Harry Shum News

Liberally utilizing tried and true heartstring-tugging tropes masterfully displayed in holiday entities as diverse as LOVE, ACTUALLY, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, HOLIDAY INN and even showing some Chanukah action sure to set virtually anybody's menorah fully alight thanks to the Puckerman brothers, GLEE's Christmas episode - this year, aptly titled 'Love, Actually' and written by Matthew Hodgson and directed by HAIRSPRAY and ROCK OF AGES movie musical helmer and a recent participant in this very column, Adam Shankman (available here) - was all in all a quite quintessential quintet of seasonal joy, cheer, and, well, glee, broaching the quoin of many and any a viewer's heart valves in so pleasingly enacting its ample entertainment value over the course of the episode's five featured segments within the winning framework. While the split-location structure of the series as dictated by the new style of GLEE 4.0 is assuredly more pronounced than would be the case had the proposed NYC-set spin-off gotten the greenlight by FOX, the cast and creators are making it all work and it is more seamless as it goes on - and the addictive, giddy, all-consuming glee of it all that drew us all in in the first season is still there to relish by Santa's sleigh-ful.

Nominees for the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® for outstanding performances in 2012 in five film and eight primetime television categories as well as the SAG Awards honors for outstanding action performances by film and television stunt ensembles were announced this morning in Los Angeles at the Pacific Design Center's SilverScreen Theater in West Hollywood.

Nominees for the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® for outstanding performances in 2012 in five film and eight primetime television categories as well as the SAG Awards honors for outstanding action performances by film and television stunt ensembles were announced this morning in Los Angeles at the Pacific Design Center's SilverScreen Theater in West Hollywood.

'Tis the season to be jolly as the Glee cast releases Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Vol. 3, available Tuesday, December 11.The album features timeless holiday classics, including "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," "White Christmas," and "Jingle Bell Rock." Six of the tracks recorded will be included on the holiday themed episode of Glee, which airs Thursday, December 13, at 9:00 PM ET/PT on FOX. Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Vol. 3 will also showcase 4 songs recorded exclusively for the release including "Joy To The World" and "Silent Night" (see below for track-listing).

Today BroadwayWorld is proud to present the third and fourth world premiere exclusive songs in a month's time, following "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" performed by Kitty (Becca Tobin) and the New Directions girls as well as "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)" performed by Marley (Melissa Benoist): in addition to Cory Monteith, Naya Rivera, Amber Riley, Darren Criss and the New Directions with a theatrically-attuned group reworking of the 80s Crowded House pop classic "Don't Dream It's Over", here is theatrical standard "All That Jazz" from CHICAGO courtesy of Rachel (Lea Michele) and Cassandra (Kate Hudson) from this Thursday's brand new episode, "Swan Song".

Today BroadwayWorld is proud to present the third and fourth world premiere exclusive songs in a month's time, following "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" performed by Kitty (Becca Tobin) and the New Directions girls as well as "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)" performed by Marley (Melissa Benoist): following "All That Jazz" from CHICAGO courtesy of Rachel (Lea Michele)and Cassandra (Kate Hudson), here is Cory Monteith, Darren Criss and the New Directions with a theatrically-attuned group reworking of the 80s Crowded House pop classic "Don't Dream It's Over" from this Thursday's brand new episode, "Swan Song".

On next week's new episode of FOX's GLEE titled "Thanksgiving", it's time for Sectionals, and New Directions receives guidance from some of the recent McKinley graduates who volunteer to mentor the glee club during their Thanksgiving breaks. Meanwhile, Rachel and Kurt have a non-traditional holiday dinner in the Big Apple. Check out photos from the episode below!

"No contact, not even in song." And, with those words, the epic romance of Rachel (Lea Michele) and Finn (Cory Monteith) - Finchel, familiarly, to fans of the show; gleeks - on Fox's hit musical dramedy series GLEE came to a horrific car crash of a coda - and all-too-appropriately so given the automatic, systematic, ultimatic GLEE GREASE tribute oh-so-amusingly billed as "Glease". The Robert Aguirre-Sarcasa-written, Michael Uppendahl-directed ep gave us a generous dose of GREASE justified by the glee club's take on the classic 50s tuner while also offering us some hair-raising dramatic and thematic developments, as well - Mr. Shue (Matt Morrison)'s sabbatical; the permanent ceasing of not one, not two, but three central romances of seasons' past; as well as the nefarious interception of Cassandra July (Kate Hudson) into the entanglements of the NYC-set storyline of the all-new, revamped GLEE S4.

On November 9th, Cirque du Soleil celebrated the Las Vegas premiere of its newest resident show Zarkana at ARIA Resort & Casino at CityCenter. Zarkana, a visually stunning modern acrobatic spectacular, begins its residency at ARIA following hugely successful engagements at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Arena Madrid and Moscow's Kremlin State Palace Theatre.

Check out a group performance of GREASE's 'Born to Hand Jive,' featuring Amber Riley from GLEE's 'The Role You Were Born to Play,' which aired Nov. 8!

