Ryan Murphy Is a Dad! Welcomes Son Logan on Christmas Eve!

Now here's something to be gleeful about: Ryan Murphy is a dad!

The Glee, New Normal and American Horror Story creator is a first-time father, as E! News has exclusively learned that the TV heavyweight has welcomed a son with husband David Miller.

The couple announced their happy news on Christmas Eve, sending out their baby's birth announcement via email to family and friends.

"Logan Phineas Miller Murphy, Born December 24, 2012 9:47 a.m.," the announcement read, revealing the baby boy's name and birth details.

According to the announcement, the little tyke with the two proud papas weighed in at 6.6 pounds and measured up at 21 inches. The baby reveal also adorably showed a picture of Logan laying inside, appropriately enough, a Christmas stocking.

'Tis the season, after all.

Congrats, Ryan and David!

source: E! Online

Who’s Behind Lea Michele’s Sexy ‘Glee’ Makeover?

Lea Michele promised us a Glee makeover — and a Glee makeover we’ve seen!

The actress, who plays college freshman Rachel Berry on the show, says her character has had a sexy style upgrade this year, and she owes it all toGlee creator Ryan Murphy.

“It was Ryan’s idea to do this shift for Rachel, having her become a little more grown up, a little more New York,” Michele told PEOPLE recentlywhile working with Candie’s. “I basically pick out the outfits with our costume designer, and we take all of the photos to Ryan to approve. It’s really collaborative.”

But it goes beyond the costumes: Rachel’s hair and makeup are more major, too, again, thanks to Murphy.

“He’s so involved with everything — what shoes I wear, what kind of eyeliner I put on,” she says. “I don’t know how he does it. He has so many shows, but still finds the time to help with this.”

And though we’ve been loving Rachel’s sensual smoky eyes this season, Michele says that’s probably her least favorite part of her character’s new look. “I’ve been trying to tone that down a little bit,” she admits. “It’s a b*tch to take off at night!” Tell us: Are you loving Rachel Berry’s revamped look? Or did you prefer her high school makeup and clothes?

source: People.com

Out100 Covers Revealed

Jane Lynch wasn’t exactly sitting around waiting for some guy to make her his muse. He found her anyway.

The actress–comedienne spent a decade with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre and toured with Second City. She did commercials, bit film roles, and TV guest spots. “I spent many, many, many years saying yes -- to everything,” she says. One of those yeses led her to Christopher Guest, and his improv mockumentary films (Best in Show, A Mighty Wind) helped make her just-off-center character work cultishly desirable.

She held her own alongside Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin), Will Ferrell (Talladega Nights), and the other brash boys of mainstream comedy. And then another twisted scribe in need of an unexpected muse, Ryan Murphy, cast her in 2008 as Sue Sylvester, the amoral cheerleading coach whose acerbic insults are the strychnine sucker punch to Glee’s saccharine.

“I love people who make big choices, who don’t stay safe,” she says, naming former costars who serve as her own inspiration: William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, and even Meryl Streep (“She might be playing a character who’s not as eccentric as Julia Child or Margaret Thatcher, but her stakes are always very high,” Lynch says of Streep, whose sister she played in Julie & Julia).

As Hollywood (again) discovers it has access to a deep untapped pool of female humorists, Lynch has started writing. “I’m spending a lot of time inside my head in a closed room,” she says, adding that she has been motivated in some ways by younger generations of self-assured women. “The difference between people like me and Amy Poehler and Tina Fey [is] there’s kind of an entitlement that they have to their right to have a seat at the table,” Lynch says. “They’re out there saying, ‘This is what I do, and this is why it’s funny. And if you don’t like it, you don’t like it.’ But it looks like everybody likes it.”

Though Lynch can say no whenever she pleases -- “It’s been a personal growth thing for me,” she says -- her yes list is bigger and brighter: In 2011, she hosted the Emmys; the year after she helmed Saturday Night Live. She’s won basically every trophy they give to a funny lady on TV, peppering her acceptance speeches with heartfelt thanks to her wife since 2010, Lara Embry, and their two children.

“It’s of course very normal and natural for me to talk about because it’s, you know, my life,” she says. “But it does strike me when I’m on the red carpet and Billy Bush says, ‘Oh, how’s your wife?’ ”

source: OUT

Blind Item: Someone's Got a Bun in the Oven — and We're (Kinda) Naming Names!

