Glee(TV series)

Glee
Genre	Jukebox musical Comedy-drama Romantic comedy Teen drama
Created by	Ryan Murphy Brad Falchuk Ian Brennan
Showrunner	Ryan Murphy
Starring	Dianna Agron Chris Colfer Jessalyn Gilsig Jane Lynch Jayma Mays Kevin McHale Lea Michele Cory Monteith Matthew Morrison Amber Riley Mark Salling Jenna Ushkowitz Heather Morris Mike O'Malley Naya Rivera Darren Criss Harry Shum Jr. Chord Overstreet Jacob Artist Melissa Benoist Blake Jenner Alex Newell Becca Tobin Dot-Marie Jones
Ending theme	"Time for Some Girl Talk"
Composer	James S. Levine
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No.of seasons	6
No.of episodes	121(list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Ryan Murphy Brad Falchuk Dante Di Loreto Ian Brennan Russel Friend Garrett Lerner Bradley Buecker
Producers	Alexis Martin Woodall Michael Novick Kenneth Silverstein Robert Del Valle Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Production locations	Hollywood,California
Cinematography	Christopher Baffa Michael Goi Joaquin Sedillo
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	40–48 minutes 58 minutes (season 2, episode 18)
Production companies	Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision Ryan Murphy Productions 20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	May 19, 2009(2009-05-19)– March 20, 2015(2015-03-20)
Related
The Glee Project

Glee(stylized asglee) is an Americanjukebox musicalcomedy-dramatelevision series that aired onFoxin the United States from May 19, 2009, to March 20, 2015. It centers on the New Directions, aglee clubat the fictional William McKinley High School, that is located in the American state of Ohio. The club competes as ashow choirwhile its disparate members deal withsocial issues,especially regardingsexuality,race,family,teen relationships andteamwork.

The initial twelve-member main cast includedMatthew Morrisonas teacherWill Schuester,Jane Lynchas schemingcheerleadingcoachSue Sylvester,Jayma Maysas guidance counselorEmma Pillsbury,Jessalyn Gilsigas Will's wife,Terri Schuester.Other main cast members played students, withDianna AgronasQuinn Fabray,a popular cheerleader who experiences ateenage pregnancy;Chris ColferasKurt Hummel,an effeminate, openly gay boy;Kevin McHaleasArtie Abrams,a boy with aphysical disability;Lea MicheleasRachel Berry,an ambitious performer driven by her dreams of becoming aBroadway theatrestar;Cory MonteithasFinn Hudson,the school's sometimes-slow-witted starquarterback;Amber RileyasMercedes Jones,an aspiring vocal diva who endeavors to be recognized for her talents;Mark SallingasNoah Puckerman,a teenage delinquent in need of direction; andJenna UshkowitzasTina Cohen-Chang,a shy goth who longs to be popular. The main cast was altered throughout the series, including the addition ofNaya RiveraasSantana Lopez,a sardonic and cynical cheerleader struggling with her sexuality,Harry Shum Jr.asMike Chang,a soft-spokendancerwhose parents do not support his dreams, andHeather MorrisasBrittany Pierce,a ditzy cheerleader who is secretly a math prodigy.

The series was created byRyan Murphy,Brad Falchuk,andIan Brennan,the latter of whom first conceived ofGleeas a film. The three wrote all of the show's episodes for the first two seasons, and Murphy and Falchuk initially served as the show's main directors. Thepilot episodewas broadcast on May 19, 2009, and thefirst seasonaired from September 9, 2009, to June 8, 2010. Subsequent seasons aired from September through May. Thesixthand final season aired from January to March 2015.Gleefeatures on-screen performance-based musical numbers that were selected by Murphy, who aimed to maintain a balance betweenshow tunesandchart hits,and were produced byAdam AndersandPeer Åström.Songs covered in the show were released through theiTunes Storeduring the week of broadcast, and a series ofGleealbums have been released byColumbia Records.The music ofGleehas been a commercial success, with over 36 million digital single sales and eleven million album sales worldwide through October 2011. The series' merchandise also includes DVD and Blu-ray releases, aniPadapplication, andkaraokegames for theWiihome videogame console. There were live concert tours by the show's cast after the first and second seasons completed shooting; aconcert filmbased on the 2011 tour, andGlee: The 3D Concert Movie,which was produced by Murphy and Fox and directed byKevin Tancharoen.

During its first season,Gleereceived generally favorable reviews from critics, withMetacritic's weighted average of 77 out of 100 based on 18 critical reviews.Gleehas won manyaccolades.The season was nominated for 19Emmy Awards,fourGolden Globe Awards,sixSatellite Awardsand 57 other awards, with wins including the 2010Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy,and Emmy awards forJane Lynch,guest-starNeil Patrick Harrisand Murphy's direction of thepilot episode.In 2011, the show once again won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series, and Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer won Golden Globes forBest Supporting ActressandBest Supporting Actorrespectively, andGwyneth Paltrowwon the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. The show was also chosen by Fox to fill the coveted time slot that followed the network's coverage ofSuper Bowl XLVin 2011.

In 2013, in the wake of Cory Monteith's death and after his tribute episode "The Quarterback"aired, Murphy announced that the sixth season would be the series' last.After 121 episodes and over 729 music performances,Gleeconcluded on March 20, 2015.

Series overview

Main article:List ofGleeepisodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired		Average total viewers including DVR(millions)	Rank
			First aired	Last aired
1	22		May 19, 2009(2009-05-19)	June 8, 2010(2010-06-08)	9.77	33
2	22		September 21, 2010(2010-09-21)	May 24, 2011(2011-05-24)	10.11	43
3	22		September 20, 2011(2011-09-20)	May 22, 2012(2012-05-22)	8.71	56
4	22		September 13, 2012(2012-09-13)	May 9, 2013(2013-05-09)	8.26	50
5	20		September 26, 2013(2013-09-26)	May 13, 2014(2014-05-13)	4.57	105
6	13		January 9, 2015(2015-01-09)	March 20, 2015(2015-03-20)	3.14	148

The series centers on a high schoolshow choir,also known as aglee club,in the fictional William McKinley High School inLima, Ohio.Will Schuester(Matthew Morrison) takes over the glee club after the former teacherSandy Ryerson(Stephen Tobolowsky) is fired for inappropriate contact with a student. With a rag-tag group of misfit teenagers, Will attempts to restore the glee club to its former glory while tending to his developing feelings for his co-worker, guidance counselorEmma Pillsbury(Jayma Mays), as well as defending the glee club's existence from the conniving cheerleading coachSue Sylvester(Jane Lynch). A major focus of the series is the students in the glee club: their relationships as couples, their love of singing and desire for popularity coming into conflict due to their membership in the low-status club, and the many vicissitudes of life in high school and as a teenager.

