SANDRA Bernhard’s one-week talk-show experiment got off to a rocky start this week on A&E.

But the show may be finding its sea legs with viewership steadily rising since Monday.

“The Sandra Bernhard Experience,” hosted by the pillow-lipped actress/comedienne, averaged 296,000 viewers Monday night at 11 p.m. – losing 66 percent of its “Investigative Reports” lead-in, according to Nielsen numbers.

Among Bernhard’s opening-night guest lineup was “Sopranos” star Edie Falco.

On Tuesday, Bernhard’s show notched 422,000 viewers – a 43 percent audience increase.

And viewership for Wednesday’s show climbed even higher to 649,000 – up 54 percent over Tuesday.

Still, “The Sandra Bernhard Experience” is way down from “American Justice,” which aired at 11 p.m. on A&E last summer.

Over three nights, “Experience” averaged 456,000 viewers – down from the 1.4 million figure that “American Justice” averaged in the timeslot last summer, according to Nielsen.

“This is a one-week tryout – it’s not a failure, and we’re attracting a new type of viewer,” said an A&E spokeswoman.

Last night’s show featured “The Parkers” star Mo’Nique, The Wild Colonials and Bob Balaban.

Tonight’s finale features Paul Mooney, Michele Lee and Lea Delaria.

Bernhard first came to public attention when she co-starred in “The King of Comedy,” a 1983 movie starring Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis.

She also co-starred on “Roseanne” for a few seasons and has continued to tour the comedy-club circuit and appear in feature films.