This isn’t so much a blind item as it is, say, a far-sighted one. But, before I explain why, let me give you your clues: 

* As the headline on this story foretells, a certain female character is about to be paid a visit by the stork. (Her delicate condition will be revealed on air sometime in the next three months.) What the headline doesn’t hint at, however, is that the gal in question is a lead on an established series (i.e., more than a season old).

* When Madame X finds out that she’s with child, she’ll be — understatement alert! — shocked. Fans of the show, by contrast, will likely love the plot twist. Now, as for the “far-sighted” element of this “blind” item: The mystery woman is one of the 13 suspects included in the gallery below. So, before your hit the comments, take a look and hedge your bets!

source: TV Line

Blake Jenner Previews Ryder's Dyslexia and Finn as His 'Role Model'!

The Glee Project season two winner Blake Jenner will make his Glee debut as newbie Ryder Lynn on the Fox musical when the series returns Nov. 8 and the character comes with a full plate.

Ryder is an existing student at McKinley, and like Jenner was in high school, is member of the football team. The character will possess many of the traits -- vulnerability, caring, sensitive, driven -- that the actor displayed during the Oxygen reality competition that earned him the seven-episode run. 

"I'm really stoked for everybody to see who Ryder plays, it's really fun," Jenner tells The Hollywood Reporter. "Once you meet him, you see he's a strong person but he has his own vulnerabilities and being dyslexic is one of them."

The learning disability, Jenner says, is something Ryder has kept from everyone including his parents and while it doesn't define who he is, it certainly makes him work harder at everything. 

"He's gotten to where he is by himself with a lot of hard work and determination but it's been hard and has been something inside of him that kills him because he wants to do well but he just can't," Jenner says.

Jenner, who has been vocal about wanting to play a Finn-type character on Glee, will see Ryder follow in the footsteps that Cory Monteith set with Finn: a member of the football team and eventually, a member of New Directions. His path to the glee club will also bear a similar resemblance to Finn, whom Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) discovered singing in the shower.

"Ryder is a football player and he's got some moves and that's what initially gives him that itch for performing," Jenner says. "He falls into the glee club and that whole world by accident and it has the same feel to how Finn did it."

With Finn back at McKinley to direct Grease, he'll will play a mentor role for Ryder as the new kid on the block takes on a role in the school musical.

"Ryder looks up to Finn and sees him as a role model and mentor and wants to try and be what Finn is because throughout Finn's time in New Directions, he's grown as a person and Ryder is a lot like Finn when he first started: he's not clear on who he is just yet and has a lot of question marks in his life," Jenner says.

But the path won't be an easy one for Ryder, who already seems to be crushing on Marley (Melissa Benoist).

"When you're dealing with glee club and Grease, you have to study lines and Ryder has to work very hard at it," Jenner previews. "It hits a point where it's a little too hard for him and all his emotions pour out like gravy on Thanksgiving."

source: The Hollywood Reporter

Glee: American Idol Star Dishes on Being Finn's New...Love Interest!

As Glee fans know by now, American Idol star Jessica Sanchez has signed on for a guest gig on the hit TV show.

What's not clear is the 17-year-old songbird's storyline.

Speculation on the Web is that Sanchez, who was Idol's runner-up last season, could be coming in as a love interest for Finn.

Uh-oh!

"Everybody thinks that, but I'm not even sure," Sanchez told me at the Carousel of Hope gala. "That would be interesting."

What Sanchez is sure about is that she'll be in "a couple" of episodes that will be shot in January and will air in the spring. "We met up with [show creator] Ryan Murphy," she said. "I guess he found me interesting after that, and now I'm going to be on Glee. It's amazing. It's awesome."

source: E! Online

Glee's 21 Best Musical Numbers of All-Time!

With Major League Baseball playoffs dominating Fox’s primetime lineup for the next few weeks, Glee fans are holding their collective breath until Season 4 resumes in early November.

Still, everyone knows it’s cathartic to exhale, and with that in mind, we decided there was no better time to update the debate about what songs belong on a list of Glee‘s 21 Best Musical Numbers of All-Time. Our picks include expected suspects like “Teenage Dream” and “Faithfully,” but there are more than a few surprises, too.

