Glee is an American teen musical comedy-drama television series that airs on the Fox network in the United States. It focuses on the reconstituted William McKinley High School glee club, New Directions, which competes on the show choir competition circuit while its disparate members deal with relationships, sexuality, social issues, and learning to become an effective team. The initial twelve-member main cast encompassed new club director and Spanish teacher Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays), Will's wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig), and eight club members played by Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele,Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, and Jenna Ushkowitz. In subsequent seasons, the main cast has expanded to fourteen and fifteen members.
The series was created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan, the last of whom first conceived of Glee as 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. The pilot episode was broadcast on May 19, 2009, and the first season aired from September 9, 2009, to June 8, 2010. Subsequent seasons have begun airing in September and ended in May; the fifth season premiered on September 26, 2013, and a sixth season has already been commissioned.[1] Glee features on-screen performance-based musical numbers that are selected by Murphy, who aims to maintain a balance between show tunes and chart hits, and produced by Adam Anders and Peer Åström. Songs covered in the show are released through the iTunes Store during the week of broadcast, and a series of Glee albums have been released by Columbia Records. The music of Glee has been a commercial success, with over thirty-six million digital single sales and eleven million album sales worldwide through October 2011. The series' merchandise also includes DVD and Blu-ray releases, an iPad application, and karaoke games for the Wii. There were live concert tours by the show's cast after the first and second seasons completed shooting; a concert film based on the 2011 tour, Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, was produced by Murphy and Fox and directed by Kevin Tancharoen.
During its first season, Glee received generally favorable reviews from critics, with Metacritic's weighted average of 77 out of 100 based on eighteen critical reviews. The season was nominated for nineteen Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, six Satellite Awards and fifty-seven other awards, with wins including the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, and Emmy awards for Jane Lynch, guest-star Neil Patrick Harris and Murphy's direction of the pilot episode. In 2011, the show once again won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series, and Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer won Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor respectively, and Gwyneth Paltrow won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. The show was also chosen by Fox to fill the coveted timeslot that followed the network's coverage of Super Bowl XLV in 2011.
On October 17, 2013, in the wake of the death of Cory Monteith three months earlier, and a week after his tribute episode "The Quarterback" was aired, Murphy announced that the sixth season will be the final season of the series.[2]
Contents
[show]Production[edit]
Conception[edit]
Ian Brennan conceived Glee based on his own experience as a member of the Prospect High School show choir in Mount Prospect, Illinois.[3] He initially envisioned Glee as a film, rather than a television series, and wrote the first draft in August 2005 with the aid of Screenwriting for Dummies.[3] He completed the script in 2005, but could not generate interest in the project for several years.[4] 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.[5] Murphy had been in a show choir in college, and felt he could relate to the script. Murphy and his Nip/Tuck colleague Brad Falchuk suggested that Glee be produced as a television show. The script was entirely rewritten,[4] and was picked up by Fox within fifteen hours of being received. Murphy attributed that, in part, to the network's success with American 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.[6] Murphy and Falchuk became the show's executive producers and showrunners, Brennan became a co-executive producer and Novick a producer.[6] Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy started by writing "all the episodes".[7]
Glee is set at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio.[8] Murphy chose a Midwest setting as he himself grew up in Indiana, and recalled childhood visits to Ohio to theKings Island theme park.[9] Although set in Lima, the show is filmed at Paramount Studios and Helen Bernstein High School in Hollywood.[10] Murphy has said that he has never seen aHigh School Musical film, to which Glee has 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 of Chicago.[11] 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 why Idol worked. It's pure escapism," he said.[6] Murphy intended to make a family show to appeal to adults as well as children, with adult characters starring equally alongside the teenage leads,[6] and as of October 2009 he had already mapped out plans for the series covering three years of broadcast.[12]
Writing[edit]
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.[13]
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.[14] The season's fourth episode, "Pot o' Gold", was written by Adler, the first not credited to the show's three creators.[15][16]
Adler and Noxon did not return for the show's fourth season and instead House writers Russel Friend and Garrett Lerner, and Stacy Traub were hired.
