Glee Cast

Glee (stylized in all lowercase as glee) is an American jukebox musical comedy-drama television series created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Set at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio, the series follows the members of the New Directions, a glee club competing in the show choir circuit, as they navigate social issues regarding sexuality, gender, race, family, relationships, and teamwork. Each episode features on-screen musical performances chosen by Murphy and produced by Adam Anders and Peer Åström, ranging from show tunes to chart hits.

Conceived by Brennan as a feature film, Glee was primarily written by him, Murphy, and Falchuk in its first two seasons; Murphy and Falchuk also served as the initial directors. The pilot episode was broadcast on May 19, 2009, with the first season officially premiering on September 9 later that year. In 2013, Murphy announced that the sixth season would be the series' last. Glee concluded on March 20, 2015, after 121 episodes and over 729 musical performances.

Glee received generally favorable reviews for its first season, while reception to the later five varied. Its accolades include six Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and the 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Fox chose the show as the lead-out program for its coverage of Super Bowl XLV in 2011. The series' music accumulated over 36 million digital single sales and 11 million album sales worldwide through October 2011. The cast embarked on live concert tours following the first and second seasons; a concert film based on the 2011 tour had a limited theatrical release that August. Other merchandise includes DVD and Blu-ray releases, an iPad application, and karaoke games for the Wii.