So do check out the full gallery of 21 slides below, then tell us which moments we overrated, which ones we left out, and where we managed to get it exactly right.

1. "Don't Rain on My Parade" Rachel ("Sectionals," Season 1)

2. "I Feel Pretty"/"Unpretty" Rachel and Quinn ("Born This Way," Season 2)

3. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" Kurt ("Grilled Cheesus," Season 2)

4. "Don't Stop Believin'" New Directions ("Pilot," Season 1)

5. "We Found Love" New Directions ("Yes/No," Season 3)

6. "Teenage Dream" Blaine and the Dalton Academy Warblers ("Never Been Kissed," Season 2)

7. "Rumor Has It"/"Someone Like You" Mercedes, Santana & The Troubletones ("Mash-Off," Season 3)

8. "Like a Virgin" Rachel and Jesse, Will and Emma, Santana and Finn ("The Power of Madonna," Season 1)

9. "Smooth Criminal" Santana Vs. Sebastian ("Michael," Season 3)

10. “The Scientist” Finn, Rachel, Blaine, Kurt, Santana, Brittany, Will and Emma ("The Break Up," Season 4)

11. "Faithfully" Finn, Rachel and New Directions ("Journey," Season 1)

12. "Boogie Shoes" Unique & Vocal Adrenaline (Season 3, "Saturday Night Gleever")

13. "Dream On" Mr. Schuester and Bryan Ryan ("Dream On," Season 1)

14. "Songbird" Santana ("Rumours," Season 2)

15. "Jump" New Directions ("Mattress," Season 1)

16. "Edge of Glory"/"It's All Coming Back to Me Now"/"Paradise by the Dashboard Light" Rachel, Finn and New Directions ("Nationals," Season 3)

17. "Hell to the No" Mercedes ("Original Song," Season 2)

18. "Run the World (Girls)" Brittany ("Asian F," Season 3)

19. "Defying Gravity" Kurt and Rachel ("Wheels," Season 1)

20. "Mean" Beiste and Puck ("Props," Season 3)

21. "Forget You" Holly Holliday and New Directions ("The Substitute," Season 2)

source: TVLine

‘Glee’ Star Jane Lynch Talks Emmy Hosting Regrets, Weighs in on Oscars Host Seth MacFarlane!

Jane Lynch nailed it when she hosted the 63rd Emmy Awards back in 2011, and now FOX’s Glee star is weighing in on the Academy’s choice for Seth MacFarlane to emcee the Oscars.

“Seth MacFarlane is hilarious and odd and has his own take on things and I think they want to bring that to the Oscars,” she told Celebuzz. “He’s great. I think it will be really fun.”

Lynch sees the choice as a natural progression from comedian Billy Crystal who successfully hosted the awards show nine times since 1990, but received lukewarm reviews for his appearance earlier this year.

“I think Billy Crystal kind of set the bar for that era,” she offered. “He kind of changed awards shows doing the opening number medley of all the movies. He was so funny, and it’s been at that level ever since, and I think that this is just another expression of that.”

What would Lynch change about her own Emmys hosting performance?

Looking back on her own performance at the Emmys, Lynch wishes she was less nervous. If she had it to do again, she would have cut the opening dance number and shaved off a joke or two.

“I would have cut out two of the gay jokes,” she confided. “Cause by the end it’s like, OK, you’re gay, we get it!”

Lynch has played memorable supporting parts in comedies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Talladega Nights but is best know for her part as the ruthless cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester on Glee.

“There’s so many people in the cast now,” she said about the transitions occurring on the hit show. “There’s new cast members and we have our old cast members who are actually back. So. everybody’s getting a little less, cause they’re trying to lay the pipe for the new people and set up the storylines and establish the storylines in New York. So, this next episode coming up is heavier.”

She can be heard as the voice of Sergeant Calhoun in Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph opening November 2, and next year will be seen in indie comedies Adult Children of Divorce and Afternoon Delightabout a bored housewife who tries to rehabilitate a stripper.

