Glee Gets Second-Season Renewal

BURBANK: FOX is embarking on a casting call to fill three new roles in the second season of Glee, with the audition process to be turned into a multi-part special.

Glee has emerged as one of the most buzz-generating shows of the new season, scoring critical acclaim, passionate fans and spawning two top-selling albums and more than 4 million song downloads. From Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television, Glee has been nominated for four Golden Globes, including best TV series—musical or comedy, among other accolades.

Kevin Reilly, the president of entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company, noted: “We’ve loved Glee ever since it was a pilot script, so it’s been an incredible thrill to watch the show take root and see audiences embrace these characters in such a huge way this season."

The series’ executive producers will begin a nationwide casting search this February to fill three new roles that will be added to the show’s second season. Auditions will be open to amateurs and professionals aged 16 to 26. This casting search will be chronicled in a multi-part special that will air leading up to the premiere of the second season in fall 2010 on FOX, and the new cast members will be revealed in the premiere episode.

“Glee has always been about finding new fresh exciting voices," Murphy said. "Our second season search for young talent will be in the vein of our first season. We launched a nationwide search for talent for our first season with great unexpected results, and season two expands that search in an even bigger way. Anybody and everybody now has a chance to be on a show about talented underdogs. No matter who you are—a Broadway talent or a struggling singing waiter with a dream in the Midwest—you now have an opportunity to make that dream come true by posting your talent video and showing us what you can do. ALL the roles will be chosen from the video audition process, which is exciting and unprecedented. We want to be the first interactive musical comedy on television, and the search is ON."