Music and choreography[edit]
Main articles: List of songs in Glee and Glee discography
The series features numerous song covers sung onscreen by the characters.[17] Ryan Murphy is responsible for selecting all of the songs used, and has said that he strives 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."[5] 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."[18] In a 2010 interview with Allison Kugel, Chris Colfer noted that "there have been a couple of times when I have gone to Ryan Murphy (Glee creator) 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."[19] For the second season, a shift toward using more Top 40 songs was seen, in an effort to appeal more to the18–49 demographic.[20]
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."[17] A minority of those approached refused to allow their music to be used, including Bryan Adams, Guns N' Roses and Coldplay; however, in June 2010, Coldplay reversed their decision, allowing Glee the rights to their catalog.[21] Adams posted on his Twitter account that the producers of Glee had never requested permission from him and urged them to "pick up the phone".[22] Composer and musician Billy Joel offered many of his songs for use on the show,[23] and other artists have offered use of their songs for free.[24] A series of Glee soundtrack albums have been released through Columbia Records. Songs featured on the show are available for digital download through iTunes up to two weeks before new episodes air, and through other digital outlets and mobile carriers a week later.[12] Glee music producers Adam Anders and Peer Astrom have 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.[25]
Glee is choreographed by Zach Woodlee and features four to eight production numbers per episode.[26] 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 rearranges it for the Glee cast.[12] Numbers are pre-recorded by the cast, while Woodlee constructs the accompanying dance moves, which are then taught to the cast and filmed.[5] 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.[12] Each episode costs at least $3 million to produce,[5] and can take up to ten days to film as a result of the elaborate choreography.[11] In late 2010, Bloom reported the process has been even shorter; "as quick as a few weeks".[20] 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.[20]
Promotion[edit]
Further information: Glee Live! In Concert!
Prior to the premiere of the second episode, the cast of Glee went on tour at several Hot Topic stores across the nation.[27] The cast sang the U.S. national anthem at the third game of the 2009 World Series.[28] They were invited by Macy's to perform at the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but host broadcaster NBC rejected the plan due to Glee airing on a rival network.[29]Murphy commented on the cast's exclusion: "I completely understand NBC's position, and look forward to seeing a Jay Leno float."[30]
Due to the success of the show, the cast went on a concert tour following the first season wrap up—Glee Live! In Concert!—visiting Phoenix, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.[31] In addition, the cast recorded a cover of Wham!'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.[12] Morrison, Lynch, Michele, Monteith and Colfer reprised their roles as Will, Sue, Rachel, Finn and Kurt respectively for a cameo appearance in an episode of The Cleveland Show that aired January 16, 2011.[32] Michele, Monteith and Riley appeared as campers in the twenty-second season premiere of The Simpsons.[33]
Lynch, Colfer, Monteith and Riley appeared at the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010.[34] When Agron, Michele and Monteith posed for a set of risqué photos for the November 2010 edition of GQ magazine, the show was criticized by the Parents Television Council (PTC). PTC president Tim Winter commented that Glee has 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."[35]
The promotional posters for the first season have the stars of the show using their right hands to make an "L" to fill in the L of the word Glee. The promotional posters for the second season have the stars of the show in pairs throwing slushies at the camera. The promotional posters for the third season have the stars of the show 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 for the remainder of the 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 that with twelve days in England and Ireland, from June 22 through July 3, 2011.[36] The cast also performed on the seventh season of The X Factor on December 5, 2010.[37]
Cast and characters[edit]
Main article: Characters of Glee
In casting Glee, 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 found Matthew Morrison, who had previously starred on stage in Hairspray and The Light in the Piazza; Lea Michele, who starred in Spring Awakening; and Jenna Ushkowitz, who had been in the Broadway revival of The King and I.[38]
