Gangland crime drama Underbelly has returned to our small screens for yet another installment of corruption, violence, sex and drugs, all twisted into a captivating plot.

It also seems to be a huge hit with the locals, with the premiere of the third series recording the highest rating TV debut of the year.

More than 2.2 million Australians tuned in to watch the first episode of Underbelly: The Golden Mile on Sunday night on the Nine Network.

About 200,000 viewers dropped off by the second episode, shown immediately after, but it still smashed all its competitors.

While it is clear the news series is to be a huge hit, it is still down on the success of last year’s series, which attracted almost 2.5 million viewers.

The news series is focused on Kings Cross in the late 80s and early 90s. it has a star studded line up including Natalie Bassingwaite, Dieter Brummer and sees the return of his character from Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, and the silver haired George Freeman.

The new installment will also see a feature role for m Sigrid Thornton who plays the role of a stern, stylish hard-hitting police officer.

For those of you who don’t already know the setting of the Golden Mile is Kings Cross and one of the key protagonists is nightclub owner John Ibrahim.

Anyone with an interest in recent Sydney history will recognize the familiar names that crop up almost immediately such as Graham “Chook” Fowler, Trevor Haken, Bill Bayeh and Kim Hollingsworth.

Underbelly: The Golden Mile will continue screening Sunday at 8:30 on Channel Nine.