oh em glee

Super Bowl Glee: Highest-Rated Episode Ever

No surprise here: Last night’s post–Super Bowl episode of Glee was the show’s most-watched episode ever. Just under 27 million folks kept the TV on after the Packers’ victory, more than doubling the show’s usual audience of 11.6 million viewers. While that should be enough to move many, many downloads of that Thriller–Heads Will Roll mash-up, it was well below the tune-in for last year’s post-Bowl premiere of Undercover Boss on CBS. The Eye’s reality show lured 38.6 million viewers, the most since ABC’s post-game Grey’s Anatomy (38 million in 2006). A late start time no doubt deprived Glee of a few million viewers: Fox’s musical comedy didn’t kick off until about 10:40 p.m., while Boss started at 10:15 p.m. Glee also drew more viewers than a number of other recent scripted shows to air after the Bowl, including The Office, Alias, and Criminal Minds. Still, given how well Boss — and 2004’s Survivor: All Stars (33.5 million) — did, perhaps NBC (which hosts next year’s Super Bowl) might want to consider an unscripted show for the post-game time slot next year.

Super Bowl Glee: Highest-Rated Episode Ever