Glee has been a television and cultural phenomenon since its debut in 2009. Centring around a high school glee club in the fictional town of Lima, Ohio, the series has made household names of its stars Lea Michele, Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison. The cast’s musical recordings have broken chart and touring records, while the producers have launched a successful companion reality series entitled “The Glee Project”, which seeks to find new singers for the mother series.

However, now in its third season, Glee is facing a number of challenges both on and offscreen, the latest of which is the announcement that this summer will not see the cast embark on a US and UK tour, one which proved to be one of the most successful tours of 2011. While FOX insists that the absence of a tour this year is simply a way of giving give the cast a break after three years of continuous work, the decision comes as the latest in a line of challenges which the show has had to face in recent times.

Firstly, the show has experienced a steady ratings decline during this season. In its last airing on February 14, Glee garnered 6.99 million viewers, down 24% from its season premiere on September 20. More worrying, on a year-to-year scale this marked a 34% decline from the 10.53 million it attracted on February 15, 2010.

This comes in spite of high-profile tributes to West Side Story, Michael Jasckson, and a well-publicised episode depicting several major characters losing their virginities. The series has even started being beaten in the coveted 18-49 demographic by new comedy series New Girl, which airs straight after Glee on FOX’s Tuesday night line-up.

Secondly, the show has come under intense scrutiny over the long-term futures of its stars Lea Michele, Corey Monteith, Dianna Agron and Chris Colfer, among others, as their characters approach graduation. At first, reports surfaced that several of the departing characters would be spun-off into their own series set in New York, depicting them attending a performing arts school, with even Colfer releasing a statement indicating his probable departure at the end of season three.

However, those rumours were later dismissed by show runner Ryan Murphy, but confusion remains over how exactly the stars would continue to figure into the show’s storylines once their characters have graduated.

Thirdly, Glee’s attempt to segue onto the big-screen got off to a lukewarm start when ‘Glee: The 3D Concert Movie‘ failed to perform as well as expected, grossing just $18 million at the box office. The movie opened to mixed critical reviews, and its failure marked the first significant sign of the franchise’s vulnerability after just two years of production.

Finally, but perhaps not surprisingly, the series has gone out of fashion with major award voters. Despite winning three Emmys for its freshman season, that tally decreased to one for its sophomore season, and the show walked away empty-handed at both this year’s Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

This is not surprising as Glee has been accused repeatedly of uneven storytelling and relying too heavily on stunt casting, with the last 12 months featuring appearances by Gwyneth Paltrow, Ricky Martin, Britney Spears and John Stamos. Add that to the fifteen actors already comprising the main cast, and the criticism begins to take on merit.

Ratings-wise, Glee has never been the number one show on television – it has yet to rank in the top 30 for a whole season – but its online presence, chart records and critical buzz have ensured it a prime spot on FOX’s broadcast schedule. Yet, facing a continuing ratings decline, the potential loss of its stars and dwindling industry support; FOX’s former powerhouse may be in need of some significant revamping if it hopes to stick to the same formula and with the same cast members for its as-yet-unconfirmed fourth season.

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At 51 Kathy Griffin has worn every single hat in the Show Business, the former D-lister, in reference to her Emmy Award winning reality show My Life On The D-List, is now a media mogul who collects Emmy, Grammy, GLAAD Media Award nominations while penning some New York Times best-selling books, hosting events or raising awareness about LGBT issues.

Reading up on her website we find out that she has been making audiences laugh for years discussing Hollywood gossip and celebrity blunders but according to her detractors she’s far from funny. Her act could be described as a commentary on Celebrity lifestyle, Show business scandals, Top-secret spilling and a lot of cursing that will target anyone from Oprah Winfrey to a whole religious group.

Her infamous moments include her Emmy speech mentioning Jesus Christ, her swearing on CNN, open feuds with radio phenomenon Ryan Seacrest or derogatory comments on Sarah Palin and her daughter. She claims to have been banned from most of the shows on National Television, kicked out of A-List events and confronted by celebrities at after-parties.

But is it all valid for a laugh? Where is the line between funny and offensive? Do we take some jokes too seriously? Comedians have always stirred up some, or a whole lot of, controversy in the name of comedy. It worked out just fine for Chris Rock, George Lopez or even Jay Leno.

As for the female headliners Chelsea Handler landed a TV gig that will pay her rent forever and Joan Rivers is one of the busiest artists out there. But what is so different about Kathy Griffin that enrages some so many people and yet maintains a growing loyal army of fans? It seems like no other comedian has been so honest about their social status, fans believe her stories and haters are horrified by her jokes but she seems to be frank to all audiences.

There’s  even more to Kathy Griffin’s enchanting side, she is also one of the biggest LGTB rights advocate, she lent her voice to the Repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell campaigns where she would march with the crowds and even perform for the troops in Irak and Afghanistan. Let alone her mother Maggie, whose rising popularity and old-fashioned way of thinking may sweeten  and  smoothen her daughter’s image.

2011 has been a extremely successful year for Kathy Griffin who made a Broadway debut, landed roles on Glee and Drop Dead Diva and by the end of the year Bravo will have aired 4 of her comedy specials. She’ll strut the red carpet on September 18th as an Emmy Nominee and while the world discuss her artistry she will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Funny or not, it seems like Kathy Griffin knows what she is getting herself into. The day after the Emmys her special Kathy Griffin Emmys Aftermath will premiere on the TV Guide Network, just another excuse for spilling all kinds of inside details from a star-studded Show, classic Griffin.
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