With so much on her plate, would Lynch ever considering hosting the Emmys again? “A year ago, I would have said, ‘Uh-unh,’” she confided. “But yeah, I’d do it again.”

source: Celebuzz

The 25 Most Powerful TV Shows of the Last 25 Years!

TV doesn’t get much respect. It rots your brain and grows couch potatoes. But the so-called idiot box also swings elections, rewires brains, snares criminals, and even sways the Supreme Court. The following may not be the best shows of the last 25 years—in fact, some are among the worst—but their impact reaches far beyond the living room.

6. Glee: The Show That Boosted the Record Industry

 

FOX scored a sleeper hit with the musical series Glee in 2009. But the show’s real impact came between airings. As the rest of the record industry flailed, the Glee recordings found staggering success on iTunes. By the end of 2011, the cast had sold more than 11 million albums and another 36 million single tracks. Meanwhile, the cast’s 2011 concert tour grossed more than $40 million. Forget garage bands—aspiring stars should be shooting garage teen dramas!

source: Mental Floss

Dean Geyer says acting lessons are a must!

Glee's newest star Dean Geyer admits he should start taking acting classes or enrol in drama school if he wants to take his US television career to another level.

The South-African born Australian has progressed from the humble beginnings as an Australian Idol contestant six years ago to winning a role on a hit teen musical show in America.

The big break was not a fluke though.

Geyer landed the role at his fourth attempt at pilot season auditions in the US earlier this year.

He plays the recurring role of Brody Weston, the love interest for Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) in the Emmy award-winning series.

The 26-year-old's acting career started on the long running Network Ten soapie Neighbours after his third placing behind Damien Leith on Australian Idol in 2006.

Since then he has basically swapped his obsession with music for acting.

Geyer said acting lessons may soon be a necessity if he wants to break into feature films on the back of appearing in Glee.

"I am so lazy, the most I have ever done is a couple of private acting lessons for my first and second pilot seasons," Geyer told AAP with a chuckle.

"I promise you I will enter an acting class, I need to take my art seriously.

"Some people have been coming out here for eight years and still haven't got their big break and I feel very grateful.

"To be able to take it to the next level, I do need to lift my game as there are some very talented people out there... and a movie career is very appealing to me."

LA-based Geyer said when he was originally cast on Neighbours he was unsure acting was really for him, but that soon changed and he has not played a gig or been in a recording studio for at least three years.

His contract with Glee is pretty much at the mercy of those behind the hit show, but so far so good.

He said there's even the possibility of graduating from a recurring character to a regular cast member.

"I was actually hesitant about going into the acting world but once I started on Neighbours, I realised how much I loved acting and how much harder the music world was.

"It seems like my storyline is going in the direction of being one of the regular characters (on Glee).

"Now it just seems acting has taken the reins and literally I have not been in the studio and have not played a gig for three years."

Geyer, who moved to Australia when he was 15 and has Australian citizenship, not only made his mark on Idol and Neighbours but he was also part of the celebrity scene in Australia after he got engaged to Lisa Origliasso of The Veronicas.

Their union was called off because of work commitments but he says the pair still remain in contact.

"I spoke to her the other day and they are releasing their new album and single and they are doing some great things," Geyer said.

Glee airs October 24 on Ten.

source: The West Australian

It's Official: Glee Casts American Idol's Jessica Sanchez – Who Will She Be Playing?l

It’s a done deal: Jessica Sanchez, whose monster pipes and near-perfect pitch carried her all the way to a second-place finish on Season 11 of American Idol, has closed a deal to recur onGlee, TVLine has learned exclusively.

There are no details on what role Glee executive producer Ryan Murphy might have in store for the 16-year-old California native or when she will first appear on screen. (Might she be the much-buzzed-about new love interest for Finn?!)

During her Idol run, Sanchez became an early front-runner on the strength of scorching Vegas-round renditions of “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” and “The Prayer,” followed by a spot-on rendition of “I Will Always Love You” on Whitney Houston night. Later, in a Top 7 week shocker, Ryan Seacrest revealed the girl who sometimes performed as her alter-ego Bebe Chez was the lowest vote getter, but the judges promptly vetoed America’s decision by using their sole “save” of the season. Sanchez then went on to steal the show during the Idol finale by virtue of a jaw-dropping duet with Broadway legend Jennifer Holliday on the Dreamgirls classic “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.”This marks Sanchez’s third time at the primetime rodeo. Back in 2006, she appeared as a contestant on the inaugural season NBC’s America’s Got Talent. 

source: TVLine

Sarah Jessica Parker Snarks On Paul Ryan Workout Photos Plus Why Shes Done With Glee!

