Glee

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Ian Brennan

Brad Falchuk

Ryan Murphy

Dianna Agron

Chris Colfer

Jane Lynch

Jayma Mays

Kevin McHale

Lea Michele

Cory Monteith

Matthew Morrison

Amber Riley

Mark Salling

Jenna Ushkowitz

Naya Rivera

Jessalyn Gilsig

Heather Morris

Harry Shum Jr.

Iqbal Theba

Mike O'Malley

Chord Overstreet

Ashley Fink

United States

Ryan Murphy | Brad Falchuk | Dante Di Loreto | Ian Brennan | Alexis Marion Woodall | Michael Novick | Kenneth Silverstein

Brad Falchuk | Ryan Murphy | Elodie Keene | Bradley Buecker | Alfonso Gomez-Rejon | Paris Barclay | Eric Stoltz | John Scott | Carol Banker

May 19, 2009 – present

Jennifer Morrison

Heather Morris

AFI Awards, USA

2010 Won AFI TV Award AFI TV Programme of the Year Ian Brennan, Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk

2009 Won AFI TV Award AFI TV Programme of the Year Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Ian Brennan

ALMA Awards

2011 Won ALMA Award Favorite Female Music Artist Naya Rivera

2011 Nominated ALMA Award Favorite TV Actress - Leading Role In A Comedy Naya Rivera

2010 Nominated Excellence in Production Design Award – Episode of a One Hour Single-Camera Television Series Mark Hutman (Production Designer) for: the pilot episode

BAFTA Awards

2011 Nominated BAFTA TV Award Best International Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Ian Brennan

Casting Society of America, USA

2011 Nominated Artios Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Television Series – Comedy Eric Dawson, Carol Kritzer & Robert J. Ulrich (Casting Directors)

2009 Won Artios Award – Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Pilot – Comedy Robert J. Ulrich, Eric Dawson, Carol Kritzer & Jim Carnaham

Cinema Audio Society, USA

2010 Nominated C.A.S. Award – Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series Joe Earle & Doug Andham (re-recording mixers); Phillip W. Palmer (production mixer) for: the "Wheels" episode

Costume Designers Guild Awards

2010 Nominated CDG Award – Outstanding Costume Design for Television Series – Contemporary Lou Eyrich

Directors Guild of America, USA

2011 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series' Ryan Murphy for: episode "The Power of Madonna"

2010 Nominated DGA Award – Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Paris Barclay for: "Wheels" episode

2010 Nominated DGA Award – Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Ryan Murphy for: the pilot episode

Emmy Awards

2011 Won Emmy Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series Eric Dawson & Robert J. Ulrich (casting directors)

2011 Won Emmy Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Gwyneth Paltrow for: playing "Holly Holliday"

2011 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Comedy Series Dante Di Loreto, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Ian Brennan (executive producers); Bradley Buecker (supervising producer); Michael Novick, Kenneth J. Silverstein & Alexis Martin Woodall (producers)

2011 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Costumes for a Series Lou Eyrich (costume designer); Marisa Aboitiz (costume supervisor) for: episode "New York"

2011 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Kristin Chenoweth for: playing "April Rhodes"

2011 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Dot Jones for: playing "Coach Beiste"

2011 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series Sterfon Demings (key hairstylist); Janis Clark (department head hairstylist); Stacey K. Black, Susan Zietlow-Maust & Monte Haught (additional hairstylists) for: episode "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle"

2011 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) Eryn Krueger Mekash (department head makeup artist); Mike Mekash & Robin L. Neal (additional makeup artists); Jennifer Greenberg (key makeup artist) for: episode "The Rocky Horror Glee Show"

2011 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special Eryn Krueger Mekash (department head makeup artist); Christien Tinsley & Hiroshi Yada (prosthetic designers); Mike Mekash, Robin L. Neal, Kelley Mitchell & Melissa Buell (makeup artists); Jennifer Greenberg (key makeup artist) for: episode "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle"

2011 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) Phillip W. Palmer (production sound mixer); Doug Andham & Joe Earle (re-recording mixers) for: episode "The Substitute"

