The third episode of HBO's new sci-fi/western Westworld, "The Stray," set a new TV ratings record for the show. According to Deadline, a total of 2.1 million people watched the show on TV when it aired at 9 PM ET Sunday evening, when it competed with Sunday Night Football and the MLB Playoffs.

　　2.1 million viewers is up 7 percent from the Westworld series premiere on October 2. Episode 3's ratings were up by 40 percent over Episode 2, but that's not a great comparison, considering HBO released the episode, "Chestnut," three days early online to avoid a clash with the second presidential debate.

　　By comparison, the third episode of HBO's Vinyl, the network's newest drama before Westworld, saw its TV ratings drop 30 percent compared to the season premiere.

　　Westworld Episode 3 drew 3.2 million viewers when also factoring in streaming sources, which compares to 3.3 million for the season premiere. As of Tuesday, Westworld Episode 1 had tallied almost 12 million views, which is ahead of where Game of Thrones Episode 1 was at a similar point in time.

　　The fourth episode of Westworld arrives this Sunday, October 23. You can watch a teaser for it here.

　　The show stars Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Ed Harris, and Anthony Hopkins. It's produced by Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams.