Ryan Murphy’s hit musical comedy and drama, Glee, returned to the air April 13 for its second season. It tells the story of earnest Spanish teacher Will Schuester’s attempt to reinvent the school’s once award-winning glee club.
The show, which is unlike any other show on television, has won a Golden Globe for best comedy and, after only a season, already has higher ratings than Gossip Girl and So You Think You Can Dance? So why is Glee so popular? Why, when there is a multitude of high school “dramadies” already on air, would so many high school students rather watch this quirky, odd-ball newcomer?
The answer, it seems, is incredibly straightforward: Glee has music. “The reason Glee is special is that it has football players bursting into song,” said Rose Pember ’11. Steph Olivas ’10 agreed, adding, “It’s also just funny to watch because the typical high school experience is so over-the-top in the show. It’s very silly and dramatic in a good way.” Another attraction is the good-looking guys, according to Allie Gray ’11, who said “Finn [the teenage male lead] is adorable.”
The cast includes Broadway star Matthew Morrison (Will) and comedy veteran Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), from The Forty Year Old Virgin and Two and a Half Men, as the school’s caustic cheerleading coach bent on destroying the Glee club.