Glee (TV series)

Ian Brennan conceived Glee based on his own experience as a member of the Prospect High School show choir in Mount Prospect, Illinois.[38] 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.[38] He completed the script in 2005, but could not generate interest in the project for several years.[39] 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.[40] 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,[39] 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.[41] Murphy and Falchuk became the show's executive producers and showrunners, Brennan became a co-executive producer and Novick a producer.[41] Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy started by writing "all the episodes".[42]

Glee is set at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio.[43] Murphy chose a Midwest setting as he himself grew up in Indiana, and recalled childhood visits to Ohio to the Kings Island theme park.[44] Although set in Lima, the show is filmed at Paramount Studios and Helen Bernstein High School in Hollywood.[45]

Murphy has said that he has never seen a High 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.[46] 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.[41] Murphy intended to make a family show to appeal to adults as well as children, with adult characters starring equally alongside the teenage leads,[41] and as of October 2009 he had already mapped out plans for the series covering three years of broadcast.[47]

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.[48]

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.[49] The season's fourth episode, "Pot o' Gold", was written by Adler, the first not credited to the show's three creators.[50][51]

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.

The series features numerous song covers sung onscreen by the characters.[52] 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."[40] 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."[53] 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."[54] For the second season, a shift toward using more Top 40 songs was seen, in an effort to appeal more to the 18–49 demographic.[55]

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."[52] 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.[56] 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".[57] Composer and musician Billy Joel offered many of his songs for use on the show,[58] and other artists have offered use of their songs for free.[59] 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.[47] 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.[60]

Glee is choreographed by Zach Woodlee and features four to eight production numbers per episode.[18] 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 the Glee cast.[47] Numbers are pre-recorded by the cast, while Woodlee constructs the accompanying dance moves, which are then taught to the cast and filmed.[40] 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.[47] Each episode costs at least $3 million to produce,[40] and can take up to ten days to film as a result of the elaborate choreography.[46] In late 2010, Bloom reported the process has been even shorter; "as quick as a few weeks".[55] 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.[55]

A promotional balloon for Glee in New York City.

Prior to the second episode's premiere, Glee's cast went on tour at several Hot Topic stores across the nation.[61] The cast sang the U.S. national anthem at the third game of the 2009 World Series.[62] Macy's invited them to perform at the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but host broadcaster NBC declined because Glee aired on a rival network.[63] Ryan Murphy commented on the cast's exclusion: "I completely understand NBC's position, and look forward to seeing a Jay Leno float."[64]

The show's success sent the cast on a concert tour, Glee Live! In Concert! after the first season's wrapup. They visited Phoenix, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.[65] The cast also 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.[47] 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.[66] Michele, Monteith, and Riley appeared as campers in the twenty-second season premiere of The Simpsons.[67]

Lynch, Colfer, Monteith, and Riley appeared at the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010.[68] When Agron, Michele, and Monteith posed for a set of risqué photos for the November 2010 edition of GQ magazine, Parents Television Council (PTC) criticized the show; 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."[69]

The promotional posters for the first season have the show's stars using their right hands to make an "L" to fill in the L of the word Glee. 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.[70] The cast also performed on the seventh season of The X Factor on December 5, 2010.[71]

In 2020, celebrating the show's 11 year anniversary, Ryan Murphy made an Instagram post about his idea of re-doing the show's pilot with Lea Michele, Ben Platt, and Beanie Feldstein. Murphy eventually deleted the post.[72]

In 2021, Fox President Michael Thorn revealed he was interested in reviving past Fox programs, most notably 24 and Glee.[73]

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.[74]

In the United Kingdom,[114] E4 broadcast the first two seasons of Glee, showing episodes months after they were first aired in the US. Sky 1 broadcast the series starting with the third season, airing episodes two days after their US broadcast.[115] However, the show has come under a trademark dispute in the UK with the Glee Club, a small chain of independent live stand-up comedy and live music venues. In February 2014, a High Court judge ruled that the show "diluted and tarnished" the reputation of the comedy club chain.[116] 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.[117]

