First, it was a curiosity. Then, it was popular; and, then, it was a hit. And, then, within the course of just a few weeks and a handful of episodes "Glee TV show" became a television sensation and a cultural phenomenon. Ryan Murphy's genius creation revolves around the glee club at William McKinley in Lima, Ohio"”in other words, the archetypal anytown USA. The eternal struggle between McKinley's dorks and its perennially popular football players and cheerleaders drives the show's plots; the stories, however, get permanent turbo-charge from the built-in irony that the dorks, nerds, and geeks sing and dance better than your average six-pack of rock stars. Jane Lynch plays Sue Sylvester, rough-tough and quick-tongued cheerleading coach whose life's mission is to destroy Mr. Schuester, glee club alum and now coach. Matthew Morrison stars as "Mr. Shue," brilliantly supported and often up-staged by a perfectly chosen ensemble cast: Lea Michelle stars as Rachael, powerhouse soprano with pretentions to prima dona; and Diana Agron portrays Quinn, the head cheerleader who doubles as the perfect foil to Rachel. Singles and albums from "Glee's" most popular episodes have dominated the Billboard charts, shattering popularity and longevity records with each new release. The music, unfortunately, sometimes drowns out the brilliant dialogue. Critics feel hard pressed to name even one current show that rivals the quality of the writing on "Glee."

Former Daily Show with Jon Stewart correspondent Stephen Colbert is a political humorist and that means he has a license to poke fun at politicians and just about anybody else that gets in his creative path. It's a stretch but Stephen Colbert plays fictional anchorman Stephen Colbert, or in other words, he portrays himself in a spoof and political pundit filled show that has earned a slew of award nominations. If it's a serious news event you can bet it will show up on the Colbert Report, often with a unique twist. Some stories don't need to be embellished upon because they play out humorous no matter what and that's life. Some times the show has cultural influence as in the case of a bridge being named after Colbert by the Hungarian Ambassador, who presented Colbert with a declaration certificate when a vote declared him the winner. As it turned out Hungary does not name their bridges after living people so it never happened but he did win the vote. It just goes to prove how powerful having a television show with your own name on it can be in the U.S.

Inspired by Sex and the City, Girls are the remarkable product of HBO's 2011-2012 season. Written and directed by Lena Dunham, a Tiny Furniture's Aura, this TV series showcases a "sex and life" everyday situations of four twenty-something girls. A recently financially cut of her parents Hannah, played by Lena Dunham - how do you like writer / director / actress "“ all in one person?. Her best friend Marnie, played by Allison Williams, who's may be familiar to you as Deborah from American Dreams. Shoshanna is another friend of Hanna, portrayed by Zosia Mamet, a Kelsey in Parenthood. And Jessa, played by the real-life friend of Lena Dunham, funny Jemima Kirke, a Charlotte from Tiny Furniture. It's remarkable that all of the actress are daughters of big names in entertainment industry. Jemima Kirke is a daughter of Simon Kirke, you may know this drummer from Bad Company band. Zosia Mamet is a daughter of the Oscar nominee, screenwriter David Alan Mamet. Allison Williams' father is the famous NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. As for reception of this series, many critics define it as promising but not genre-revolutionizing, although some of the awkward sex scenes that are showcased in Girls is not usual for this type of series. Despite of glossy Sex and the City, many moments in Girls unfold the true relationships between the youngsters.

DreamWorks TV and producer Steven Spielberg are hoping their latest entry into prime time television lives up to its name. Smash is about the making of a Broadway musical play which involves the life of Marilyn Monroe. But personal conflicts among the cast members prove to be difficult to work with as they deal with the everyday demands of theater life and this musical in particular. Debra Messing stars as Julia Houston who is the co-writer as well as lyrist and song writer on Smash. Messing, formerly seen on Will & Grace, is an award winner with a musical background. Angelica Huston (Prizzi's Honor, The Adams Family) plays Eileen Rand the musical's producer who has to juggle handling a messy divorce along with the difficulty that goes with producing a Broadway musical. Frank Huston, Julia's husband is played by Brian d'Arcy James (Broadway's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) is jealous of Tom Levett (Christian Borle from Broadway's Jesus Christ Superstar), Julia's partner and co-writer of Smash. The actress who finally gets the role of Marilyn is Ivy Lynn played by Megan Hilty from the Broadway production of 9 to 5: The Musical. Plenty of behind the scenes back biting helps keep this production on a bumpy road.

Jane by Design keeps busy balancing fashion job and school. But Jane is just a teenager! Jane Quimby (Erica Dasher from The Lake, Vicariously) is a high school student yet managed to accidently get herself a job with responsibilities as an assistant to a fashion designer, Gray Chandler Murray (Andie MacDowell of At Risk, The Front). Now it's up to Jane to keep up at school and hold down her job. Her parents are gone and her big brother, Ben can't seem to keep a job for long so Jane tries her best to help out with the finances. Ben Quimby (David Clayton Rogers from Sublime, Dark Ride) finally lands a job as athletic assistant in Jane's school. He is Jane's guardian since their father died and mother left. Jane also has a longtime crush on Nick Fadden but her main goal is keep her grades up and maintain her busy job. That's a lot of responsibility on a young girls shoulders! Original show title was What Would Jane Do.

"The Righteous Gemstones" is a television series that premiered on HBO in 2019. The show revolves around the Gemstone family, who are world-famous televangelists. The family runs a successful megachurch, but behind the scenes, they deal with various personal and moral issues.