Thefirst seasonfeatures the fictional high school show choir New Directions competing for the first time on the show choir circuit, winning at the Sectionals competition (episode 13) but losing at Regionals (season finale/episode 22), while its members and faculty deal withsex,relationships,homosexuality,teenage pregnancy,disabilities,acceptanceand other social issues. The central characters areglee clubdirector Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), Will's wifeTerri(Jessalyn Gilsig), guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays), and glee club membersRachel(Lea Michele),Finn(Cory Monteith),Artie(Kevin McHale),Kurt(Chris Colfer),Mercedes(Amber Riley),Tina(Jenna Ushkowitz),Puck(Mark Salling), andQuinn(Dianna Agron).

Thesecond seasonfollows the club through wins at the Sectionals (episode 9) and Regionals (episode 16) competitions before losing at the Nationals competition in New York City (season finale/episode 22), while its members and faculty deal with relationships,religion,homophobia,bullying,rumors,teenage drinking, death and other social issues. The season's stories revolve around the same Glee club members as first season, withSantana Lopez(Naya Rivera) andBrittany S. Pierce(Heather Morris) added to the main cast, along with Kurt's fatherBurt(Mike O'Malley).

Thethird seasonfollows the club through wins at Sectionals (episode 8) and Regionals competitions (episode 14), before they win the Nationals competition (episode 21) inChicago.The characters deal withgender identity,adoption,domestic abuse,teenage suicide,bullying, disabilities,texting while driving,collegeand other social issues. Glee club members added to the main cast wereMike Chang(Harry Shum Jr.) and transfer studentBlaine Anderson(Darren Criss), while Jessalyn Gilsig as Terri Schuester was written out of the series and Mike O'Malley as Burt returned to recurring status. The McKinley High class of 2012 graduates at the end of the season.

Thefourth seasoncontinues in Lima with a new generation of students but also follows some of the McKinley graduates from the third season, notably to the fictional New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts (NYADA) in New York City. The season follows the club through a loss at the Sectionals competition (episode 9) and subsequent reinstatement when the winning Dalton Academy Warblers were found to have used banned substances (human growth hormone) (episode 12) before winning at the Regionals competition (episode 22), which meant they would be attending their third consecutive National show choir competition. In the meantime, Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel navigate NYADA and their lives as aspiring performers, plus their relationships with Finn and Blaine. Issues during the season include sex,bulimia,gender identity,child molestation,dyslexia,school violence,andpregnancy scares.Former main cast members Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays) and Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron) were credited as guest stars, while previously recurring glee club memberSam Evans(Chord Overstreet) was promoted to the main cast.

Thefifth season,unlike previous seasons, continues the school year begun in the previous season. The season shows the reigning champion glee club finishing second at Nationals competition (episode 11) before the club is permanently disbanded by Sue Sylvester, now school principal, for budgetary reasons (episode 12), leaving the focus on graduation. The show then jumps several months forward in time and deals entirely with the alumni's lives inNew York Cityfor the remainder of the season, including Rachel's successful Broadway debut. Throughout this season, the club and its alumni deal with relationships; death andmourning;body image,gay bashing,intimacy, and other social issues. Several main cast members dropped to recurring guest stars as of this season: Amber Riley as Mercedes, Mark Salling as Puck, Harry Shum Jr. as Mike and Heather Morris as Brittany. New main cast members included glee club members introduced in the fourth season:Melissa BenoistasMarley Rose,a kind teenager who develops aneating disorder;Alex NewellasUnique Adams,a shy, nerdy teenager who becomes more bold and glamorous after coming out astransgender;Blake JennerasRyder Lynn,adyslexicteen;Jacob ArtistasJake Puckerman,abiracialteen struggling withanger issues;andBecca TobinasKitty Wilde,aChristianmean girl. Actor Cory Monteith died during summer before the fifth season was shot; his character, Finn Hudson, died off-screen in the season's third episode, "The Quarterback".

Thesixthand final season focuses on Rachel Berry, who returns to McKinley after her television pilot fails. She decides to reconstitute the glee club with all-new McKinley students and with Kurt's help. Will Schuester is now coaching rival club Vocal Adrenaline, while Blaine is coaching the Dalton Academy Warblers. All of the new main cast members from the fifth season have returned to guest star status in this final season when they appear, as well as Naya Rivera as Santana and Jenna Ushkowitz as Tina; Amber Riley as Mercedes rejoins the main cast, andDot-Marie JonesasCoach Beistejoins the main cast for the first time. The cast members deal withgay marriage,gender identity,transitioningand other social issues. The newly reconstituted club wins the Nationals competition, Sue is fired as principal and Will is hired to be the principal of a McKinley High repurposed as amagnet arts school,with Sam as the new director of New Directions. The finale jumps five years into the future: Rachel has marriedJesse St. James(Jonathan Groff), wins a Tony Award, and is a surrogate mother for Kurt and Blaine (who are themselves Broadway stars). Artie has directed Tina in a film, Mercedes is a highly successful recording artist, and Sue has just been re-electedVice President of the United States.The McKinley auditorium is renamed after Finn.

Cast and characters

Main article:List ofGleecharacters

In castingGlee,Murphy sought out actors who could identify with the rush of starring in theatrical roles. Instead of using traditional network casting calls, he spent three months on Broadway, where he foundMatthew Morrison,who had previously starred on stage inHairsprayandThe Light in the Piazza;Lea Michele,who starred inSpring Awakening;andJenna Ushkowitz,who had been in the Broadway revival ofThe King and I.

