“G,” a spoof of the television show Glee and Journey’s song, “Don’t Stop Believin’.” To prepare for G-gionals, the G Club members sing a song about the letter “G” and the two sounds it makes. Sesame Street’s 42nd season begins September 26th, 2011.
Tag Archives: Glee
The cast of ‘Glee’ celebrates Fashion’s Night Out (video inside)
New Directions (sans Naya Rivera, Amber Riley, and coach Matthew Morrison) star in this stylish video celebrating Fashion’s Night Out, the annual shopping event that takes place in NYC’s trendy district SoHo. The idea for the video was born out of Vogue’s Anna Wintour; in it the cast of Glee covers the classic 1980 David Bowie song “Fashion.” Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester pops up to play dress-up, too.
Catch the video after the break.
FNO kicks off September 8; get event details here. Glee returns September 20 on FOX. Continue reading The cast of ‘Glee’ celebrates Fashion’s Night Out (video inside)
FOX prez Kevin Reilly on the future of ‘Fringe’, ‘House’, ‘Breaking In’, ‘Glee’, ‘Touch’
This month at the Television Critics Association press tour, FOX entertainment president Kevin Reilly shared his thoughts on some of the network’s most popular shows.
Fortunately Reilly is an outspoken fan of the genre series Fringe. Thanks to his support and fan encouragement, he made the final decision to renew the show for another season. At the TCAs he shared his outlook for the upcoming season: “I don’t expect Fringe to grow. It’s a pretty complex show. If Fringe can do exactly what Fringe did last year, we’re going to be very happy. They’re right in the pocket creatively once again.” He understands going into season 4 that the ratings probably won’t grow past the stabilization that took place last year when the show moved Friday nights. As long as the cult following remains true to the series, I trust that Reilly will let Fringe run its course until the creators decide it’s time to end the story on their terms. He describes Fringe as “a creative show that deserve[s] to be on the air.”
Many expect that the upcoming season of House will be its last. Reilly commented on the speculation: “I can’t confirm that it’s the last season [though] we’ve talked pretty publicly about the potential for that. I’ve spoken to [the producers] and they want to go out strong, so we’re going to revisit that later in the fall.” In a recent interview with TVLine, House creator David Shore admitted that he’s not approaching this season as if it’s the last. He said, “Fox wants another season. I think enough of our fans want another season. [Universal Media Studios] wants another season. It may well be [the final season]. And we will know earlier rather then later because I want to do [the ending] right.” Reilly mentioned that if FOX were to drop the show before Shore has properly concluded the series, Universal Media Studios (the production house behind the show) might opt to shop it to other networks. But don’t bet on that happening. Either FOX will say they’re willing to renew the show later this fall, or they’ll advise Shore to start wrapping things up and mark season eight as the last.
After cancelling the breakout comedy Breaking In last season, FOX quickly extended the cast options so that if they were to figure out a way to bring it back from the dead in a timely manner the cast (consisting of Christian Slater, Brett Harrison and Odette Annable) would remain attached to the program. Reilly confirms that Breaking In will be a contender for the network’s two-hour midseason comedy block. It will battle returning series Raising Hope and newcomers I Hate My Teenage Daughter, New Girl, Little In Common, and Family Album for a spot. “We will revisit what makes that two-hour block later in the fall and make a decision [on Breaking In],” said Reilly.
Reilly also took time to comment on the recent Glee controversy involving graduating stars Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, and Cory Monteith. “I think it has taken on a little more heat and momentum than it in fact is. This show is a big management undertaking. There are many successful shows on the air that have genuine controversy and fighting. That has really not been the case. It is a good group of people with [different] personalities.” He confirmed that Rachel, Kurt, and Finn will be graduating at the end of the season 3 and that a spinoff series starring these characters might be developed. “We collectively decided to revisit [the spinoff] in the back half of the [season] when it should be visited. It got out [in the media early] and then got a little bit crazy.” These comments support what Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy told Deadline this month. Reilly also visited the rumored fractured relationship between Murphy and other co-creator Brad Falchuk. “Those guys get along really well. Brad is the most even-keeled, mild-mannered guy in the world. And Ryan is who he is. And that’s why we love him. He is a creative force… When that spinoff came around, I think his wheels started turning… and this got out. And I think the second it did, I think all of us were really surprised at how it took on a life of its own. This is something that was probably a two-day issue, that somehow it has taken on a bigger life.” Reilly went on to describe how the upcoming season will be “focused” and “back to basics.” He maintained, “There aren’t going to be any big guest stars, there aren’t going to be any tribute [episodes]. We’re focused on our core characters and relationships. [There will be] an incredibly clean arc. There will be a graduation at the end [of the season]. We know the three characters who will be graduating. How that’s going to play out I’m not going to say. There are some surprises; it’s not going to be predictable.”