Being the Barack Obama supporter that she is, we couldn't help but ask Sarah Jessica Parker at last night's amfAR gala what she thinks of GOP vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan's new workout photos.

While SJP said she had yet to see the Timemagazine pics, she cracked, "How much does that add to the intellectual capacity? Just curious."

Meow.

Meanwhile, Parker also revealed that hermulti-episode guest stint this season onGlee is a one-time thing.

"No, no, no," she said when I asked if she'd be back next year. "It's a little arc which has been really fun and a delight to be a part of. I loved working with [executive producers Ryan Murphy and Dante DiLoreto] and the cast has been very sweet, but it's just a tiny little dessert for me."Fingers crossed she changes her mind.

source: E! Online

'Glee’ updates from Darren Criss, Lea Michele, Ryan Murphy!

LOS ANGELES—Lea Michele and Darren Criss sounded and looked good together singing Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” one recent morning at the “Glee” auditorium on stage 16 of the Paramount Studios lot.

With Darren playing the piano as they sang, the duo made the visiting journalists forget that “Glee” revolves not just on their characters—between them are Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) and a new guy, Brody Weston (Dean Geyer).

Then, in a quick change of mood, cast members new and old launched into a fully choreographed song, “Born to Hand Jive,” which “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy later said was from a coming two-episode tribute to “Grease.” The performers included Amber Riley, Harry Shum, Melissa Benoist, Becca Tobin, Jacob Artist, Blake Jenner, Heather Morris, Chord Overstreet, Vanessa Lengies, Samuel Larsen and Alex Newell.

After these two numbers, we interviewed the first batch of cast members—Lea, Darren, Dean, Jacob, Blake, Matthew Morrison and Jenna Ushkowitz—plus Ryan.

Ryan Murphy To Produce Thriller Drama For Fox And Comedy For NBC!

EXCLUSIVE: With Ryan Murphy juggling three series as co-creator/executive producer — Fox’s Glee, FX’s American Horror Story and NBC’s The New Normal — his company, Ryan Murphy Television, is focusing on developing projects with other writers this year. The company has sold two projects, a drama at Fox from Apollo 18 writer Brian Miller and a comedy at NBC from writers Matt Spicer and Max Winkler. Both shows are co-produced by 20th Century Fox TV, where Ryan Murphy TV is based, with Murphy and Ryan Murphy TV president Dante di Loreto executive producing.

Fox’s Montauk is described as a family thriller set against one of the biggest conspiracies in American history in the small town of Montauk, Long Island. Miller, repped by CAA, 3 Arts and attorney Lev Ginsburg, is writing/executive producing. Montauk extends to TV Murphy and Miller’s collaboration on the feature side where the two are co-writing a sci-fi/horror movie for Sony.

The premise of the untitled, half-hour comedy at NBC is being kept under wraps. It was co-created by Spicer and Winkler, with Spicer writing and Winkler directing. Both executive produce. On the feature side, Winkler and Spicer, repped by CAA and Principato Young, recently made a deal to adapt the Nick Jones comic play The Coward, with Winkler directing and Spicer executive producing, for American Work and Big Beach Films. Winkler also has been attached to direct a crime comedy with Steve Carell for Warner Bros., and Spicer produced the Winkler-directed Magnolia Films feature Ceremony.

source: Deadline.com

10 Reasons Glee Fans Hate Glee!

Remember when Glee was that new kid on the block that everybody was either talking about or desperately trying to avoid hearing about? It was fresh, fun and satirical enough to take the edge off an otherwise bubblegum experience. However, despite hopeful beginnings, Glee-mania has dwindled and the show has amassed an impressive following dedicated to complaining about lacklustre comedy, dissolving plot threads and ever-present guest stars.

May I present to you a not at all conclusive list of why this writer and Glee fan thinks a show that once generated such positive buzz is now barely constitutes a threat to the timeslot it occupies?

