LeBlanc's show debuts with huge numbers

Actor Matt LeBlanc is celebrating after his new sitcom Joey debuted with an average of 17.9 viewers.

The highly-anticipated Friends spin-off, which follows LeBlanc's character Joey Tribbiani as he moves from New York to Los Angeles to seriously pursue his acting career, dominated its time slot and posted the highest adults 18-49 demographic score of any non-sports show since the May sweeps.

The new NBC show, which also stars Drea De Matteo, overshadowed CBS' Big Brother 5, which garnered 8.8 million viewers.