‘Glee’ hits high note for Fox

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The ‘gleeks’ were out in force Tuesday night.

The return of Fox’s ‘Glee’ drew it biggest audience yet with 13.7-million viewers singing along even if some of us AC/DC fans cringed when one of the characters started belting out ‘Highway to Hell.’ The show also posted a record 5.6 rating among adults ages 18 to 49, which is the highest rating in that demographic for any new show this season except the premiere of CBS’ ‘Undercover Boss,’ which made its debut after the Super Bowl. Each rating point in that demographic equals 1.3 million viewers. Technically speaking, ‘Glee’ actually premiered last May, but Fox calls that episode a ‘preview’ not a premiere. That premiere preview, by the way, averaged 9.6 million viewers and also followed ‘American Idol.’

‘Glee’ was expected to deliver a big number for Fox. There has been a slew of publicity everywhere. The cast recently visited the White House, went on a tour and even landed on the cover of Rolling Stone although the article on them was hardly flattering.

Having ‘American Idol’ as a lead-in didn’t hurt. Simon Cowell & Co. delivered 20.6-million viewers to ‘Glee’ in an episode that ran almost 90 minutes, from 8 p.m. to 9:28 p.m. ‘Glee’ then ran until 10:28 p.m.

Although ‘American Idol’ is clearly showing its age, the 20.6-million viewers and its 7.3 rating among adults 18 to 49 is on par with last week’s numbers.

-- Joe Flint