2011 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Chris Colfer

2011 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Jane Lynch

GLAAD Media Awards

2010 Nominated GLADD Media Award – Outstanding Comedy Series

Golden Globes, USA

2011 Won Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Chris Colfer

2011 Won Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Jane Lynch

2011 Won Golden Globe Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy

2011 Nominated Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy Matthew Morrison

2011 Nominated Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy Lea Michele

2010 Won Golden Globe Award – Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy

2010 Nominated Golden Globe Award - Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Matthew Morrison

2010 Nominated Golden Globe Award – Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Jane Lynch

2010 Nominated Golden Globe Award – Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy Lea Michele

2010 – Nominated Image Award – Outstanding Comedy Series

Grammy Awards

2011 Nominated Grammy Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media For "The Music, Volume 1"

Image Awards

2011 Nominated Image Award Outstanding Comedy Series

2011 Nominated Image Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Amber Riley

Monte-Carlo TV Festival

2011 Nominated Golden Nymph Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series Matthew Morrison

2011 Nominated Golden Nymph Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series Chris Colfer

2011 Nominated Golden Nymph Outstanding Actress - Comedy Series Lea Michele

2011 Nominated Golden Nymph Outstanding Actress - Comedy Series Jane Lynch

Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA Golden Reel Award

2010 Won Golden Reel Award – Best Sound Editing - Short Form Music in Television for: episode "Pilot"

National Television Awards, UK

2011 Nominated National Television Award Digital Choice Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan & Brad Falchuk

PGA Awards

2011 Nominated Television Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Comedy Kenneth J. Silverstein, Brad Falchuk, Dante Di Loreto, Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan

People’s Choice Awards

2011 Nominated People's Choice Award Favorite TV Guest Star Neil Patrick Harris

2011 Nominated People's Choice Award Favorite TV Guest Star Britney Spears

Screen Actors Guild Awards

2011 Nominated Actor Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Jane Lynch

2011 Nominated Actor Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Chris Colfer

2011 Nominated Actor Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Mark Salling, Heather Morris, Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer, Lea Michele, Iqbal Theba, Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith, Chord Overstreet, Jenna Ushkowitz, Amber Riley, Dianna Agron, Max Adler, Kevin McHale, Mike O'Malley, Jayma Mays, Naya Rivera & Harry Shum Jr.

Satellite Awards

2009 Won Satellite Award – Best Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical Matthew Morrison

2009 Won Satellite Award – Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical Lea Michele

2009 Won Satellite Award – Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television – Jane Lynch

2009 Won Satellite Award – Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical

2009 Won Special Achievement Award – Outstanding Guest Star Kristin Chenoweth

2009 Nominated Satellite Award - Outstanding Guest Star Kristin Chenoweth

Screen Actors Guild Awards

2010 Won Actor Award – Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy – Series Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Patrick Gallagher, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Heather Morris, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, Mark Salling, Harry Shum Jr., Josh Sussman, Dijon Talton. Iqbal Theba and Jenna Ushkowitz

Teen Choice Awards

2011 Won Teen Choice Award Choice TV Actor: Comedy Cory Monteith

2011 Won Teen Choice Award Choice TV Show: Comedy

2011 Won Teen Choice Award Choice TV: Breakout Star Darren Criss

2011 Nominated Teen Choice Award Choice TV: Female Scene Stealer Amber Riley

2011 Nominated Teen Choice Award Choice TV: Female Scene Stealer Dianna Agron

2011 Nominated Teen Choice Award Choice TV: Male Scene Stealer Chris Colfer

2011 Nominated Teen Choice Award Choice TV: Male Scene Stealer Mark Salling

2011 Nominated Teen Choice Award Choice TV: Villain Jane Lynch

2009 Nominated Teen Choice Award – Choice TV Breakout Star: Female Lea Michele

2009 – Nominated Teen Choice Award – Choice TV Breakout Star: Male - Cory Monteith

2009 – Nominated Teen Choice Award – Choice TV Breakout Show

TV Quick Awards, UK

2011 Nominated TV Quick Award Best Drama Series Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Ian Brennan

Writers Guild of America, USA

2011 Nominated WGA Award (TV) Comedy Series Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan & Ryan Murphy

2010 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) – Comedy Series Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk & Ryan Murphy

2010 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) – New Series Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk & Ryan Murphy

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Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States. It focuses on a high school glee club called "New Directions", at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. The pilot episode of the show was broadcast after American Idol on May 19, 2009 and the first season began airing on September 9, 2009. On September 21, 2009, Fox officially gave the series a full-season pick-up. Glee aired its mid-season finale on December 9, 2009 and is currently on a 4-month hiatus before returning on April 13, 2010 with the remaining 9 episodes of the season. On January 11, 2010, Fox President, Kevin Reilly announced at the Television Critics Association winter press tour that Glee has been renewed for a second season.

The show's creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan first conceived of Glee as a film. Murphy selects the series' music, maintaining a balance between show tunes and chart hits. Songs covered in the show are released on ‘iTunes’ during the week of broadcast and a series of Glee albums will be released through Columbia Records, beginning with Glee: The Music, Volume 1, which was released on November 3, 2009. The music of Glee has been a commercial success, with over two million digital sales.

