Glee

Just three years since its 2009 debut, Glee has launched its ensemble cast to award-winning fame. Fox Broadcasting’s musical dramedy follows the struggles of the quirky, crazy, on-the-social-food-chain, decidedly un-cool kids at Lima, Ohio’s McKinley High School as they and an optimistic but unsatisfied Spanish teacher Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) attempt to turn the school’s formerly defunct glee club, New Directions, into a space for openness and expression.

The first three seasons feature the original New Directions squad as its members attempt to overcome high-school hierarchy to defeat competitors and blaze their way to nationals. And if viewers thought things were complicated when the glee students hated each other, they get even more complicated with the mash of mix-matched relationships, broken and repaired friendships and constant squabbles over solos.

The overabundance of plot lines grows, including the New Directions’ battle with head cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), who, despite her extensive favor and funding as 10-time Nationals cheerleading coach, invests the majority of her time and energy into trying to scrub the glee club and Schuester off the face of the planet.

The fourth season, which premiered September 2012, hosts an enlarged main cast, as the show continues to follow Glee club studs Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) in their post-graduate adventure to New York, while keeping up with New Directions’ ever-growing membership.

While many viewers are attracted to the apparently-spontaneous-but-incredibly-difficult performance numbers, the show seeks to confront sometimes uncomfortable but important contemporary social issues, like sexuality and teen pregnancy, as well as every-day teen life-lessons such as integrity, responsibility and friendship.

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