Matthew Morrisonwas cast after Murphy spent three months observing actors on Broadway.

During their auditions, actors without any theatrical experience needed to demonstrate that they could also sing and dance.Chris Colferhad no previous professional experience, but Murphy wrote in the characterKurt Hummelfor him.Jayma Maysauditioned with the song "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me"fromThe Rocky Horror Show,whileCory Monteithinitially submitted a tape of himself acting only, and was requested to submit a second, musical tape, in which he sang "a cheesy, '80s music-video-style version" ofREO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling".Kevin McHalecame from a boy-band background, having previously been part of the groupNot Like Them.He explained that the diversity of the cast's backgrounds reflects the range of different musical styles within the show itself: "It's a mix of everything: classic rock, current stuff, R&B. Even the musical theatre stuff is switched up. You won't always recognize it."Jane Lynchwas originally supposed to have a recurring role asSue Sylvester,but was made a series regular when aDamon Wayanspilot she was working on forABCfell through.The cast is contracted for a potential threeGleefilms,with their contract stating that "[The actor] hereby grants Fox three exclusive, irrevocable options to engage [the actor] in up to, respectively, three feature-length motion pictures."Murphy said in December 2010 that he wasn't interested in doing aGleemovie "as a story", and added, "I might do it as a live concert thing."Glee: The 3D Concert Movie,filmed during the 2011Glee Live! In Concert!tour, was released on August 12, 2011.

Cory Monteithportrayed glee club member Finn Hudson.

Gleehas featured as many as fifteen main roles withstar billing,after starting with twelve. Morrison playsWill Schuester,McKinley High's Spanish teacher, who becomes glee-club director and hopes to restore it to its former glory.Lynch playsSue Sylvester,head coach of the "Cheerios" cheerleading squad, and the Glee Club's nemesis.Mays appears asEmma Pillsbury,the school'smysophobicguidance counselorwho has feelings for Will,andJessalyn GilsigplaysTerri Schuester,Will's wife whom he eventually divorces after five years of marriage and the discovery that she has faked being pregnant instead of revealing she had suffered afalse pregnancy.Michele playsRachel Berry,talented star of the glee club whose ambition sometimes causes her to be insensitive toward others. Often bullied by the Cheerios and football players, she grows closer to them as the show progresses and begins an on-and-off relationship withFinn Hudsonstarting in season one; they become engaged in season three. Monteith played Finn, star quarterback of the school's football team who risks alienation by his friends after joining the glee club.Also in the club areAmber RileyasMercedes Jones,a fashion-conscious diva who resents having to sing back-up but eventually finds her place in the choir; Colfer asKurt Hummel,a fashionable gay mancountertenorwho is often bullied by the jocks in the school;McHale asArtie Abrams,a guitar player and paraplegic who longs to be seen for his personality rather than only his physical injuries; and Ushkowitz asTina Cohen-Chang,a painfully shy Asian American student who fakes aspeech impedimentas a defense mechanism.Dianna AgronplaysQuinn Fabray,Finn's cheerleader girlfriend, who later joins the glee club to keep an eye on him.Mark SallingplaysNoah "Puck" Puckerman,a good friend of Finn's on the football team who at first disapproves of Finn joining the glee club, but later joins it himself.Naya RiveraandHeather Morrisportray Cheerios and glee club vocalistsSantana LopezandBrittany Piercerespectively and were originally recurring actors, but were promoted to series regulars in the second season.Mike O'Malley,who plays Kurt's fatherBurt Hummel,also became a series regular on season two.Gilsig and O'Malley no longer appeared on the list of starring actors at the beginning of the third season, though O'Malley was a recurring guest star in at least six episodes during the season.Two actors were promoted to series regulars as of the third season:Harry Shum Jr.as football player and glee club memberMike ChangandDarren Crissas former Dalton Academy Warbler and new club memberBlaine Anderson,both of whom started as recurring actors, Shum in the first season and Criss in the second.For the fourth season,Chord Overstreet,who started as a recurring actor in the second season, playing glee club memberSam Evans,was promoted to the main cast,while Agron and Mays were credited as recurring guest stars.

Many of the original characters graduated from McKinley High at the end of the third season. Murphy said, "We didn't want to have a show where they were in high school for eight years. We really wanted to be true to that experience."Adult characters played by Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch would remain to provide continuity to the series,though according to Falchuk, some students—Rachel, Finn and Kurt in particular—would likely remain on the show after they graduate.In May 2012, Murphy said that just because a character on the show graduates high school does not mean that they are leaving, "A lot of people have been writing Dianna's off the show, Amber's off the show — they're not off the show. I think Amber was talking about that bittersweet feeling of, 'I'll never be in the choir room with that exact group of people.' At least that's what she told me... When I read that [tweet,] I said, 'I think people will misconstrue that.' She's excited about where her character is going. They all are. I wanted to do the right thing by all of them." He then continued: "They're all coming back. Anyone who is a regular is coming back. Everyone said yes."

On June 28, 2013, the media reported that Morris, Riley, Salling, and Shum would be changing from starring status to guest starring roles for the fifth season, and on the following day thatJacob Artist,Melissa Benoist,Blake Jenner,Alex Newell,andBecca Tobin(who playJake Puckerman,Marley Rose,Ryder Lynn,Wade "Unique" Adams,andKitty Wilde,respectively), were all being promoted to the show's main cast.

On July 13, 2013, Cory Monteith was found dead in his room at theFairmont Pacific Rimhotel inVancouver,British Columbia,after failing to check out. Staff were sent to his room where it was then that his body was discovered. An autopsy completed on July 15 indicated that he died ofalcoholandheroin overdose.On July 20, 2013, Ryan Murphy said in various media outlets that Cory would have a tribute in season five's third episode, which would deal with the death of Monteith's character, Finn.

On July 30, 2013, Mays confirmed that she would depart the show after the fifth season to work on other projects, but stated that she would be open to returning as a guest star in the future.