1. Pointless Songs

Well, it’s a musical, you say. What really did you expect? Frankly – more of a musical experience than tuning into the best Top 40 cover artists. In musical theatre (even jukebox musical theatre), the songs sung usually have some relevance to the story that is trying to be told. Glee more and more often deems lack of relevance to the story being told as a relatively minor setback, giving a select few prized performers a jukebox of recent hits to pick at merely because they can (I’m looking at you, Blaine Anderson).

The sheer amount of musical numbers in each forty minute episode have also proven a threat to storytelling – in the last season, Glee featured six or more songs per episode in thirteen of the twenty two episode sets. In three episodes the musical number count was as high as nine songs. With this in mind, it’s no surprise the quality of narrative has taken a step back to accommodate the show’s musical whims.

Daniel Radcliffe, Cory Monteith movies get Telefilm boost!

Canadian films starring Daniel Radcliffe, Richard Dreyfuss and Cory Monteith are among the projects getting a boost from Telefilm Canada.

The federal funding agency says it's investing $6.4 million in six English-language features from the Atlantic and Ontario-Nunavut regions.

They include the Canada-Ireland co-production F Word, a romantic comedy starring Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan and helmed by Fubar director Michael Dowse.

TV star Jason Priestley also got funds for his feature directorial debut, Cas & Dylan, starring Dreyfuss as a dying man who inadvertently winds up on the lam with a 22-year-old, played by Canadian up-and-comer Tatiana Maslany.

Other films in the pipe include writer-director Gia Milani's All the Wrong Reasons, with Monteith, Karine Vanasse, Emily Hampshire, and Kevin Zegers in an ensemble about severe traumatic stress; and Richie Mehta's drama I'll Follow You Down, starring Haley Joel Osment, Gillian Anderson, Rufus Sewell and Victor Garber.

Other projects getting financial support include the coming-of-age tales Hold Fast, directed by Justin Simms, and Uvanga, from Marie-Helene Cousineau.

source: CBC News

Lea Michele’s L’Oreal Deal Not Cruelty-Free!

Lea Michele becoming the new face of L’Oreal might have the entertainment and style industries buzzing, but her choice to sign with the cosmetic giant is also causing a stir among animal-rights groups.

Michele is known for her starring role on the TV series Glee, but she is also known as an animal rights activist. A long-time vegetarian, she cites her love for animals as the reason she is involved with animals rights and chooses a meatless diet.

The outrage stems from L’Oreal’s decision to resume animal testing to sell their cosmetics in China. The law there requires cosmetics to be tested on animals.

As the Daily Mail reported, other companies are opting out of the Chinese cosmetics market. Paul Mitchell CEO and Co-founder John Paul DeJoria said of the company’s decision, “Since Paul Mitchell was founded in 1980, we have been cruelty-free. We do not conduct or condone animal testing on our products, and we will not attempt to market our products in China until alternatives to animal testing methods have been accepted by the government.”

Although Michele might not be aware of L’Oreal’s animal testing in China, other entertainers are voicing protest against animal testing.

British actor and comedian Ricky Gervais recently spoke out against the cosmetics companies he believes are selling out: “Ethical principles shouldn’t be up for sale. You cannot put a price on morality and compassion.” He applauded global cosmetics company Urban Decay for their non-compliance with the Chinese law and noted their continued success: “You don’t have to sell your soul in order to be a globally successful cosmetics brand.”

Humane Society International reports that China might be reconsidering its stance on animal testing in light of a proposed ban in Europe of animal-tested products, due to start in 2013.

What do you think? Should Lea have said no to the deal and does this make her a less than ideal animal rights campaigner going forward? She your thoughts below!

source: One Green Planet

4x02 "Britney 2.0" Reviews and Recaps!

Hit Fix by Geoff Berkshire

Now, that was better. After last week's lackluster introduction to the multiple new characters on "Glee," it's a relief to get a second episode more focused on old favorites.

The newbies were all still around (even Marley's lunch lady mom had an encore), but "Britney 2.0" worked better as a showcase for Heather Morris, a reminder the writers really should be usingChord Overstreet more, and a tiny glimpse of what might have been if Kurt and Rachel actually got that New York spinoff. Plus, we saw a real Puckerman back in action.

