Lady Gaga’s 2011 Thanksgiving Day Special Beats Beyonce’s 2010 Slot

Jemal Countess, Getty Images

We sense a cat fight brewing — at least in the ratings. Lady Gaga bested her ‘Telephone’ duet partner Beyonce in the battle of the Thanksgiving special ratings. Gaga’s self-directed, 90-minute special, ‘A Very Gaga Thanksgiving,’ aired Thanksgiving 2011 and featured her performing, cooking a fried turkey and being interviewed by Katie Couric.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Gaga’s special pulled in 5.5 million viewers with a 1.6 rating in the much-desired 18-49 demographic. The show boosted the network’s performance in the time slot by 23 percent from a year prior. Beyonce’s music special aired aired during the same frame last Turkey Day and didn’t fare as well, unfortunately. Gaga’s special brought the network its best Thanksgiving ratings since 2007, so it was indeed a victory.

Despite how well the program did, it was not the most watched nor was it the highest rated program of the evening. Reruns of ‘The Big Bang Theory and ‘Rules of Engagement’ pushed CBS ahead of ABC. Reruns of sitcoms over the Mother Monster’s intimate and artful special? Ah, whatevs. All the cool kids and monsters watched Gaga’s special and it was worth the hour-and-a-half investment!

Gaga’s special was a Turkey Day treat that brought us straight into her living room as much as it brought her into ours. Let’s see if the ratings are enough to bring her back the network in another artistic capacity!