The pilot episode of Glee averaged 9.62 million viewers,[148] and the following eleven episodes attained between 6.10 and 7.65 million.[149][150] The mid-season finale was watched by 8.13 million viewers,[151] with the show returning in April 2010 to a season high of 13.66 million viewers.[152] The following six episodes attained between 11.49 and 12.98 million viewers,[153][154] falling to 8.99 million for the penultimate episode "Funk".[155] Viewing figures rose to 11.07 million viewers for the season finale,[156] giving Glee the highest finale rating for a new show in the 2009–10 television season.[157] 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.[158] On February 6, 2011, after the Super Bowl, Glee received its highest ever ratings, with over 26.8 million tuning in to see the special episode, with a peak of 39.5 million.[159]

In 2011, Glee generated $2 million advertising revenue per half-hour.[160] In 2012, the show was the fourth-highest revenue earning show of the year, with US$2.83 million ad revenue per half-hour, behind Two and a Half Men, The X Factor and American Idol.[161]

Glee received a Metacritic score of 78 out of 100 in its first season, based on reviews by eighteen critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[187] It was praised by several critics in year-end "best of" reviews in 2009. James Poniewozik of Time ranked it the eighth best television show of the year, commenting: "when Glee works—which is often—it is transcendent, tear-jerking and thrilling like nothing else on TV."[188] Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker ranked it ninth, calling it "Hands down the year's most novel show [and] also its least likely success",[189] Lisa Respers France of CNN wrote that while ordinarily Glee's premise would have been "a recipe for disaster", the show has "such quirky charm and bravado that it is impossible not to get swept up".[190] 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,[191] and the fourth season received a score of 73 out of 100 from six reviews.[192] Even with these stellar reviews from a multitude of critics, Glee's later seasons lost millions of viewers.

Variety's Brian Lowry said that Jayma Mays as Emma offered "modest redemption" to an adult cast of "over-the-top buffoons".

Nancy Gibbs of Time magazine 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 the Ten Commandments get 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.[193]

Variety's Brian 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".[194] 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".[195] Following the show's mid-season finale, Lowry wrote that while Glee "remains a frustrating mess at times", its "vibrant musical numbers and talented cast have consistently kept it on [his] TiVo must list" conceding that "even with its flaws, TV would be poorer without Glee."[196]

As Glee's initial success pulled in a large audience, John Doyle of The Globe and Mail wrote 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 took Glee away from its original characters and plot, focusing more on celebrity guests. "The gaiety is gone from Glee. You should have set it in its prime, mere months ago".[197] Matthew Gilbert of Boston Globe similarly 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".[198]

The show's 754 musical performances, with each performance delivering an individual song or a mashup of two or more songs in a single performance, have led to commercial success, with over thirty-six million copies of Glee cast single releases purchased digitally, and over eleven million albums purchased worldwide through October 2011.[199] In 2009, the Glee cast had twenty-five singles chart on the Billboard Hot 100, the most by any artist since The Beatles had thirty-one songs in the chart in 1964;[200] in 2010, it placed eighty singles on the Billboard Hot 100, far outstripping the previous record.[201] In February 2011, Glee surpassed Elvis Presley as the act with the most songs placed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, though fewer than one-fourth of them have charted for more than one week.[202] The cast performance of "Don't Stop Believin'" was certified gold on October 13, 2009, achieving over 500,000 digital sales,[203] and on March 16, 2011, received platinum certification for having sales of over a million.[204] The series' cover version had a positive effect on sales of Rihanna's "Take a Bow", which increased by 189 percent after the song was covered in the Glee episode "Showmance".[203]

However, there has also been critical condemnation of the cast performances. Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone commented that Matthew Morrison "couldn't rap his way out of a 98° rehearsal", and AllMusic's Andrew Leahey wrote that Cory Monteith and Dianna Agron "can't sing nearly as well as their co-stars".[205] E! Online's Joal Ryan criticized the show for its "overproduced soundtrack" and complained that many songs rely too heavily on the pitch-correcting software Auto-Tune: "For every too-brief moment of Lea Michele sounding raw—and lovely—on a "What a Girl Wants", or Monteith singing a perfectly credible REO Speedwagon in the shower, there's Michele and Monteith sounding like 1990s-era Cher on "No Air", or Monteith sounding like the Monteith XRZ-200 on the out-of-the-shower version of "Can't Fight This Feeling".[206]

During the second season, Rob Sheffield for Rolling Stone noted the Britney Spears and Rocky Horror tribute episodes as examples when he lauded Glee and 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 of popular culture.[207]

