THE third-season premiere of Tina Fey’s sitcom, “30 Rock,” averaged 8.5 million viewers Thursday – a new record for the show.

The episode also set a “30 Rock” record in adults 18-49 – although it finished a distant third in its timeslot (in total viewers and adults 18-49) behind “Grey’s Anatomy” and “CSI.”

It also shed 800,000 viewers from its lead-in, “The Office.”

Still, Thursday’s “30 Rock” episode was up 16 percent in viewers from last season’s premiere.

Tune-in was no doubt enhanced by Fey’s impersonations of Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live” this campaign season.