Last, Reilly also made sure to share his excitement over the Tim Kring (Heroes) pilot starring Kiefer Sutherland (24) called Touch. He describes the pilot as “extraordinary” and says Sutherland’s role is “a new character but it does have some dose of Jack Bauer in it.” The show has yet to be scheduled and Reilly held that he “can’t confirm [the series order] yet, but [they’re] staffed on Touch and they’re writing scripts now.” He added, “Look, to be honest with you, if the pilot was lousy, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. But I think the pilot is potentially great.” In case you forget, the show will focus on a father (Sutherland) who discovers that his autistic, mute son (David Mazouz) can predict events before they happen. Danny Glover costars as “a professor and expert on children who possess special gifts,” reports TVLine. Lookout for Touch to premiere in midseason.
Correction: Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith are NOT leaving ‘Glee’, spin-off plans halted
It’s time to make a Glee about-face. Shortly after Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter that the show’s stars Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, and Cory Monteith would not be returning to the FOX musical comedy for season 4, fellow co-creator Brad Falchuk set things straight at Comic Con: “Here’s the exact thing: [Rachel, Kurt and Finn] are seniors, so they’re graduating, but because they’re graduating that doesn’t mean they’re leaving the show. If you have Lea Michele under contract, you don’t say, ‘We’re gonna let you go.’” He added, “It was never our plan or our intention to let them go. They are not done with the show after this season.”
So the three of them will be back for season 4! Now why did Murphy say that they wouldn’t come back? What’s up with the co-creator contradiction? In a post-Comic Con interview with Deadline, Murphy revealed that he was indeed investigating a spin-off starring the three actors. He was hoping that the Glee trio would graduate from McKinley High and move to New York City (an idea planted in the season 2 finale) to explore their career in the arts. In fact, Murphy went so far as calling the Juliard School to make it a backdrop for the new show. However, things started to fall apart when one or more of the actors became resistant about moving to a different city to shoot the show. And as of now, spinoff plans have halted. In Murphy’s own words:
We’re not talking about it, we’re not pitching it. We’re not doing anything for the next several months except for this third season. I would prefer and I know Brad would prefer and I think the actors will prefer to roll up our sleeves and do a really good season and if there is a spin-off, talk about it in April. Could we do a spin-off? To be quite honest with you, maybe. Some of the actors that we discussed doing spin-offs do not want to do a spin-off. It’s hard to do a spin-off on a show where an actor says no. And if there’s no spin-off, then we’ll announce that there’s not. But as of now, I can tell you I’m not working on it.
It all break down like this: Rachel, Kurt, and Finn are graduating at the end of season 3. They will be back for season 4 (and potentially seasons 5, 6, and 7 since they all signed seven-year contracts). What role they will play in that season is still to be determined. And a spin-off series might happen sometime after season 3. Gleeks, you can relax now.
While we’re at it, let’s put a neat little bow on the Chord Overstreet story. Falchuk spilled that Overstreet (who played Sam Evans) was offered a deal to return for ten episodes next season with the possibility of becoming a series regular in the same way Harry Shum Jr. (Mike Chang) and Darren Criss (Blaine) worked their way from guest star to regular status. In the end Overstreeet declined the offer. “We wanted him back because we like Chord personally and had some good stories planned for him and with Mercedes,” revealed Falchuk. “He decided he would have opportunities elsewhere that he would like to pursue, and we can’t force him to work, so we wished him well.” It has been confirmed that Overstreet will not return for any episodes next season. So long, Trouty Mouth.
Trailer: Glee: The 3D Concert Movie
For those of you who couldn’t make the Glee Live! In Concert! tour, you won’t want to miss the upcoming 3D Concert Movie that’s packed with the tour’s musical numbers and behind-the-scenes action. The Kevin Tancharoen-directed 3D flick hits theatres August 12.
I just can’t get enough of that mini Warbler!
Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith not returning to ‘Glee’ for season 4; Rachel & Kurt spinoff coming soon?
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy confirmed that show regulars Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith will not be returning to the FOX musical comedy for season 4. Rachel Berry, Kurt Hummel, and Finn Hudson are seniors and will be graduating from McKinley High at the end of the upcoming season. Murphy explains, “You can keep them on the show for six years and people will criticize you for not being realistic, or you can be really true to life and say when they started the show they were very clearly sophomores and they should graduate at the end of their senior year.” He’s taking the latter route, and although I commend the creative team for keeping things realistic in terms of who stays and goes, it will be with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to these cast members so early in the show’s lifespan. And to make matters tougher for Gleeks, Murphy hints that “more characters are leaving than are staying” by the time graduation rolls around. He added, “We’ve never done anything by the book. We made that decision and I involved Chris [Colfer] and Lea [Michele] and they thought that was a good idea. They both trust the writing and trust me and felt that it would be great to have an open and closed experience for them to go out while they were on top.”