On July 7, 2014, it was confirmed that Rivera and Ushkowitz would be placed on a recurring status for the sixth and final season.On August 28, a website revealed that Amber Riley would once again become a regular along withDot-Marie Joneswhile Jayma Mays would be on a recurring status.

Production

Conception

Ian BrennanconceivedGleebased on his own experience as a member of theProspect High Schoolshow choir inMount Prospect, Illinois.He initially envisionedGleeas a film, rather than a television series, and wrote the first draft in August 2005 with the aid ofScreenwritingfor Dummies.He completed the script in 2005, but could not generate interest in the project for several years.Mike Novick, a television producer and a friend of Brennan's from Los Angeles, was a member of the same gym as Ryan Murphy, and gave him a copy of Brennan's script.Murphy had been in a show choir in college and felt he could relate to the script. Murphy and hisNip/Tuckcolleague Brad Falchuk suggested thatGleebe produced as a television show. The script was entirely rewritten,and was picked up byFoxwithin fifteen hours of being received. Murphy attributed that, in part, to the network's success withAmerican Idol."It made sense for the network with the biggest hit in TV, which is a musical, to do something in that vein," he said.Murphy and Falchuk became the show's executive producers and showrunners, Brennan became a co-executive producer and Novick a producer.Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy started by writing "all the episodes".

Gleeis set at the fictional William McKinley High School inLima, Ohio.Murphy chose a Midwest setting as he himself grew up inIndiana,and recalled childhood visits to Ohio to theKings Islandtheme park.Although set in Lima, the show is filmed atParamount StudiosandHelen Bernstein High Schoolin Hollywood.

Murphy has said that he has never seen aHigh School Musicalfilm, to whichGleehas been compared, and that his interest lay in creating a "postmodern musical", rather than "doing a show where people burst into song", drawing more heavily on the format ofChicago.Murphy intended the show to be a form of escapism. "There's so much on the air right now about people with guns, or sci-fi, or lawyers running around. This is a different genre, there's nothing like it on the air at the networks and cable. Everything's so dark in the world right now, that's whyIdolworked. It's pure escapism, "he said.Murphy intended to make a family show to appeal to adults as well as children, with adult characters starring equally alongside the teenage leads,and as of October 2009 he had already mapped out plans for the series covering three years of broadcast.

Writing

The three creators—Murphy, Falchuk, and Brennan—plan the stories together. For the first two seasons, they were the only writers, and after taking joint credit for the pilot episode and the episode that opened the fall 2009 season, they began rotating taking a single auctorial credit, based in large part on the person "who's taken the lead in story breaking or who wrote a draft". Brennan noted that the writing process is "fast and loose, with the emphasis on fast", and quotes Murphy as having said, in terms of their roles in episode creation, "I'm sort of the brain. Brad's sort of the heart. Ian's sort of the funny bone", which Brennan says "is true in a lot of ways". Some of the characters are written more by one writer than by the others. Brennan writes most of Sue's material, and Falchuk frequently writes the scenes between Kurt and Burt Hummel, though Murphy contributes a great deal to Kurt.

Starting with season three, a writing staff of six was hired:Ali Adler,Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa,Marti Noxon,Michael Hitchcock,Matt Hodgson and Ross Maxwell.The season's fourth episode, "Pot o' Gold",was written by Adler, the first not credited to the show's three creators.

Adler and Noxon did not return for the show's fourth season and insteadHousewritersRussel FriendandGarrett Lerner,and Stacy Traub were hired.

Music and choreography

Main articles:Lists of songs inGlee,Gleealbums discography,andGleesongs discography

The series features numerous songcoverssung onscreen by the characters.Ryan Murphy was responsible for selecting all of the songs used, and has said that he strove to maintain a balance between chart hits and show tunes: "I want there to be something for everybody in every episode. That's a tricky mix, but that's very important—the balancing of that."According to Murphy, the song choices are integral to script development, "Each episode has a theme at its core. After I write the script, I will choose songs that help to move the story along."In a 2010 interview with Allison Kugel,Chris Colfernoted that "there have been a couple of times when I have gone to Ryan Murphy (Gleecreator) and told him a couple of things that have happened to me, and then he writes it into the show. Or he'll ask me what song I would want to sing, in this situation or in that situation. I don't think any of us directly try to give input on the character or on the storyline, but they definitely steal things from us. "For the second season, a shift toward using moreTop 40songs was seen, in an effort to appeal more to the18–49 demographic.

Murphy was surprised at the ease with which use of songs was approved by the record labels approached, and explained: "I think the key to it is they loved the tone of it. They loved that this show was about optimism and young kids, for the most part, reinterpreting their classics for a new audience."A minority of those approached refused to allow their music to be used, includingBryan Adams,Guns N' RosesandColdplay;however, in June 2010, Coldplay reversed their decision, allowingGleethe rights to their catalog.Adams posted on his Twitter account that the producers ofGleehad never requested permission from him and urged them to "pick up the phone".Composer and musicianBilly Joeloffered many of his songs for use on the show,and other artists have offered use of their songs for free.A series ofGleesoundtrack albums have been released throughColumbia Records.Songs featured on the show are available fordigital downloadthrough iTunes up to two weeks before new episodes air, and through other digital outlets and mobile carriers a week later.Gleemusic producersAdam AndersandPeer Astromhave begun to add original music to the show, including two original songs, "Loser like Me"and"Get It Right",on the March 15, 2011, episode.

Gleeis choreographed byZach Woodleeand features four to eight production numbers per episode.Once Murphy selects a song, rights are cleared with its publishers by music supervisor P. J. Bloom, and music producers Adam Anders and Peer Astrom rearrange it for theGleecast.Numbers are pre-recorded by the cast, while Woodlee constructs the accompanying dance moves, which are then taught to the cast and filmed.Studio recordings of tracks are then made. The process begins six to eight weeks before each episode is filmed, and can end as late as the day before filming begins.Each episode costs at least $3 million to produce,and can take up to ten days to film as a result of the elaborate choreography.In late 2010, Bloom reported the process has been even shorter; "as quick as a few weeks".For the second season, the creators were offered listens of upcoming songs in advance by publishers and record labels, with production occurring even before song rights are cleared.

