday’s installment of Supernatural. That show’s Winchester brothers would do well to court the wrath of Morrissey: A future episode where Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki praise Margaret Thatcher over a steak dinner while listening to The Cure could turn out to be a Nielsen jackpot for The CW.

Meanwhile, if you ever want Morrissey to play a U.S. date again, please don’t let him know how many of us are watching Duck Dynasty.