When TVLine mentioned the news to Colfer he said, “It’s definitely not my choice. But I completely understand that it works for the integrity of the show. One of the things that I love about Glee is, despite characters breaking into song in the middle of the hallway, it was very real to me. It always seemed like a very real high school environment. And I think by having some characters graduate, they’ll continue having that element.” Michele took to Twitter and reacted like this: “We always knew we’d graduate in real time. It’s all part of the plan and it’s all good! It’s going to make Season 3 amazing!!!”
Sidenote here: Ever since the season 2 finale where the gang travels to New York City to compete for Nationals, people have been hoping that Murphy imagines a spinoff series starring Rachel and Kurt. The creative team certainly planted the seeds for a possible spinoff. In “New York,” the two of them visit the Broadway set of Wicked and discuss their futures. Rachel says that after they graduate from high school she wants to go to college in New York; she says, “This is where I belong.” Kurt replies, “I’m so coming, too.” In June Murphy tackled the idea head-on with TVLine; “It’s an interesting idea,” he said. “The questions are ‘How would we do it? And when would we do it?’ It would have to be something I would talk about to Peter Rice and Kevin Reilly and Dana Walden and Gary Newman. What we’re trying to do now — maybe those discussions will happen around December — we’re just now trying to do the first 10 episodes.” Something to keep on your radar.
Forcing out fan favorites is an interesting choice to be made. Michele and Moneith are certainly considered the show’s female and male leads, and Colfer has been nominated for his efforts two years in a row. Once they’re gone, Murphy and company will have to find more members to join New Directions; casting is bound to start soon, and I’m sure the writing staff is already cooking up ways to introduce new characters throughout the upcoming season (one of which will come from Oxygen’s Glee Project).
Glee returns Tuesday, September 20 on FOX. The season three premiere will reveal all the departing graduates and confirm who’s safe for season four.
[Via THR]
‘Glee’ keeps Darren Criss & Harry Shum Jr., drops Trouty Mouth [Update: not so fast…]
Gleeks–you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have the facts of life. The FOX hit show is keeping two stars and dropping one Trouty Mouth for season three. Kurt’s teenage dream Darren Criss and professional dancer Harry Shum Jr. will return as series regulars next season, while Chord Overstreet’s series regular option has not been picked up meaning that McKinley High will say goodbye to the student infamously known as Trouty Mouth. According to TVLine, Overstreet “could return as an occasional guest star” throughout the season. But what of the newly kindled romance between Sam and Mercedes? I’m sure the writers are mulling a way around it. Ever since Overstreet took on Justin Beiber’s songs in “Comeback” it’s been hard for me to invest much in his character. At least he’s taking the news positively; he recently tweeted, “It’s been a good year. Too bad it’s over. Time for summer and starting fresh.”
Update: According to TVLine, this may not mark the end of Trouty Mouth just yet. According to their source, “[Chord Overstreet’s] option to be a series regular was just not picked up at this time. If Chord wants to appear on Glee, the choice is his. The Glee writers like his Sam character, and have plans to write for him. He and his reps have been told that he is welcome back to Glee, and everyone hopes he will show up on August 10 when filming begins.” The source reminds us that it took “two years [for Harry Shum Jr.] to become a regular” and “If Chord has a great season, which we expect he will, then he will become a regular like Harry, possibly as early as January.” And there you have it. It’s up to Overstreet to return; we shall find out the verdict later this summer.
Glee goes 3D for upcoming concert film
The Glee kids are kicking off their second nationwide Glee Live! In Concert! tour later this month. If you missed out on purchasing tickets, Twentieth Century Fox and Glee creator Ryan Murphy have plans to make things right. This summer a feature film based on the concert will hit theatres and they’re going to call it GLEE LIVE! 3D! (so many exclamation points!). The film will comprise of the tour’s musical numbers, including the memorable “Don’t Stop Believin'” cover, and some behind-the-scenes action. It’ll all be captured in three dimensions, with director Kevin Tancharoen (Fame, Mortal Kombat: Legacy) and producer Ryan Murphy calling the shots.
Says Murphy: “This tour was all about going out and performing for our amazing fans who have supported our show from the beginning, but due to the limited time we had to travel during our hiatus, there were only so many cities we could get to before we had to resume work on the television series. We knew that not every fan who wanted to attend a concert would get that opportunity. Now, thanks to our friends at Twentieth Century Fox Film, we’ll be able to bring the concert experience to movie theaters across the country in full three dimensional glory. We promise every passionate ‘Gleek’ a cinematic experience that will have them singing and dancing in the aisles.”
The concert film releases August 12 and will remain in theatres for a limited two-week run…that will likely be extended due to the hit FOX show’s rabid fanbase.