Some artists, including Slash, Kings of Leon and Foo 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.[208] The cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" in the season four episode "Sadie Hawkins" was particularly criticized by Jonathan Coulton for borrowing the melody (and allegedly portions of the recording) of Coulton's rendition of the song without credit or permission.[209][210] Other artists have come forward with allegations of plagiarism in light of this development.[211] It was reported that musician Prince had not given permission for Glee to cover his hit "Kiss" before filming the performance of the cover.[212] Gorillaz founder Damon Albarn said on CBC Radio One that 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".[213]

Fans of Glee are commonly referred to as "Gleeks",[214] a portmanteau of "Glee" and "geek". In the summer of 2009, the cast stopped at select Hot Topic stores on a "Gleek Tour" to promote the series' debut.[61] 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.[215] In its initial seasons, Glee was one of TV's most tweeted-about shows.[216] 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.[216]

Similarly, Glee fans 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".[217][218]

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

Glee has received a number of awards and nominations. In 2009, the series won five Satellite 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" for Kristin Chenoweth.[219] In 2010, the show won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy". Morrison, Michele and Lynch also received acting nominations.[220] The series was nominated for two Writers Guild of America Awards, with screenplays nominated in the "Comedy Series" and "New Series" categories.[221] It also won a Peabody Award in 2009.[222][223] The Glee cast won the "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" award at the 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards.[224] Paris Barclay and Ryan Murphy both received nominations for "Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series" at the Directors Guild of America Awards for their work on Glee.[225] In July 2010, Glee received nineteen Emmy Award nominations, 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" for Neil Patrick Harris.[226] Paris Barclay was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Best Directing in a Comedy Series in 2010 for his episode "Wheels".[227]

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.[228] In July 2011, Glee received twelve Emmy nominations and won two: Gwyneth Paltrow was named Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her portrayal of Holly Holliday, and the show won the Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series category.[226] It received three Emmy nominations in July 2012, and four in July 2013.[226] The whole cast was invited to sing at the White House by Michelle Obama in April 2010 for the annual Easter Egg Roll.[229]

Glee: The Concert Movie, a concert film based on the four-week North American segment of the 2011 Glee 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.[17]

In summer 2010, Channel 5 in the United Kingdom aired Don't Stop Believing, a reality talent show inspired by Glee's success. 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.[230] Solo singers were also sought to join a group to represent the United Kingdom on the American glee club circuit.[231][232] Five's controller Richard Woolfe stated: "There's an explosion in musical performance groups and Don't Stop Believing will tap into that exciting groundswell."[233] The show was hosted by Emma Bunton,[234] who told The Belfast Telegraph that she is a "huge fan" of Glee.[235] The show's judges were former EastEnders actress Tamsin Outhwaite, Blue member Duncan James, singer Anastacia and High School Musical choreographer Charles "Chucky" Klapow.[236]

The Glee Project was a reality television series that served as an audition for the main series. Two seasons aired in the summers of 2011 and 2012.[237] The winning prize was a seven-episode guest-starring role in Glee's third season, which was awarded to two contestants, Damian McGinty (Rory) and Samuel Larsen (Joe), with a two-episode role given to the two runner ups, Alex Newell (Wade/Unique) and Lindsay Pearce (Harmony).[238] The Glee Project was renewed for a second season that ran from June 5 to August 14, 2012. This season the winner was Blake Jenner (Ryder), with Ali Stroker (Betty) as runner-up. The show was not renewed for a third season.

On June 7, 2010, UK broadcaster Channel 4 aired Gleeful: The Real Show Choirs of America on its E4 station. The documentary explored the American show choir phenomenon which inspired Glee.[239] Narrated by Nick Grimshaw,[240] it went behind the scenes with real-life glee clubs and detailed celebrity show choir alumni including Lance Bass, Ashton Kutcher, Blake Lively and Anne Hathaway.[241] It was selected as recommended viewing by The 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."[242] 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."[243] It was watched by 411,000 viewers, a 2.3% audience share.[244]

A three-episode documentary miniseries about the deaths of three Glee main cast members – and claiming to investigate the effect of the sudden fame they experienced due to the show on their personal lives – called The Price of Glee, was produced in 2022, with people related to the series finding it in poor taste.[245][246]