The Only Way is Essex is to Brit reality TV what Jersey Shore is to American reality TV. The show, known to fans as TOWIE, runs in the standard Brit format of “series”, which would loosely parallel to American television “seasons”. Fans of Downton Abbey and Sherlock are already familiar with these shorter season formats.

As such, TOWIE has been running for 12 series, ever since 2010. For some shows, there are multiple “series” per year. For others, there may be a hiatus between series of even longer than a year.

But fans of TOWIE in the U.S. can catch episodes on YouTube. That would include and such as Lindsay Lohan. Friends of Lohan say the actress watches every TOWIE episode on YouTube, and is in fact friends with cast members, including being romantically involved with show star Tom Kilbey. But now Lindsay wants in on the action.

One friend of Lohan’s has said that, “Lindsay’s obsessed with all things Essex and she’s watched every episode of TOWIE on YouTube.

“It’s like her new fix. She’s been telling anyone who’ll listen that she’d love to guest star in a few episodes and has even asked her management to set up a meeting with the producers.”

Lohan is also a friend of show star Vas J. Morgan, and was spotted holding hands with him outside a London club recently.

One source inside the show said, ’’We always ensure that everyone on the show has a genuine connection to Essex. As a friend of Vas, Lindsay might fit the bill, but there are no plans as yet.’’

The Only Way is Essex is a scripted reality show, which some people consider an oxymoron. People are placed in pre-arranged situations, and even given lines. For most reality television shows, audiences understand that some situations may be pre-cooked. Even shows lie Duck Dynasty do that. But when cast members are given lines ahead of time, some believe that it crosses from reality TV to simply loose format improv.

Image via YouTube