NBC’s Revolution is back on the air … but we’re still not quite sure if the ratings power is on.

The show’s Season Two premiere drew 6.81 million viewers on its new night and time last night (Live + Same Day), and a 1.8 rating in the 18 to 49 demographic.  There’s a good side and a bad side to those numbers.

On the up side, it is the show’s best performance since March’s mid-season premiere (“The Stand”) drew a little over 7 million people.  So it bested every episode aired between April 1 and June 3 — including the 6.17 million who tuned in for the first season finale.

This is still down significantly from last fall’s average of 8.37 million, when Revolution made a name for itself as the fall’s top new drama.  And the premiere only managed fourth place among the broadcast networks last night, behind CBS’s Survivor (9.54 mil.), ABC comedy premieres The Middle (8.94 mil.) and Back in the Game (8.01 mil.), and FOX’s The X-Factor (7.73 mil., over two hours).

NBC built in the 9 p.m. hour, with 9.58 million for the 2-hour premiere of Law & Order: SVU.

What did you think of Revolution’s new episode? If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it here!

(Via TVBytheNumbers)