Check out a performance of P!nk's 'Blow Me,' by two of the newest McKinley Kids - Melissa Benoist and Alex Newell - on GLEE's 'The Role You Were Born to Play,' which aired Nov. 8!

On last night's episode of GLEE, titled, 'The Role You Were Born to Play,' the school production of Grease was underway, and Marley (Melissa Benoist), Jake (Jacob Artist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and football player Ryder (Blake Jenner) compete to play 'Danny' and 'Sandy.' Meanwhile, former Glee clubbers Mercedes (Amber Riley) and Mike (Harry Shum Jr.) returned to cast the play, and Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison) struggled with a difficult decision. Miss the episode? Catch up below!

On tonight's episode of GLEE, titled, 'The Role You Were Born to Play,' the school production of Grease is underway, and Marley (Melissa Benoist), Jake (Jacob Artist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and football player Ryder (Blake Jenner) compete to play "Danny" and "Sandy." Meanwhile, former Glee clubbers Mercedes (Amber Riley) and Mike (Harry Shum Jr.) return to cast the play, and Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison) struggles with a difficult decision. Check out photos and tracks from the episode below!

The Fox musical series GLEE takes on Broadway's GREASE, one of the most beloved musicals of all time, in the upcoming November 15th episode. Mike (Harry Shum Jr.), Joe (Samuel Larsen), Sam (Chord Overstreet), Ryder (Blake Jenner), Jake (Jacob Artist), Artie (Kevin McHale) and Finn (Cory Monteith) sing their version of 'Greased Lightning,'. Get a first listen below!

On the next episode of GLEE, titled, 'The Role You Were Born to Play,' the school production of Grease is underway, and Marley (Melissa Benoist), Jake (Jacob Artist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and football player Ryder (Blake Jenner) compete to play "Danny" and "Sandy." Meanwhile, former Glee clubbers Mercedes (Amber Riley) and Mike (Harry Shum Jr.) return to cast the play, and Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison) struggles with a difficult decision. Check out a sneak peek of the new episode below!

On the next episode of GLEE, titled, 'The Role You Were Born to Play,' the school production of Grease is underway, and Marley (Melissa Benoist), Jake (Jacob Artist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and football player Ryder (Blake Jenner) compete to play "Danny" and "Sandy." Meanwhile, former Glee clubbers Mercedes (Amber Riley) and Mike (Harry Shum Jr.) return to cast the play, and Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison) struggles with a difficult decision. Check out photos from the episode below!

This week saw the second Britney Spears-centric episode of the musical dramedy series GLEE, "Britney 2.0", as well as the second three-hour block of new episodes of the reality singing competition THE X FACTOR, the latter featuring none other than new judge Britney Spears as it continued to offer up even more preliminary auditions as the arbiters hone in on a Top 20 and we gear up for the live shows starting soon. While the theme of Thursday night on Fox may have very well been their $15 million investment given glam, grand primetime treatment as only the network AMERICAN IDOL and GLEE built really could, both shows proved that the pop princess of the 21st century is at the top of the entertainment heap for very good reason, leaving X FACTOR fans, gleeks and entertainment junkies alike left requesting one thing and one thing only by the time 11 o'clock rolled around: "Gimme gimme more."

This week saw the premieres of not one, but two of the biggest entertainment extravaganzas currently on show in the vast TV landscape, both on Fox - the season two debut of the reinvented reboot of the reality singing competition show THE X FACTOR (with Britney Spears and Demi Lovato as new judges), as well as the season four premiere of the returning, albeit re-jiggered, half-NYC-set GLEE (with a memorable Kate Hudson, and, also, Sarah Jessica Parker joining next week). While one may have been more successful than the other in pulling off its grand switcheroo (especially insofar as overall transitional smoothness, THE X FACTOR really seems to be finding its voice, pardon the puns), the sheer enjoyment levels achieved by each was enough to make both recommendable and worthy of review given their intrinsic ties to the performing arts realm and their exploration, exhibition and employment of the titular x factor. Individuals with that oh-so-unmistakable allure were on ample display both on THE X FACTOR and GLEE, making both properties once again worth revisiting each week this year, like last year - look no further than jaw-dropping X FACTOR audition of Carly Rose Sonenclar for clear-cut proof of that. Plus, next week, THE X FACTOR and GLEE shall share a similar theme when GLEE gets 1,2,3 (or, more to the point: 5,6,7,8) with a second Britney Spears tribute, "Britney 2.0"

FOX's GLEE returns for season four tomorrow, September 13, with an episode titled 'The New Rachel.' Tune in tomorrow night to find out what happened to last year's seniors and meet the new crew at McKinley High. Check out the show's photo countdown below!

Last year there was a ton of talk about which GLEE characters would be 'graduating' from the show. After lots of backpeddling on Ryan Murphy's part, fans found out that most of the actors will be back, and now the Hollywood Reporter has details on what's in store for their charcters now that they've left McKinley High.