Fox has given a third season pick-up to freshman series Glee, the network announced May 24. The show is currently in its first season and had already been renewed for a second season.
So far this season, Glee is averaging a 4.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 9.4 million viewers overall. It’s the highest-rated new scripted series of the season. When Glee returned last April from its winter hiatus, it attracted its biggest audience to date with 13.6 million viewers.
“In just one year, Glee has transcended the television landscape and emerged as a global pop culture phenomenon,” Peter Rice, chairman of entertainment, Fox Networks Group, said in a statement. “We are incredibly proud to have talent like [creator/executive producer] Ryan Murphy and the Glee cast in our Fox family, and we can’t wait to see where Ryan takes the show in seasons two and three.”
The show has inspired a core of groupies, who call themselves Gleeks and made a folk hero of sorts of Jane Lynch’s Sue Sylvester, who made a memorable appearance at Fox’s upfront last week. The show’s multi-medium, multi-platform marketing prowess has resulted in 7 million song downloads to date. The most recent Glee soundtrack, “The Power of Madonna,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
Glee has its first season finale June 8.
“Everything about Glee – from the concept to the characters to the marketing – has been innovative and risky, but with Ryan Murphy tapping into the zeitgeist, the risk has paid off with this truly remarkable series,” Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, said in a statement. “Glee has one of the most active, devoted fan bases I’ve ever seen, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to give Gleeks a third season of their favorite show.”
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