The show premiered on September 19, 1994 and uring its first year, "E.R." attracted an average of 19 million viewers per episode, becoming the years second most watched television show, just behind Seinfeld. In the following two seasons (1995-1997), the series was the most watched show in North America. For almost five years, "E.R." battled for the top spot against "Seinfeld", but after "Seinfeld" ended in 1998, "ER" became number one again. On April 2, 2009, "E.R." ended after 15 seasons and 331 episodes.