Promotion

Further information:Glee Live! In Concert!

A promotional balloon forGleein New York City.

Prior to the second episode's premiere,Glee'scast went on tour at severalHot Topicstores across the nation.The cast sangthe U.S. national anthemat the third game of the2009 World Series.Macy'sinvited them to perform at the 2009Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade,but host broadcasterNBCdeclined becauseGleeaired on a rival network.Ryan Murphy commented on the cast's exclusion: "I completely understand NBC's position, and look forward to seeing aJay Lenofloat. "

The show's success sent the cast on a concert tour,Glee Live! In Concert!after the first season's wrapup. They visitedPhoenix,Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.The cast also recorded a cover ofWham!'s "Last Christmas",which was released as a single in late 2009 but didn't appear in the show until"A Very Glee Christmas"on December 10, 2010.Morrison, Lynch, Michele, Monteith, and Colfer reprised their roles as Will, Sue, Rachel, Finn, and Kurt respectively for a cameo appearance in an episode ofThe Cleveland Showthat aired January 16, 2011.Michele, Monteith, and Riley appeared as campers in thetwenty-secondseason premiereofThe Simpsons.

Lynch, Colfer, Monteith, and Riley appeared at the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010.When Agron, Michele, and Monteith posed for a set of risqué photos for the November 2010 edition ofGQmagazine,Parents Television Council(PTC) criticized the show; PTC president Tim Winter commented thatGleehas many young fans, and that "by authorizing this kind of near-pornographic display, the creators of the program have established their intentions on the show's direction. And it isn't good for families."

The promotional posters for the first season have the show's stars using their right hands to make an "L" to fill in theLof the wordGlee.The second season's promotional posters have the stars throwing slushies at the camera in pairs. The third season's promotional posters have the stars getting dodgeballs thrown at them by Sue Sylvester. While the cast concert tour,Glee Live! In Concert!,began on May 15, 2010, and presented concerts in four cities in the US that month, the second edition, with an almost-entirely new set list, toured for four weeks in the US and Canada from May 21 through June 18, 2011, and followed with twelve days in England and Ireland, from June 22 through July 3, 2011.The cast also performed on theseventh season ofThe X Factoron December 5, 2010.

Possible continuation

In 2020, celebrating the show's 11 year anniversary, Ryan Murphy made anInstagrampost about his idea of re-doing the show's pilot with Lea Michele,Ben Platt,andBeanie Feldstein.Murphy eventually deleted the post.

In 2021, Fox President Michael Thorn revealed he was interested in reviving past Fox programs, most notably24andGlee.

In 2022, in an interview with Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz, Ryan Murphy revealed he was interested in re-examining the series as a brand through a reboot or a Broadway musical.

Broadcast

Thefirst seasonofGleeconsists of twenty-two episodes.Thepilot episodewas originally broadcast on May 19, 2009.The series returned on September 9, 2009,airing an additional twelve episodes on Wednesdays in the 9:00 pm timeslot until December 9, 2009, for a total of thirteen episodes.On September 21, 2009, nine more episodes were ordered for the first season byFox,and the first of these episodes was broadcast on April 13, 2010. These episodes aired on Tuesday evenings at 9:00 pm.On January 11, 2010, it was announced that Fox had commissioned a second season of the show. The second season began production in June 2010.Season twobegan on September 21, 2010,airing in the 8:00 pm time slot on Tuesdays, and consists of twenty-two episodes.The show was chosen by Fox to fill the coveted timeslot that followed the network's coverage ofSuper Bowl XLVin 2011,and the network originally planned to move the show to the 9:00 pm time slot on Wednesdays following the post–Super Bowl broadcast.However, Fox later revised its schedule,leavingGleeon Tuesdays in order to concentrate on building up its weaker Wednesday and Thursday line-ups.A third season was ordered by Fox on May 23, 2010, before the end of the first season. The early renewal of the show allowed the production team to cut costs and to plan ahead when writing scripts.The third season broadcasts remained in the show's Tuesday 8:00 pm time slot,and began airing on September 20, 2011.The show's fourth season changed both date and time of broadcast: it moved to Thursdays in the 9:00 pm time slot, and aired after that evening's 8:00 pm music competition "results" shows—The X Factorin the fall andAmerican Idolin midseason.The show was renewed for both a fifth and sixth season at the same time, on April 19, 2013.Reruns were also syndicated to local US stations from 2013 to 2015.

Gleehas been syndicated for broadcast in many countries worldwide, includingAustralia,where cast members visited to promote the show prior to its September 2009 debut onNetwork Ten.Midway through season four,Gleewas moved to Network Ten's digital channelElevendue to poor ratings.It also airs inCanadaonCityand, previously,Global,New Zealand,Fiji,andTrinidad and Tobago.It is broadcast inSouth Africa,where Fox beams the episodes directly to theM-Netbroadcast center inJohannesburgrather than delivering the tapes.Asian countries that broadcastGleeincludeBangladesh,thePhilippines,India,Malaysia,and Singapore and Myanmar.

All the episodes of the series were announced to be arriving onDisney+in Latin America in February 2021.In the United States, the series was made available on Disney+ andHulustarting on June 1, 2022, following its December 2021 departure from Netflix after over seven years, as well as a year onPrime Video.

UK trademark dispute

In theUnited Kingdom,E4broadcast the first two seasons ofGlee,showing episodes months after they were first aired in the US.Sky 1broadcast the series starting with the third season, airing episodes two days after their US broadcast.However, the show has come under a trademark dispute in the UK withthe Glee Club,a small chain of independent live stand-up comedy and live music venues. In February 2014, aHigh Courtjudge ruled that the show "diluted and tarnished" the reputation of the comedy club chain.In a later ruling in July 2014, the High Court ordered Fox to use a different title for the show in the UK, saying there was a "likelihood of confusion" between the two brands. In February 2016, Fox lost an appeal against the decision.