Let's start with Brittany, because when the writers allow Morris a chance to step up and shine, she nails it every time. Her crack comic timing was one of the best surprises of the second half of season one ("Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?" will forever have a place in TV history), and every time she gets to dance there's a good chance your TV may spontaneously combust (proof: her performances of "I'm a Slave 4 U" in the first Britney Spears tribute "Britney/Brittany" and the "Glee Concert Movie"). All this, plus Morris has gracefully developed one of the show's most unexpectedly perfect romances with Naya Rivera's Santana.

But among the many missteps of "Glee" season three, putting Brittany on the back burner was one of the most inexplicable. Morris and Rivera were delivering Emmy nomination-level work in season two, and they started out strong in season three with Santana's coming out storyline. Then... background. Weeks would go by without even a line from Brittany. How you can justify not writing to one of your most consistently funny characters is a mystery I don't think the "Glee" writers will believably ever answer.

Fortunately, "Britney 2.0" put the spotlight back on Morris with glorious results. She opened the episode with a sizzling rendition of Spears' "Hold It Against Me" and socked over one-liner after one-liner. And the central joke to this Britney tribute redux -- that Brittany's downward spiral mirrored Spears' own self-destructive tabloid frenzy period -- was both genuinely funny and more than a little brazen since Spears herself is a brand new "star" on the Fox network, appearing on "X Factor" immediately before "Glee."The "Glee" mean streak can be a double-edged sword. How catty can a show be while simultaneously preaching messages of tolerance and anti-bullying? But I like a little bite in my "Glee" comedy and if seeing Brittany passed out in a cloud of Cheetos after sleepwalking her way through an awesomely disastrous version of "Gimme More" is wrong, I don't want "Glee" to be right.

In any event, "Britney 2.0" gave us depressed Brittany, heartbroken Brittany, hilarious Brittany and ultimately triumphant Brittany (because it's just so perfectly "Glee" that Brittany amends the school constitution with a well-reasoned argument scrawled in crayon). I can't ask for more. Do I want Naya Rivera on the show for more than just a Skype cameo? Absolutely. But the long distance relationship frustrations they're establishing for both Brittany and Rachel (and maybe Kurt), are two of the most promising storylines so far.

When it comes to Rachel, that's not because the her flirtation with Brody is actually working -- I'll have to side with #TeamFinchelForever on that one -- but because this is one way the show is smartly pushing a character forward. The potential in following Rachel to New York lies in shaking her confidence, forcing her to try new thing and explore the world. She can't have Finn to fall back on, at least not right away. That would be too easy. From what we've seen so far, Lea Michele is up to the challenge as an actress. I just hope the writers can devote enough time to the New York half of the show to deliver payoff to what they're setting up. I expect Finn's return will probably be one of those.

I didn't like the new characters any more this week (if anything Marley and Jake's duet on the Spears' "(You Drive Me) Crazy"/Aerosmith's "Crazy" mashup was the hour's most snoozeworthy moment), but at least we got a little progress with Kate Hudson's Cassandra July. We discovered why she's such a bitch (a meltdown stopped her hot Broadway career in its tracks), and got a little closer to the inevitable positive turning point in her relationship with Rachel. Plus, Cassandra pushing Rachel to prove she can be sexy gave us Michele's version of "Oops! ... I Did It Again," a big improvement over both Hudson's solo last week and Michele's "Baby One More Time" back in "Britney/Brittany."

Next week brings the arrival of Sarah Jessica Parker when Kurt randomly lands a job at Vogue.com. I'm hoping that works out better than the other new additions. And that Heather Morris doesn't revert to the background.

Stray thoughts:

- "I've been up every night this week yelling at the shrubs in my yard that have been making fun of me."

- I mentioned near the top that we need more Overstreet on this show. Between his Taylor Lautner impression last week, and his touching "I'm your friend" scene with Brittany this week (those two can have chemistry with anyone), Sam Evans has more than come into his own.

- What a difference there is between Mark Salling and Jacob Artist. I don't know how often the show can credibly fly Puck out from L.A. for a cameo (although it's "Glee," so credibility isn't much concern), but I don't expect to see Salling a lot this season. Unless he's secretly faking the whole L.A. thing?

