Breaking into Song: Television Musicals from Glee to Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

I think this work sits alongside other scholars who’ve written about these things individually, including about MTV, the use of music and soundtracks in television (eg, Steve Halfyard’s work around theme songs), or historical studies of performance, such as Elvis or The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. My work takes a broad approach, tracing music on TV and the TV musical from shows like NBC Opera Theater or PBS’s Great Performances to contemporary shows that use the musical form as a primary genre. It was a way to increase my own knowledge of these disparate elements, from noticing the end credit product placement of musicians on 90s WB series to finding, and enjoying, streaming shows like Schmigadoon. I also discuss the more nuts-and-bolts reasons why certain series or episodes that use the musical format either work or fail beyond the quality of singing or story.

Ongoing thread. More from Erin Giannini to follow.