Merchandise

Main article:Gleemerchandise

Three soundtrack albums were released to accompanyGlee'sfirst season:Glee: The Music, Volume 1,Glee: The Music, Volume 2andGlee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers.Twoextended plays(EP) accompanied the episodes "The Power of Madonna"and"Journey to Regionals":Glee: The Music, The Power of MadonnaandGlee: The Music, Journey to Regionalsrespectively.Glee: The Music, The Complete Season One,acompilation albumfeaturing all 100 studio recordings from the first season, was released exclusively to theiTunes Store.Five soundtrack albums were released to accompanyGlee'ssecond season:Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album,featuring Christmas-themed songs, andGlee: The Music, Volume 4,were both released in November 2010;Glee: The Music, Volume 5,Glee: The Music Presents the Warblers,andGlee: The Music, Volume 6were 2011 releases, in March, April, and May, respectively. An EP entitledGlee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Showwas released to accompany the Halloween episode, "The Rocky Horror Glee Show".Two EPs were released exclusively at theTargetdiscount chain:Glee: The Music, Love Songsin the last week of 2010, andGlee: The Music, Dance Partyin early September 2011.

Gleehas been released on several DVD and Blu-ray box-sets.Glee – Pilot Episode: Director's Cutfeatures the pilot episode and a preview of the second episode, "Showmance".Glee – Volume 1: Road to Sectionalscontains the first thirteen episodes of season one,andGlee – Volume 2: Road to Regionalscontains the final nine episodes of the first season.Glee – The Complete First Seasonwas released on September 13, 2010.Three boxed sets were released for the second season:Glee Season 2: Volume 1containing the first ten episodes on January 25, 2011,and bothGlee Season 2: Volume 2with the final twelve episode andGlee: The Complete Second Seasonwith all twenty-two on September 13, 2011.All three were released on DVD; only the complete season is available on Blu-ray.

Little, Brown Bookshas published threeGlee-relatedyoung adult novels,all of which were developed in collaboration with the show's producers and writers.All three have been written by Sophia Lowell; the first,Glee: The Beginning,was released in August 2010 and serves as a prequel to the events of the television series.Subsequent novels includeGlee: Foreign Exchange,released in February 2011,andGlee: Summer Break,released in July 2011.

Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Productshave plans for a line ofGlee-related merchandise including games, electrical products, greeting cards, apparel and stationery.Macy'scarry a line ofGlee-related clothing, andClaire'sstock accessories.

Halfbrick Studiospublished a Glee content version of the mobile game Band Starsby Six Foot Kidin collaboration withFox Digital Entertainmenton March 27, 2014, currently available oniOSplatforms, but with plans to release toAndroid.The game is available for free download with some Glee content available immediately including Kurt Hummel and Will Schuester. 12 characters from the Glee TV show are available for purchase and download in two separate packs. Pack 1 contains: Rachel Berry, Mercedes Jones, Noah (Puck) Puckerman, Jake Puckerman, Sam Evans, and Quinn Fabray. Pack 2 contains: Artie Abrams, Tina Cohen-Chang, Blaine Anderson, Santana Lopez, Brittany Pierce and Unique Adams.

Reception

Ratings

The pilot episode ofGleeaveraged 9.62 million viewers,and the following eleven episodes attained between 6.10 and 7.65 million.The mid-season finale was watched by 8.13 million viewers,with the show returning in April 2010 to a season high of 13.66 million viewers.The following six episodes attained between 11.49 and 12.98 million viewers,falling to 8.99 million for the penultimate episode "Funk".Viewing figures rose to 11.07 million viewers for the season finale,givingGleethe highest finale rating for a new show in the 2009–10 television season.Only the first twenty episodes of the first season were accounted for when calculating the season average due to the final two episodes airing outside the traditional sweeps period.On February 6, 2011, after theSuper Bowl,Gleereceived its highest ever ratings, with over 26.8 million tuning in to see the special episode, with a peak of 39.5 million.

In 2011,Gleegenerated $2 million advertising revenue per half-hour. In 2012, the show was the fourth-highest revenue earning show of the year, with US$2.83 million ad revenue per half-hour, behindTwo and a Half Men,The X FactorandAmerican Idol.

Viewership and ratings per season ofGlee

Season	Episodes	First aired		Last aired		TV season	Viewership rank	Avg.viewers (millions)	18–49 rank	Avg.18–49 rating
		Date	Viewers (millions)	Date	Viewers (millions)
1	22	May 19, 2009(2009-05-19)	9.62	June 8, 2010(2010-06-08)	10.92	2009–10	33	9.77	15	4.3/11
2	22	September 21, 2010(2010-09-21)	12.45	May 24, 2011(2011-05-24)	11.80	2010–11	43	10.11	43	6.0
3	22	September 20, 2011(2011-09-20)	9.21	May 22, 2012(2012-05-22)	7.46	2011–12	56	8.71	25	3.6/10
4	22	September 13, 2012(2012-09-13)	7.41	May 9, 2013(2013-05-09)	5.92	2012–13	50	8.26	25	3.3
5	20	September 26, 2013(2013-09-26)	5.06	May 13, 2014(2014-05-13)	1.87	2013–14	105	4.57	77	2.2
6	13	January 9, 2015(2015-01-09)	2.34	March 20, 2015(2015-03-20)	2.54	2014–15	148	3.14	120	1.2

Critical reception

Critical response ofGlee

Season	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
1	88% (49 reviews)	78 (19 reviews)
2	79% (29 reviews)	76 (11 reviews)
3	53% (19 reviews)	—
4	65% (23 reviews)	73 (6 reviews)
5	71% (14 reviews)	—
6	72% (18 reviews)	—

Gleereceived aMetacriticscore of 78 out of 100 in its first season, based on reviews by eighteen critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".It was praised by several critics in year-end "best of" reviews in 2009. James Poniewozik ofTimeranked it the eighth best television show of the year, commenting: "whenGleeworks—which is often—it is transcendent, tear-jerking and thrilling like nothing else on TV. "Entertainment Weekly'sKen Tucker ranked it ninth, calling it "Hands down the year's most novel show [and] also its least likely success",Lisa Respers France ofCNNwrote that while ordinarilyGlee'spremise would have been "a recipe for disaster", the show has "such quirky charm and bravado that it is impossible not to get swept up".Reviews for subsequent seasons on Metacritic, reflecting their initial episodes, were not quite as good—the second season's score was 76 out of 100 from eleven reviews,r and the fourth season received a score of 73 out of 100 from six reviews.Even with these stellar reviews from a multitude of critics, Glee's later seasons lost millions of viewers.

