Love her or hate her, one thing's for sure - people love Sarah Palin's home state of Alaska - or maybe just the thought of the Republican lightning rod coming face-to-face with a grizzly bear.

TLC says that nearly 5 million people tuned into the premiere of her reality TV series Sarah Palin's Alaska Sunday night.

The show - which  follows Palin and her family on different adventures in the Alaskan wildlife  - scored a 3.5 rating, which  translates into 4.96 million households, an impressive number, but especially for cable.