Glee (TV Series) - Related Media

Related Media

Further information: The Glee Project and Don't Stop Believing

In January 2010, it was announced that open auditions would be held for three new roles to be introduced in Glee's second season. They were open to amateurs and professionals aged sixteen to twenty-six, and were intended to be the subject of a multi-part television special, set to air in the lead-in to the second season premiere in fall 2010, with the new cast members revealed in the first episode. Murphy commented: "Anybody and everybody now has a chance to be on a show about talented underdogs. We want to be the first interactive musical comedy on television." On June 22, 2010, Josef Adalian of New York magazine revealed that the reality show would not go ahead, due to Murphy's desire to concentrate on the main series, and fear that the distraction of the reality show may damage Glee. Adalian reported that the production team would still choose several winners from the entrants and invite them to appear on Glee for at least one episode. In June 2010, it was announced that Oxygen would host a reality series set to air in June 2011, featuring performers competing for a spot on Glee. The Glee Project started airing on June 12, 2011, and the final episode was broadcast on August 21, 2011. The winning prize was a seven-episode guest-starring role in Glee's third season, which was awarded to two contestants, with a two-episode role given to two other finalists.

On June 7, 2010, UK broadcaster Channel 4 aired Gleeful: The Real Show Choirs of America on its E4 station. The documentary explored the American show choir phenomenon which inspired Glee. Narrated by Nick Grimshaw, it went behind the scenes with real-life glee clubs and detailed celebrity show choir alumni including Lance Bass, Ashton Kutcher, Blake Lively and Anne Hathaway. It was selected as recommended viewing by The Guardian, with the comment: "it's a fascinating look at the real-life New Directions, and it's equally as crackers as its TV champion." The newspaper's Lucy Mangan reviewed the documentary positively, writing: "It will, one way or another, fill your heart to bursting", and commenting that: "Glee, it turns out, is not a gloriously ridiculous, highly polished piece of escapism. It is cinéma vérité." It was watched by 411,000 viewers, a 2.3% audience share.

In summer 2010, Channel 5 in the United Kingdom aired Don't Stop Believing, a reality talent show inspired by Glee's success. The series featured live shows in which established and new musical performance groups competed against each other, performing well-known songs in new arrangements, with viewers voting on the winner. Solo singers were also sought to join a group to represent the United Kingdom on the American glee club circuit. Five's controller Richard Woolfe stated: "There's an explosion in musical performance groups and Don't Stop Believing will tap into that exciting groundswell." The show was hosted by Emma Bunton, who told The Belfast Telegraph that she is a "huge fan" of Glee. The show's judges were former EastEnders actress Tamsin Outhwaite, Blue member Duncan James, singer Anastacia and High School Musical choreographer Charles "Chucky" Klapow.