Jane Lynch Attracts 6 Million Viewers on 'iCarly'

Nickelodeon's iCarly scored a ratings win with a tour de force guest starring role by Jane Lynch in "iSam's Mom" (Saturday, Sept. 11, at 8 p.m. ET/PT), which introduced fans to Pam Puckett, Sam's never-before-seen, eccentric mother. The half-hour episode ranked as basic cable's top entertainment telecast on Saturday night with total viewers (5.9 million) and also ranks as the number-one telecast with all kid and tween demos for the week. The premiere averaged a 7.5/2.7 million K2-11, a 10.0/2.2 million K6-11 and a 9.8/2.1 million T9-14.

In "iSam's Mom," Sam moves into Carly and Spencer's apartment after having an argument with her mother Pam (Lynch). Sam's peculiar habits make her a terrible house guest and she quickly wears on Spencer and Carly's patience. Desperate to have her move out, Carly tricks Sam and Pam into meeting at a therapist's office so they can reconcile their differences. Carly unwittingly gets stuck with the fiery twosome when they are put in a "Therapy Box," a small confined space where they must talk through their issues before they can be let out.

Nickelodeon closed the week (9/6/10-9/12/10) as the number-one total day cable net with K2-11 (3.1/1.1 million and total viewers (2.0 million), fueled by solid performances by live-action hit iCarly and animated fan favorites SpongeBob SquarePants and The Penguins of Madagascar?Saturday morning (Sept. 11, 9:30 and 10 a.m., respectively) premieres of the two series rank as basic cable's top two animated telecasts for the week with K2-11 and total viewers, drawing 4.5 million and 3.9 million total viewers, respectively.