Jane Lynch doesn’t mind being upstaged by her latest co-star, Olivia — after all she “has no bad side, she is always ready to pose and she sits perfectly still when you put her in your lap.”

“I’m much more temperamental,” Lynch said.

Lynch’s dog Olivia is her co-host for “Shelter Me: Let’s Go Home,” the second installment in the PBS series “Shelter Me.” The “Glee” star also has a canine companion on Broadway, where she’s filling in as Miss Hannigan in “Annie.”

Lynch got Olivia, part Lhasa Apso and part other things, from a shelter 13 years ago, the day after filming wrapped on “Best in Show.”

“She is the love of my life,” the 52-year-old actress said.

She went on to save dogs Georgie and Frances and cats Frisky and Jiggles. She sponsors an annual adoption event at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

“Let’s Go Home” will air on PBS stations across the country all summer, said creator Steven Latham.

If you could talk to Olivia about her owner, she would say: “I’m restless and it’s hard to sleep with me,” Lynch said. “Olivia likes a real, steady, solid sleeper so she gets upset when I move around at night.”

Despite the wiggles, though, the little dog loves her unconditionally, Lynch said, and the cause inspires her because there are millions more like her at shelters across the country.

“We are responsible for each other and the most vulnerable among us,” Lynch said.

In December she helped honor Mary Cortani of Operation Freedom Paws, an organization that rescues shelter dogs and trains them to help wounded veterans.

“I met this guy David, who had a severe brain injury and emotional trauma. He’s functioning well, but he was paranoid and couldn’t walk down the street without pulling his gun out to defend himself,” she said.

“This dog totally calmed him. He’s a new man. In fact, he gave me his dog tags, which were melted. The metal on them was melted from the explosion he was in.”

Cortani told Lynch that by giving her the tags, he was letting go of some of the experience.

“I have those dog tags around the neck of my Emmy,” Lynch said of her 2010 supporting actress Emmy. “I stare at my Emmy every day, of course, so I put them around the neck of my Emmy because they mean a whole heck of a lot.”

Source: The Washington Post

‘Glee’ actress Jenna Ushkowitz talks about her new book ‘Choosing Glee,’ learning to be OK with making mistakes and embracing her new cast members on the hit FOX show. (May 15)

Spoiler!

That slow, mournful wail you hear? Yeah, that would be the sound of our entire world crashing down. TV Line has some pretty life-changing relationship spoilers for fans of Glee’s greatest girl couple.

Season 5 will not be a fun one for Brittana fans. While spoiler king Michael Ausiello does give the encouraging news that Brittany (Heather Morris) likely will be back at some point in the season, he says that any return likely won’t happen until the beginning of 2014.

Actress Heather Morris is reportedly due to give birth to her first child this fall, so Brit’s return will likely be postponed until a few months after that.

Now for the really bad news, Ausiello says that Brit’s ex-girlfriend, Santana (Naya Rivera), does not appear to be waiting around for her. He writes, “Word on the street is she’s getting a serious NYC girlfriend in Season 5.” Cue our gut-wrenching sobs and generally inconsolability.

The only silver lining is that filming for the first half of Season 5 is still a few months away. Plans for Season 5 might not be set in stone, and Ausiello’s “word on the street” phrasing gives us hope that plans might change.

That said, actress Naya Rivera has been vocal about her desire for Santana to meet a hot new love interest in NYC, so it’s very possible that the show might finally be granting her wish. We love Brittana together, but we’re willing to find solace in the idea that, while Santana might move on for now, she still could end up with Brittany in the end.

After all, did you see how long Rachel and Brody lasted? NYC hasn’t proven to be that great at bringing our Glee pals true love so far. Here’s to hoping this one doesn’t turn out to be a high-end escort!

Source: Wetpaint

With Glee season four now complete, I decided to compile a list of what I believe needs to improve in the show’s future. While the show is far from unwatchable, it is undeniably past its prime. Glee has been renewed for a fifth and sixth season, so it still has a chance to return to the greatness of its first two seasons and remind us why we all became Gleeks in the first place. Check out my points below and let me know if you agree or not!

1. Fresh Story lines

Season four introduced a crop of fresh faces to New Directions. While the newbies are welcomed for the most part, their story lines pale in comparison to the original cast in New York City. Marley, Jake, Ryder and Kitty’s love square was basically a rehash of Finn, Rachel, Quinn and Sam’s from the first two seasons. Kitty and Marley’s feud was also just a duplicate of Rachel and Quinn’s rivalry.

There was so little leading up to the romances of the new characters that it just felt so contrived when the couples formed. We needed to get to know their characters more on an individual level before placing them in pairs and forcing us to invest in them. How ridiculous was it that the Jake, Marley and Kitty love triangle already formed in episode two?

A high school setting with a cast so diverse provides a wealth of potential story lines to tackle issues that teenagers go through. While the focus was mostly on the couples this season, Glee did take on some sensitive issues such as depression, transphobia, rape and a school shooting. But even those provocative issues were only placed in the spotlight for an episode or two, before quickly being dropped in favor of love triangles.

