Glee: Funeral

"Funeral" is the twenty-first episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the forty-third overall. It first aired May 17, 2011 on Fox in the United States, and was written by series creator Ryan Murphy and directed by Bradley Buecker. The episode featured Jonathan Groff guest starring as Jesse St. James, who is brought in as a consultant to help the New Directions glee club prepare for the National Show Choir competition. Sue Sylvester's (Jane Lynch) sister Jean (Robin Trocki) dies unexpectedly, and the glee club helps Sue plan her funeral. The episode received a wide range of reviews, from highly enthusiastic to harshly critical. The performances of the five songs covered were generally well-liked, though having four of them arranged as a series of auditions in the middle of the show met with disapproval. All five songs were released as singles, and three of them charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Upon its initial airing, this episode was viewed by 8.97 million American viewers and garnered a 3.6/10 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. The total viewership and ratings for this episode were down slightly from the previous episode, "Prom Queen". Lynch was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards for her work on the show, and submitted this episode for judging.