Desperate Housewives: Lovely

"Lovely" is the fifteenth episode of the sixth season of the American comedy-drama series, Desperate Housewives, and the 126th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on ABC in the United States on February 21, 2010. In the episode, former stripper Robin Gallagher (Julie Benz) interacts with each of the women of Wisteria Lane, drastically affecting their lives. She grows particularly close to Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany), with whom she shares a kiss during a bar outing. The episode was written by David Schladweiler and directed by David Warren. It included the second in a string of guest appearances by Benz, who had recently departed as a regular from the Showtime drama series, Dexter. "Lovely" introduced an ongoing storyline of Katherine exploring her sexuality, a subplot which was met with enthusiasm by actress Delany. The pairing between Robin and Katherine was the first lesbian relationship in Desperate Housewives. "Lovely" received generally mixed reviews, with detractors criticizing it for failing to advance the show's plotlines. According to Nielsen ratings, the episode was seen by 10.9 million viewers, and matched the series low rating from the previous episode, "The Glamorous Life", although the subsequent episode, "The Chase", drew even poorer ratings. Viewership for "Lovely" suffered because of competition from the 2010 Winter Olympics.