Variety's Brian Lowry said thatJayma Maysas Emma offered "modest redemption" to an adult cast of "over-the-top buffoons".

Nancy Gibbs ofTimemagazine wrote that she had heard the series described as "anti-Christian" by a youth minister, and commented:

It is easy to see his point, if you look at the specifics.... The students lie, they cheat, they steal, they lust, they lace the bake-sale cupcakes with pot in order to give the student body a severe case of the munchies. Nearly all theTen Commandmentsget violated at one point or another, while the audience is invited to laugh at people's pain and folly and humiliation.... It insults kids to suggest that simply watching Characters Behaving Badly onscreen means they'll take that as permission to do the same themselves.... And it's set in high school, meaning it's about a journey not just to college and career but to identity and conviction, the price of popularity, the compromises we must make between what we want and what we need.

Variety'sBrian Lowry was critical of the show's early episodes, highlighting acting and characterization issues and deeming the adult cast "over-the-top buffoons", with the exception of Mays' Emma, who he felt offered "modest redemption".Though he praised Colfer and Michele's performances, Lowry wrote that the show's talent was squandered by its "jokey, cartoonish, wildly uneven tone", deeming the series a "one-hit wonder".Following the show's mid-season finale, Lowry wrote that whileGlee"remains a frustrating mess at times", its "vibrant musical numbers and talented cast have consistently kept it on [his]TiVomust list "conceding that" even with its flaws, TV would be poorer withoutGlee."

AsGlee'sinitial success pulled in a large audience, John Doyle ofThe Globe and Mailwrote that the early shows "felt fresh, mainly because the motley crew of kids had a kind of square naïveté." Doyle notes that the early success tookGleeaway from its original characters and plot, focusing more on celebrity guests. "The gaiety is gone fromGlee.You should have set it in its prime, mere months ago ".Matthew Gilbert ofBoston Globesimilarly wrote that "It has become a powerful, promotional machine, long on hype and short on the human feeling—the glee—that once made it so addictive."

Music

The show's 754 musical performances, with each performance delivering an individual song or amashupof two or more songs in a single performance, have led to commercial success, with over thirty-six million copies ofGleecast single releases purchased digitally, and over eleven million albums purchased worldwide through October 2011.In 2009, theGleecast had twenty-five singles chart on theBillboardHot 100,the most by any artist sinceThe Beatleshad thirty-one songs in the chart in 1964;in 2010, it placed eighty singles on theBillboardHot 100, far outstripping the previous record.In February 2011,GleesurpassedElvis Presleyas the act with the most songs placed on theBillboardHot 100 chart, though fewer than one-fourth of them have charted for more than one week.The cast performance of "Don't Stop Believin'"was certifiedgoldon October 13, 2009, achieving over 500,000 digital sales,and on March 16, 2011, received platinum certification for having sales of over a million.The series' cover version had a positive effect on sales ofRihanna's "Take a Bow",which increased by 189 percent after the song was covered in theGleeepisode "Showmance".

However, there has also been critical condemnation of the cast performances. Jon Dolan ofRolling Stonecommented thatMatthew Morrison"couldn't rap his way out of a98°rehearsal ", andAllMusic'sAndrew Leahey wrote thatCory MonteithandDianna Agron"can't sing nearly as well as their co-stars".E! Online's Joal Ryan criticized the show for its "overproduced soundtrack" and complained that many songs rely too heavily on the pitch-correcting softwareAuto-Tune:"For every too-brief moment ofLea Michelesounding raw—and lovely—on a "What a Girl Wants",or Monteith singing a perfectly credibleREO Speedwagonin the shower, there's Michele and Monteith sounding like 1990s-eraCheron "No Air",or Monteith sounding like the Monteith XRZ-200 on the out-of-the-shower version of"Can't Fight This Feeling".

During the second season,Rob SheffieldforRolling Stonenoted theBritney SpearsandRocky Horrortribute episodes as examples when he laudedGleeand its choice of music. He praised Murphy for his selection and resurrection of "forgotten" pop songs and compared the show's uniqueness to "MTV in its prime" as the embodiment ofpopular culture.

Some artists, includingSlash,Kings of LeonandFoo Fighters,have declined to have their songs used on the show. Murphy has been publicly critical of these refusals, which has led to exchanges in the press between him and a number of artists.The cover ofSir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back"in the season four episode"Sadie Hawkins"was particularly criticized byJonathan Coultonfor borrowing the melody (and allegedly portions of the recording) of Coulton's rendition of the song without credit or permission.Other artists have come forward with allegations ofplagiarismin light of this development.It was reported that musicianPrincehad not given permission for Glee to cover his hit "Kiss"before filming the performance of the cover.GorillazfounderDamon Albarnsaid onCBC Radio Onethat he would not let the show cover any Gorillaz songs: "Firstly, write your own songs. Two, have your own identity and stop being the... slaves of TV producers... who don't give a shit about you."

Fandom

Fans ofGleeare commonly referred to as "Gleeks",aportmanteauof "Glee"and" geek ". In the summer of 2009, the cast stopped at selectHot Topicstores on a "Gleek Tour" to promote the series' debut.Also in 2009, Fox ran a "Biggest GLEEK" competition, measuring fans'Glee-related activity on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace, and found that the growth of the fanbase outpaced the network's science-fiction shows.In its initial seasons,Gleewas one of TV's mosttweeted-about shows.Fans have recreated many of its musical numbers in tribute to the show, sharing them on YouTube. Based on this trend, show producers included instrumental versions of some songs on the show's soundtracks.