A perfect example of this is Blaine. The writers had an entire season to develop his individuality outside of being Kurt’s partner. Rather than delving into his troubled past and how it shaped him into the proud gay man he is now, Blaine’s story lines all revolved around Kurt: cheating on Kurt, feeling depressed about cheating on Kurt, looking for a rebound from his break-up with Kurt, and planning on proposing to Kurt.

Season five also needs to delve more on the original cast in New York City. With a setting that exciting, you would have expected it to have more prominence. Instead, they often played secondary to the McKinley plot lines, with multiple episodes being completely set in Ohio. Now that Santana is settled in New York City and Artie is on his way, let’s hope the focus does switch more towards it.

2. Develop Undervalued Talent

It’s obvious that certain characters are favored over others. Season four prominently featured Blaine, Rachel, Marley, Kurt, Finn, Ryder, Brittany and Santana. With a cast so large, the challenge to give each character a proper storyline and fair amount of screen time to satisfy the fans is understandably difficult.

However, when supporting characters are given a story line on the show, their characters are degraded in order to prop up one of the leads. What was the point of introducing Brody or Adam if they were just going to be used as plot devices for Finchel (Finn and Rachel) and Klaine (Kurt and Blaine)?

A major example of this is Tina. While she’s been an unappreciated character since the beginning, fans were given hope that she would finally get her due in season’s three’s “Props.” Rachel granted Tina the title of New Directions’ lead successor, but that role inevitably became shared by Blaine and Marley. What was once an unfairly ignored character for three seasons has become an inside joke over her lack of purpose.

Tina’s storyline this season revolved around a school girl crush on a friend (Blaine) whom she knew was openly gay. Why are they recycling a season one Kurt and Mercedes story line? it only made Tina look desperate and creepy. The scene in which she straddled on an unconscious Blaine, while applying vapour rub on his bare chest, is arguably the most awkward moment in Glee history. Oh wait, Emma and Finn’s kiss could rival that too.

Another character who is unfairly ignored despite proving to be a scene-stealer is Sugar. Even when she is in the background, she is always grabbing your attention with her feisty reactions. Like with Brittany and Santana in season one, the writers had a comedic talent that desperately needed a storyline to flourish beyond one-liners. Sugar’s romance with Artie had potential, but even that was quickly dropped.

3. More Faberry

One of the most popular friendships in the Glee fandom is Faberry, a nickname for Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray. Spanning three seasons, their friendship began in the formulaic popular girl versus social outcast plot. While nothing revolutionary in the canon of teen shows, what made their friendship special was the amazing chemistry between actresses Lea Michele and Dianna Agron.

Quinn only appeared in three episodes this season and had barely any interaction with Rachel. The scenes in which she did share with Rachel, also included Santana. It seems that the writers were unfortunately more interested in Quinn and Santana’s dynamic this season than Faberry. That is not to dismiss Quinn and Santana, whose scenes together are always full of banter and wit.

If Quinn is only going to make rare appearances on the show from now on, at least make it have significance to the main story lines. Quinn’s final appearance this season had her involved in a one night stand with Santana at Will and Emma’s wedding reception. While it was fun and random, it became pointless since it was completely ignored afterwards.

4. Song Choice

The song choices this season were a mixed bag. For the most part, the songs fit the context of the characters’ story lines. However, there were some shameless moments where you knew they just wanted to sing a current Top 40 hit for the sake of sales, even if it had nothing to do with that episode’s plot. The biggest offender was Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” which New Directons performed at sectionals.

Like with season two, New Directions performed a Disney-esque original song in the season finale’s regionals. Those original songs are fine when sung in the choir room for practises, but at a competition they pale in comparison to the rival show choirs. Who honestly thought New Directions deserved to win over Jessica Sanchez’s amazing vocals for Hoosier Daddies?

Glee needs to get back to the basics of performing songs only within the context of the story lines. In those occasions when they do, it often turns out incredible. A perfect example of this is Emma’s performance of “Getting Married Today” in “I Do.” The song fit perfectly with her character’s dilemma and Jayma Mays gave a sublime performance worthy of an Emmy nomination.

Source: Huffingtonpost.com

HBO has picked up a new gay-themed dramedy starring Glee’s Jonathan Groff, the cable network confirmed Tuesday.
The still-untitled series follows three friends in San Francisco exploring the fun and sometimes overwhelming options available to a new generation of gay men. The first season, consisting of eight episodes, will premiere sometime next year. Bored to Death’s Sarah Condon, Brothers & Sisters’ David Marshall Grant, and pilot director Andrew Haigh will serve as executive producers. Writer Michael Lannan (Remember Me) will co-executive-produce.

Groff’s costars include Smash’s Frankie J. Alvarez and Guiding Light’s Murray Bartlett. Aside from playing Jesse St. James on Glee, Groff’s most recent credits include Season 2 of Starz’s Boss. He will also be appearing in another HBO project – the film adaptation of the play A Normal Heart, directed by Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy.
Will you be watching Groff’s new show?

Source: SeattlePi