Glee

Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox. It focuses on a high school show choir (also known as aglee club), called "New Directions!", set within 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 will have a 4-month hiatus before returning on April 13, 2010 with the remaining 9 episodes of the 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.

Critical response to the show has been generally positive. Alessandra Stanley in The New York Times highlighted thepilot episode'sunoriginality and stereotyped characters, but 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 Robert Bianco in USA Today noted casting and tone problems, but commented positively on the show's humor and musical performances.Mary McNamara for the Los Angeles Times wrote that the show 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 was nominated for four 2010 Golden Globe Awards including, Best Comedy Series, Best Actress (Lea Michele), Best Actor (Matthew Morrison), and Best Supporting Actress (Jane Lynch).