Similarly,Gleefans have created portmanteaus of character couples, such as "Finchel" for Finn and Rachel, "Samcedes" for Sam and Mercedes, "Klaine" for Kurt and Blaine, and "Brittana" for Brittany and Santana. This fact has been referenced in various second-season episodes, notably "Furt",which is itself a coinage for the new stepbrothers Finn and Kurt, and"Rumours".

Awards and accolades

Main article:List of awards and nominations received byGlee

Jane Lynch, Ian Brennan and Jessalyn Gilsig at the 69th Annual Peabody Awards forGlee

Gleehas received a number of awards and nominations. In 2009, the series won fiveSatellite Awards:"Best Musical or Comedy TV Series","Best Actor "and" Actress in a Musical or Comedy TV Series "for Morrison and Michele,"Best Supporting Actress"for Lynch and" Special Achievement for Outstanding Guest Star "forKristin Chenoweth.In 2010, the show won aGolden Globe Awardfor "Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy".Morrison, Michele and Lynch also received acting nominations.The series was nominated for twoWriters Guild of America Awards,with screenplays nominated in the "Comedy Series" and "New Series" categories.It also won aPeabody Awardin 2009.TheGleecast won the "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series"award at the16th Screen Actors Guild Awards.Paris BarclayandRyan Murphyboth received nominations for "Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series"at the Directors Guild of America Awards for their work onGlee.In July 2010,Gleereceived nineteenEmmy Awardnominations, including "Outstanding Comedy Series","Outstanding Lead Actor – Comedy Series"for Morrison and"Outstanding Lead Actress – Comedy Series"for Michele; it won four of these, including" Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series "for Lynch and" Outstanding Guest Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series "forNeil Patrick Harris.Paris Barclaywas also nominated for aPrimetime Emmyfor Best Directing in a Comedy Series in 2010 for his episode "Wheels".

On January 16, 2011, the show won a Golden Globe for "Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy"and both Lynch and Colfer won Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series, Miniseries, or TV Film.In July 2011,Gleereceived twelve Emmy nominations and won two:Gwyneth Paltrowwas namedOutstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Seriesfor her portrayal ofHolly Holliday,and the show won theOutstanding Casting for a Comedy Seriescategory.It received three Emmy nominations in July 2012, and four in July 2013.The whole cast was invited to sing at theWhite HousebyMichelle Obamain April 2010 for the annualEaster Egg Roll.

Related media

Concert film

Glee: The Concert Movie,aconcert filmbased on the four-week North American segment of the 2011Glee Live! In Concert!tour and featuring the cast of the series in performance and backstage, was released in the United States and the United Kingdom on August 12, 2011, for a two-week limited engagement. The film is directed by Kevin Tancharoen.

Reality television

In summer 2010,Channel 5in the United Kingdom airedDon't Stop Believing,a reality talent show inspired byGlee'ssuccess. The series featured live shows in which established and new musical performance groups competed against each other, performing well-known songs in new arrangements, with viewers voting on the winner.Solo singers were also sought to join a group to represent the United Kingdom on the American glee club circuit.Five's controllerRichard Woolfestated: "There's an explosion in musical performance groups andDon't Stop Believingwill tap into that exciting groundswell. "The show was hosted byEmma Bunton,who toldThe Belfast Telegraphthat she is a "huge fan" ofGlee.The show's judges were formerEastEndersactressTamsin Outhwaite,BluememberDuncan James,singerAnastaciaandHigh School MusicalchoreographerCharles "Chucky" Klapow.

The Glee Project

Main article:The Glee Project

The Glee Projectwas areality televisionseries that served as an audition for the main series. Two seasons aired in the summers of 2011 and 2012.The winning prize was a seven-episode guest-starring role inGlee'sthird season, which was awarded to two contestants,Damian McGinty(Rory) andSamuel Larsen(Joe), with a two-episode role given to the two runner ups,Alex Newell(Wade/Unique) and Lindsay Pearce (Harmony).The Glee Projectwas renewed for a second season that ran from June 5 to August 14, 2012. This season the winner wasBlake Jenner(Ryder), withAli Stroker(Betty) as runner-up. The show was not renewed for a third season.

Documentary films

On June 7, 2010, UK broadcasterChannel 4airedGleeful: The Real Show Choirs of Americaon itsE4station. The documentary explored the Americanshow choirphenomenon which inspiredGlee.Narrated byNick Grimshaw,it went behind the scenes with real-life glee clubs and detailed celebrity show choir alumni includingLance Bass,Ashton Kutcher,Blake LivelyandAnne Hathaway.It was selected as recommended viewing byThe Guardian,with the comment: "it's a fascinating look at the real-life New Directions, and it's equally as crackers as its TV champion."The newspaper's Lucy Mangan reviewed the documentary positively, writing: "It will, one way or another, fill your heart to bursting", and commenting that: "Glee,it turns out, is not a gloriously ridiculous, highly polished piece of escapism. It is cinéma vérité. "It was watched by 411,000 viewers, a 2.3% audience share.

A three-episode documentary miniseries about the deaths of threeGleemain cast members – and claiming to investigate the effect of the sudden fame they experienced due to the show on their personal lives – calledThe Price of Glee,was produced in 2022, with people related to the series finding it in poor taste.

Discography

Albums

Main article:Gleealbums discography

• Glee: The Music, Volume 1(2009)
• Glee: The Music, Volume 2(2009)
• Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers(2010)
• Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album(2010)
• Glee: The Music, Volume 4(2010)
• Glee: The Music, Volume 5(2011)
• Glee: The Music Presents the Warblers(2011)
• Glee: The Music, Volume 6(2011)
• Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2(2011)
• Glee: The Music, Volume 7(2011)
• Glee: The Music, The Graduation Album(2012)
• Glee: The Music, Season 4, Volume 1(2012)
• Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 3(2012)
• Glee Sings the Beatles(2013)

Singles

Main article:Gleesongs discography

Songs

Main article:Lists of songs inGlee(TV series)

See also

• Television portal

External links

• Official website
• GleeatIMDb
• Gleeepisode listatTV Guide
• "Glee (American television program)"at theEncyclopædia Britannica