News Analysis
Did Lindsay Lohan Torpedo Glee's Ratings?
By Swanni 

Washington, D.C. (May 17, 2012) -- Glee has employed stunt casting often during its three-season run, featuring such stars as Gwyneth Paltrow to Ricky Martin to Britney Spears. But last Tuesday's episode starring Lindsay Lohan as herself may have been a case of going to the well once too often.

The Lohan show, which aired at 9 p.m., suffered a seven percent ratings decline from Glee's episode the previous week, capturing just six million viewers. The 8 p.m. episode of Glee, which did not feature Lohan, combined with the 9 p.m. Lohan episode left the Fox network fourth in total viewers for the night.

By comparison, ABC's Cougar Town also suffered a ratings dip on Tuesday, but the network was still third in ratings among the five major broadcast networks. CBS finished first for the night thanks to a strong showing for the season finale of NCIS while NBC was second.

Why didn't Lohan, a tabloid TV staple, lead Glee and Fox to better ratings? One could speculate that the mercurial actress is more a media favorite than a fan favorite. Due largely to her troubled personal life, Lohan has worked sparingly in recent years and that could have dampened interest in her appearance on Glee.