The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bowling Green chapter.

Fellow Falcons, today I address you to spread the gospel… the Glee gospel. Glee is a critically acclaimed show that a lot of people have heard of, but there are still many who have yet to watch it either out of choice, lack of knowledge, or lack of time. I have watched this show numerous times and proudly consider myself a Gleek (a Glee geek– otherwise known as a fan of the show). Whether you are on the fence, looking to be enlightened, or even completely against streaming this musical dramedy… consider reading some of the best aspects of it (in my personal opinion) before making any final judgments. Here are five of the best reasons I have for giving Glee a chance:

01. The songs

When composing a list to sell Glee to potential watchers, it would be criminal to start anywhere but the music. While the show itself is amazing (as will be addressed later on), the music is truly spectacular. The Glee cast has a wonderful variety of voices that allow them to sound spectacular on songs of any genre. While I may be biased, Glee is also known to have recorded songs that even outdo the originals. Though there were a handful of misses within the jaw-dropping 738 songs¹ they covered over the years, there are so many that absolutely nailed it. I even have a playlist dedicated to Glee with my favorites.

Oh, you want some recommendations? I thought you’d never ask. In no particular order here are my top ten covers…

Cough Syrup (originally by Young the Giant) from Season Three

Bad (originally by Michael Jackson) from Season Three

Halo / Walking on Sunshine (mashup from Beyonce & Katrina and the Waves) from Season One

River Deep, Mountain High (originally by Ike & Tina Turner) from Season Two

The Scientist (originally by Coldplay) from Season Four

Don’t Stop Believin’ (originally by Journey) from Season One

Hopelessly Devoted to You (originally by Olivia Newton-John) from Season Four

Don’t Rain on My Parade (originally by Barbara Streisand) from Season One OR Season Five

Survivor / I Will Survive (mashup from Destiny’s Child & Gloria Gaynor) from Season Three

Smooth Criminal (originally by Michael Jackson) from Season Three

02. The Characters

Something else that makes Glee such an entertaining show is a cast full of well-written characters. The creator of the show did an excellent job creating characters with diverse storylines and arcs, which allows viewers to relate to and root for them. The cast does an outstanding job portraying a group of high school losers in show choir. Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) portrays everyone’s inner desire to be the star of the show, Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) has one of the most impressive character arcs and portrays the struggle many teens face in accepting their sexuality and being outed to an unsupportive family, Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) lives his Troy Bolton realness as he struggles to balance his talents as the quarterback of the football team with his passion as the male lead in the glee club, and Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron) struggles with the turmoil of teen pregnancy and its after-effects on her previously “perfect” life.

Creator Ryan Murphy also did a fantastic job creating an antagonist that viewers can’t help but love. Cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) is constantly conspiring against the glee club and has many one-liners and monologues that are absolutely hilarious due to how cruel and out-of-pocket they are. While Sue may seem just plain evil, the show does a great job of sneaking in little bits of kindness from her along with character-redeeming plot lines.

When praising the characters, I feel as if I should also warn you, dear reader, of the character Gleeks commonly do not like (and one of the show’s only “cons”): Mr. William Schuester (played by Matthew Morrison). As a future teacher, it is troubling to watch Will Schuester be praised as a star educator when he makes inappropriate choices in the classroom in almost every episode, not to mention his creeper vibes. This detriment doesn’t have to ruin the show however, it is truly entertaining to hate-watch the show as a Will-Schuester-hater.

The main cast and recurring characters are golden within themselves, but something else truly special about this show is the special guests. Glee takes every opportunity to cast some major faces as even the smallest characters. There have been cameos from Idina Menzel, Britney Spears, Jeff Goldblum, Olivia Newton-John, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Stamos, Jennifer Coolidge, and even more²! The amount of celebs that will appear at random is nothing less than iconic.

03. The DRama of it all

Whether behind the scenes or written in the script, something that is constant about Glee is the drama that surrounds it.

Starting off with the written/scripted drama, there is so much ground to cover that it almost sounds impossible to have come from the same show. The show includes multiple dramatic events such as constant feuds (within the club and outside of the club), stealing each others’ partners, pregnancies (real AND fake), injuries, and even threats of quitting the Glee club *gasp*! Although a lot of this drama is unrealistic, it is crazy entertaining and keeps you coming back for more.

When it comes to the drama behind the scenes, there is a boatload of it, especially surrounding the lead of the show Lea Michele. A handful of Michele’s former Glee costars came forward about her behavior on set. Many of her costars have alluded to and even flat-out said she is insufferable to work with3. Recently she has also been accused of being illiterate. Many clips have surfaced of Michele reading that has been deemed awfully suspicious, even claiming that her costar and real-life best friend Jonathan Groff along with show creator Ryan Murphy read her lines to her to help with memorization. To learn more about this theory (that I for one totally buy into), read the background information here4. Something about behind-the-scenes drama is so entertaining and can create an even bigger desire to watch the product of what caused so much controversy (as was also seen with the drama of Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling earlier in the fall).

04. the humor

One of my favorite things about Glee is how funny it is. Glee is my comfort show due to its fail-proof ability to make me laugh. I am someone who typically can hold laughter in and doesn’t let it out for many “comedy” pieces of media, but Glee is not one of those. The humor written within the lines of this show contains some truly shocking, out-of-pocket lines that are sure to make most laugh. A character that does the best job of making me laugh is Coach Sue Sylvester. She never fails to berate Will Schuester or even harmless teenagers, usually with the most random of insults.

Another additional feat of the show that is humorous to me and may be to you (although it was not intended by the writers), is the inaccuracies related to the geography of the storyline. As a native Ohioan, I love that Glee takes place in my home state, but it seems as if the writers neglected to research the time it takes to travel through it. While the main setting of the show is William McKinley High School in Lima Ohio, a prevalent secondary location is Dalton Academy (a frequent rival of McKinley HS) in Westerville. The characters that attend both schools frequently travel back and forth despite the fact that the two cities are located 1.5 hours from each other. An added layer to this is that both schools have students that frequent the same coffee shop after their classes– “The Lima Bean.” This would imply that every day after school, the students of Dalton Academy drive 1.5 hours for a cup of coffee. Again, this isn’t an intended point of humor from the writers, but something that never fails to make me giggle.

05. The coverage of sensitive topics

The final point I will make before I get off of my soapbox is the show’s ability to address sensitive topics. Glee covers topics such as depression, suicide, alcoholism, gun violence, bullying, LGBTQIA+ issues, homelessness, and even more. While it may be cheesy to some, what I especially appreciate about the show covering these topics is that they also provide their viewers with solutions. At the end of each crisis containing these topics, there is usually a scene devoted to Mr. Schuester leading a sentimental talk with the glee club which offers advice that can stick with the viewer should they ever encounter a similar scenario.