The show has received generally positive reviews from critics. Although Alessandra Stanley in The New York Times highlighted the pilot episode's unoriginality and stereotyped characters, she praised the showmanship and talent of the cast. David Hinckley in The Daily News opined that the show was imperfect and implausible but "potentially heartwarming", while Mary McNamara for the Los Angeles Times wrote that Glee had a wide audience appeal, calling it "the first show in a long time that's just plain full-throttle, no-guilty-pleasure-rationalizations-necessary fun." The series won the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Series and received three additional nominations for Best Actress (Lea Michele), Best Actor (Matthew Morrison), and Best Supporting Actress (Jane Lynch).

Conception:

Glee was created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. Brennan conceived the idea for Glee based on his own experience as a member of the Prospect High School show choir. 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". 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 Murphy, and gave him a copy of Brennan's script. Murphy had been in a show choir whilst at college, and as such felt he could relate to the script. Murphy and his Nip/Tuck colleague Falchuk suggested that Glee be adapted to a television show format. The script was entirely re-written and was picked up by Fox within 15 hours of being received, which Murphy attributes in part to the success of the network's American Idol, commenting: "It made sense for the network with the biggest hit in TV, which is a musical, to do something in that vein". Murphy and Falchuk became the show's Executive Producers and show-runners, while Brennan is a Co-Executive Producer and Novick is a Producer. Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy write all of the show's episodes.

Glee is set in Lima, Ohio. Murphy chose a Midwest setting as he himself grew up in Indiana and recalls childhood visits to Ohio to the Kings Island theme park. Although set in Lima, the show is filmed at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. While Glee has attracted comparisons to the film series High School Musical, Murphy commented that he has never seen a High School Musical film 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. Murphy intended the show to be a form of escapism, explaining: "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." With regard to Glee's audience, Murphy intended for it to be a family show which would appeal to adults as well as children, with adult characters starring equally alongside the teenage leads. Murphy has mapped out plans for the series covering a potential three years of broadcast.

Music and choreography:

The series features covers of numerous songs sung on-screen by the characters. Musical segments typically take the form of performances, as opposed to the characters singing spontaneously, as the intention is for the series to remain reality-based. Murphy is responsible for selecting all of the songs used and strives to maintain a balance between show tunes and chart hits, as: "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." Song choices are integral to script development, with Murphy explaining: "Each episode has a theme at its core. After I write the script, I will choose songs that help to move the story along."

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." Composer and musician Billy Joel offered many of his songs for use on the show, singer Rihanna offered her single "Take a Bow" for use at a reduced licensing rate and other artists have offered use of their songs for free. Madonna granted the show rights to her entire catalogue and a 2010 episode will feature Madonna performances exclusively. Murphy has planned an episode utilizing original music, to air in spring 2010. He explained: "I've had a lot of calls from songwriters, to the point where it's kind of embarrassing and ridiculous. So we're writing an episode called "Original Song" where the teacher asks the kids to write their own piece of music. Diane Warren is going to do two big ballads, and if it works, we'll see what happens ... but we won't do it all the time."

There will be a series of Glee albums released through Columbia Records. The first, Glee: The Music, Volume 1, was released on November 3, 2009. 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. The score of the show features a cappella covers of instrumental songs, provided in the pilot episode by The Swingle Singers.

Glee is choreographed by Zach Woodlee and features five 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 producer Adam Anders re-arranges it for the Glee cast. 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 10 days to film as a result of the elaborate choreography.

Promotion

Prior to the premiere of the second episode, the cast of Glee went on tour at several Hot Topic stores across the nation. The cast sang the national anthem at the third game of the 2009 World Series. Originally, the cast 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. Co-creator Ryan Murphy commented on the cast's exclusion: "I completely understand NBC's position, and look forward to seeing a Jay Leno float."

Due to the success of the show, the cast will go on a concert tour following first season wrap up. "We're going to do what American Idol has done and put the kids on the road," Murphy told The New York Post. In addition, the cast recorded an exclusive cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas" that will not be featured in the show. Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Chris Colfer will reprise their roles as Will, Rachel, Finn and Kurt respectively for a cameo appearance in an upcoming episode of The Cleveland Show.

Summary courtesy of Wikipedia

All cast members do their own singing and dancing.

70 songs were used in the first thirteen episodes.

Artie Abrams: We're planning on smacking them down like the hand of God.

"I thought the Madonna episode of Glee was brilliant on every level. The dialogue and the entire script was genius. I completely appreciated the layers of irony, especially when all those macho boys sang What It Feels Like For A Girl." - Madonna

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