The BBC's TV adaptation of Philip Pullman His Dark Materials trilogy has been hailed by viewers as "magnificent" and "superb".
People flocked to Twitter to gush over the first episode of the eight-part mega-budget fantasy series that has become the biggest new drama in five years.
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BARB figures provided by overnights.tv, say His Dark Materials drew in a whopping 7.2million viewers.
According to Deadline that makes the epic the 'highest-rated drama premiere on any channel since BBC One's The Musketeers was watched by 7.4million people in January 2014'.
Fans of the original books who settled into watch the BBC's most expensive series ever made, which is estimated to have cost £50million, branded the opener as "wonderful".
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"#HisDarkMaterials is absolutely wonderful? This is all I ever wanted omg can it be Sunday already for the next episode?" raved one fan.
Fans of the book sent messages to the author thanking him: "It's just wonderful to see this series meant as much to everyone else as it did me! I'm not alone! @PhilipPullman your books changed my childhood in the best of ways thank you."
Others immediately made comparisons to fellow magical series Harry Potter which was adapted into movies.
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"And yes, #HisDarkMaterials is a far superior series to Harry Potter in terms of scope, narrative, character development and heart - don't @ me," surmised one person.
"Getting some Harry Potter feels with #HisDarkMaterials," wrote another.
One viewer said the big-budget fantasy "seems like a cross between Harry Potter and Narnia".
Adapted for television by Jack Thorne, who incidentally wrote the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play, the series features characters who each have their own daemon that represents their soul.
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It follows lead character Lyra, played by 14-year-old Dafne Keen who critics have heaped praise on for her performance, as she tries to figure out why children her age are going missing.
She is joined by James McAvoy playing her uncle, the adventurer Lord Asriel, who is in battle with the ruling Magisterium.
Lyra is also entranced by the beautiful Mrs Coulter, played by Ruth Wilson, who has a dark and ulterior motive.
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It's not the first time Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials has been adapted, as his first novel Northern Lights was filmed as The Golden Compass, which wasn't well received.
Fans have shared their delight over the new adaptation and are already excited for the next episode.
His Dark Materials continues Sunday at 8pm on BBC One
Featured Image Credit: BBC/HBOTopics: Television, BBC, His Dark Materials
