GLEE may have its fair share of criminal minds (see: Future TO CATCH A PREDATOR STAR star Sandy Ryerson), drug dealers (see: Terri Schuester’s short-lived stint as the school’s highly unqualified nurse) and blatant scene stealers (see: Guilty-as-charged Jane Lynch) — but kidding aside, there is very little law and practically no order to be found. Which is one of the primary reasons, well aside from the ludicrously talented cast, whip-smart dialogue and awe-inspiring musical numbers, why GLEE has quickly become the very definition of must see TV.
While veteran stars such as Kelsey Grammer, Courteney Cox and Christian Slater may give upstart shows a leg up in terms of big headlines out of the gate, there are also big tradeoffs. For instance, the Hollywood neophytes that are were these plucked-from-obscurity Glee-clubbers have been only too willing to allow FOX to parade them to malls across both the United States and Australia to promote the show. A seemingly never-ending promotional tour we can’t imagine established actors would be all-a-twitter about (Literally, you can follow virtually the entire cast on twitter, see list) Plus, the money one saves on big name salary can be funnelled back into the production (or at the very-least carbon offsets for the midwest auto opening we hear the cast is cutting a ribbon for next week!)
Even though NBC’s current schedule might have you assuming that the only way to make money in television is to cut costs, a hit show such as GLEE has something THE JAY LENO SHOW never will: Ancillary revenue. Sure, GLEE’s hefty 3 million dollar per episode price tag sounds expensive, but when you factor in the parade of revenue streams that come from consistently being in the iTunes Top 10, an upcoming CD release, DVD revenue, a rumoured concert tour, and the inevitable Broadway Musical adaptation, it will be the FOX bean counters who will be singing all the way to the bank.
Seriously, there is nothing this future Emmy winner says that we don’t end up rolling on the floor howling over. We love her, and apparently, we’re not alone 