[Via EW]
‘Glee’ kids best Elvis Presley’s Billboard Hot 100 record
You knew it was only a matter of time before the barrage of Glee singles would prove their strength in numbers on the Billboard charts. Back in November 2010 Glee posted 93 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 list. This week the Glee kids finally passed Elvis Presley’s all-time record of 108 chart entires. As of today, 113 songs from the hit FOX series have made their way to the chart, besting the likes of Elvis, James Brown (91 songs), Ray Charles (74), and Aretha Franklin (73). While Elvis’ chart-topping songs gathered steam between 1958 and 2003, Glee managed to post their record-breaking amount in less than two years. It all began with their fantastic rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” in June 2009. The only significant difference between the Glee singles and tracks produced from other famous artists is that the Glee tracks are covers borrowed from said artists. Though you might find this news tainted with unoriginality in terms of where the Glee songs are coming from, that shouldn’t take away from the monumentality of it all.
In related Billboard news, this week Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” became the 1,000th song to top the Hot 100 chart in its 52-year history. Says Gaga, “It is a tremendous honor. To be the 1000th no. 1 on Billboard…I would be silly not to say this is the greatest honor of my career.”
[Via Billboard]
Glee’s going on tour again!
Gleeks, get this: New Directions is going on tour again! Here’s the scoop. The Glee Live! In Concert! North American concert tour will star 13 Glee cast members and they include Lea Michele (Rachel), Cory Monteith (Finn), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Chris Colfer (Kurt), Kevin McHale (Artie), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), Mark Salling (Puck), Dianna Agron (Quinn), Naya Rivera (Santana), Heather Morris (Brittany), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike), Chord Overstreet (Sam) and Darren Criss (Blaine). The latter two cast members are the newest additions to the concert lineup. They will perform hit songs from the first two season’s of the FOX show including “Empire State of Mind,” “Toxic,” “My Life Would Suck Without You,” “It’s My Life,” and “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The tour kicks off May 21 in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay Event Center and will travel to 16 locations around the country through June 18 when it will end in Uniondale, New York at Nassau Coliseum. Look after the break for the full listing of tour dates. The previously announced Glee European tour will follow in late June.
Says Glee creator Ryan Murphy: “The cast and I were so moved by the love and enthusiasm of our fans at last year’s concerts that we knew we had to do it again. There is something magical about thousands of ‘Gleeks’ coming together to share a special night with our cast, and this tour is one way we can thank them for their unbelievable support from the beginning.”
Here’s how to snag tickets to the event. If you’re an AMEX cardholder you’ll have access to an exclusive presale beginning Friday, February 11 at 10AM. Tickets go on sale to the general public for most cities on Saturday, February 19 at 10AM. (Here are the other stipulations: tickets for the Boston concert go on sale Friday, Feb. 18 at 10AM; Toronto goes on sale Friday, Feb. 18 at noon; and Sacramento goes on sale Saturday, Feb. 19 at noon.) All tickets will be sold through Ticketmaster. And if last time taught us anything, it’s that getting tix to a Glee concert is a crapshoot; within seconds virtually all venues were sold out. Have the site loaded up with your finger on the submit button at 9:59AM and godspeed.
This year’s Super Bowl is now the most-watched show, ever
Does that post title sound familiar? Well that’s because you saw it last year right around this time. Super Bowl XLV attracted 111 million viewers last night, besting last year’s viewership of 106.5 million people to become the most-watched program in TV history. In case you were wondering, the M*A*S*H series finale had already been dethroned by Super Bowl XLIV since it attracted a slightly smaller audience in 1983 (106 million). Super Bowl viewership has climbed every year since 2005 and this year’s marks the fourth consecutive “big game” to set a viewership record. And as Deadline points out, last night FOX became the first network to exceed 100 million viewers (100.9 million) for a night of primetime. Impressive stuff.
And how did the post-Super Bowl Glee episode fare in ratings? Compared to previous years, not that great. Glee garnered 26.8 million viewers, significantly less than what the series premiere of Undercover Boss received last year on CBS (38.7 million). However it did manage to best NBC’s The Office from two years ago (22.9 million). Comparisons aside, this was unmistakably the highest rated Glee episode to date and the most watched scripted series since 2005’s post-Bowl House episode (29 million viewers). Taking a look at the big picture, Glee attracted the third largest audience for a post-Super Bowl scripted series in the past twelve years after a 2006 Grey’s Anatomy (37.9 million) and the aforementioned House ep.
Too bad the commercials and half-time show were nothing to call home about. Needless to say, history was made last night…again.
[Via Deadline]
Pictures from the ‘Glee’ Super Bowl episode!
Creator Ryan Murphy is promising that the post-Super Bowl Glee episode is the most extravagantly produced episode yet. Gleeks, prepare for some McKinley High madness.
[Via IGN]