Actors lacking theatrical experience needed to demonstrate, during their auditions, that they could also sing and dance. Chris Colfer had no previous professional experience, but Murphy wrote in the character Kurt Hummel for him to play.[38] Jayma Mays auditioned with the song "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me" from The Rocky Horror Show, while Cory Monteith initially 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" of REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling".[38] Kevin McHalecame from a boy-band background, having previously been part of the group Not 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."[38] Jane Lynch was originally supposed to have a recurring role in the show,[39] but was made a series regular when a Damon Wayans pilot she was working on for ABC fell through.[40] The cast is contracted for a potential three Glee films,[41] 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."[42] Murphy said in December 2010 that he wasn't interested in doing a Glee movie "as a story", and added, "I might do it as a live concert thing."[43] Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, filmed during the 2011 Glee Live! In Concert! tour, was released on August 12, 2011.[44]
Glee has featured as many as fifteen main roles with star billing, after starting with twelve. Morrison plays Will Schuester, McKinley High's Spanish teacher, who becomes director of the glee club, hoping to restore it to its former glory.[26] Lynch plays Sue Sylvester, head coach of the "Cheerios" cheerleading squad, and the Glee Club's nemesis.[40] Mays appears as Emma Pillsbury, the school's mysophobic guidance counselor who has feelings for Will,[45] and Jessalyn Gilsig plays Terri Schuester, Will's wife whom he eventually divorces after five years of marriage—they separate when he discovers she has faked being pregnant instead of revealing she had suffered a false pregnancy.[46] Michele plays Rachel Berry, talented star of the glee club who is often bullied by the Cheerios and football players, but grows closer to them as the show progresses. Rachel has an on and off relationship with Finn Hudson starting in season one, and the two become engaged in season three.[46]Monteith played Finn, star quarterback of the school's football team who risks alienation by his friends after joining the glee club.[46] Also in the club are Amber Rileyas Mercedes Jones, a fashion-conscious diva who initially resents having to sing back-up; Colfer as Kurt Hummel, a fashionable gay male countertenor;[47] McHale as Artie Abrams, a guitar player and paraplegic; and Ushkowitz as Tina Cohen-Chang, an Asian American student with a fake speech impediment. Dianna Agron plays Quinn Fabray, Finn's cheerleader girlfriend, who later joins the glee club to keep an eye on him. Mark Salling plays Noah "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 the glee club himself. Naya Rivera and Heather Morris, who portray Cheerios and glee club vocalists Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce respectively, were originally recurring actors, but starting in the second season were promoted to series regulars.[48] Mike O'Malley, who plays Kurt's father Burt Hummel, also became a series regular on season two.[49] Gilsig and O'Malley no longer appear on the list of starring actors at the beginning of the third season, though O'Malley will be appearing as a recurring guest star in at least six episodes during the season.[50] Two actors were promoted to series regulars as of the third season: Harry Shum, Jr. as football player and glee club member Mike Chang and Darren Criss as former Dalton Academy Warbler and new club member Blaine Anderson, both of whom started as recurring actors, Shum in the first season and Criss in the second.[51] For the fourth season, Chord Overstreet, who started as a recurring actor in the second season, playing glee club member Sam Evans, was promoted to the main cast,[52] 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."[53] Adult characters played by Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch will remain to provide continuity to the series,[54] though according to Falchuk, some students—Rachel, Finn and Kurt in particular—will likely remain on the show after they graduate.[55] 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."[56]
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 that Jacob Artist, Melissa Benoist, Blake Jenner,Alex Newell and Becca Tobin, who play Jake Puckerman, Marley Rose, Ryder Lynn, Wade "Unique" Adams and Kitty Wilde, respectively, were all being promoted to the show's main cast.[57]
On July 13, 2013, Cory Monteith was found dead in his room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. An autopsy was completed on July 15, indicating that he died due to alcohol and heroin overdose.[58][59] On July 20, 2013, Ryan Murphy said in various media outlets that Cory will have a tribute in episode three of season five, which will deal with the death of Monteith's character, Finn.[60] The episode will be dealing directly with the incidents that were involved in Cory's passing and the drug abuse in particular.[61]
On July 30, 2013, Jayma Mays confirmed that she will depart the show after the fifth season, in order to work on other projects, but stated that she would be open to returning as a guest star in the future.[62]
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