- If Rachel and Kurt riding bicycles in their spacious New York apartment made you think of this Jim Jarmusch scene from season one of "Bored to Death," you're not alone. But I'm doubtful there's a huge crossover audience between "Glee" and "Bored to Death," so maybe I'm the one who's alone.

- Nice to see Emma and Principal Figgins again.

- Artie and Blaine's mashup of Spears' "Boys" and Bieber's "Boyfriend"? Awesome. After "It's Time" last week, Darren Criss is two for two in delivering my favorite song of the night.

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thanks to ontd_glee

Naya Rivera in THR's 35 Hottest Young Latinos in Entertainment!

Naya Rivera

Though she had been modeling and acting from a young age, it wasn’t until Rivera, 25, landed the role of mean-girl cheerleader Santana Lopez on Fox’s Glee that the half Puerto Rican, quarter African-American and quarter German actress really broke out. “My mom was the one who put me in [the business] and being Latin has kept me humble foremost because we work hard at being grounded,” she says. “I know I’m representing a larger group of people, and it steers my decision-making.” Rivera says she has always hoped her career would emulate Jennifer Lopez’s after seeing her in 1997’s Selena; with a 2011 Columbia Records deal for a solo album, she’s on her way. “We’re still recording but we’re inching closer to putting something out very soon,” she says. Returning to Glee’s fourth season in September, Rivera says she hopes the series will delve deeper into Santana’s family, which includes a mother played by Gloria Estefan and an abuela who rejects her granddaughter’s homosexuality. “If we delved into her family, we could really celebrate the culture -- like we did with her abuela: with traditional food on the table, mixed with Spanish.” It’s a note she hopes other shows follow as well. “I think one [Latin character] a show is not enough.”

source: The Hollywood Reporter

Dianna Agron teams up with Nintendo for New "Play As You Are" Campaign

Consumers in the United States will soon see some famous faces talking about their love for the wide array of games and entertainment options available on Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL hand-held systems. On Oct. 1, Nintendo of America will launch a new campaign called “Play As You Are,” designed to show how all kinds of women and young girls can explore their interests and express their individuality using the portable Nintendo 3DS – whether they consider themselves gamers or not. TV stars Dianna Agron (of Fox’s Glee), Sarah Hyland (of ABC’s Modern Family) and Olympic medal-winning gymnast Gabrielle Douglas are teaming up with Nintendo to showcase how games for Nintendo 3DS provide female players with fun, creative ways to challenge themselves and share what makes them unique.

Each of the three celebrities participating in the “Play As You Are” campaign will show how games for Nintendo 3DS engage their respective interests and personalities:

Gabrielle Douglas became a household name after winning two gold medals as a member of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team at the 2012 Olympic Games. She will appear in broadcast advertising and go for a different kind of gold in New Super Mario Bros. 2 (launched Aug. 19), a new hand-held adventure that challenges players to collect mountains of gold coins as they discover new levels, new power-ups and fun multiplayer options.

Dianna Agron is not only a music lover like her character on Glee, she is also a dedicated fan, blogger and supporter of visual art. Fittingly, she will be featured in ads for Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! (Oct. 1). The game lets players of any artistic skill level learn a wide range of painting and drawing techniques that can be applied in real life, from pencils to paints to pastels. She’ll also appear in spots for the puzzle-solving adventure Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (Oct. 28). Dianna is currently in production on the feature film Malavita, directed by Luc Besson and starring opposite Robert DeNiro and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Sarah Hyland is a budding fashionista with a keen eye for clothing trends. Her role as Haley on TV’s Emmy award-winning Modern Family is a great match for her fashion-forward style off-screen. She’ll be seen in ads for Style Savvy: Trendsetters (Oct. 22), which lets players use thousands of items and accessories to create fabulous looks and manage their own customized clothing boutiques. Hyland also will star in a Nintendo 3DS holiday ad featuring Sparkle Snapshots 3D (Oct. 18), an application that lets users take 2D pictures, decorate them with 3D accents and share them with friends.

“These women are all amazing role models with their own unique tastes and talents,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “They know firsthand how Nintendo 3DS can keep them entertained and engaged wherever they go. We think young girls and women of all ages will enjoy hearing what they have to say about their favorite games and activities on Nintendo 3DS.”


source:  Business Wire