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"The Purple Piano Project" is the premiere episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, and the forty-fifth overall. The episode was written by series co-creator Brad Falchuk, directed by Eric Stoltz, and first aired on September 20, 2011 on Fox in the United States. It features the start of a new school year at McKinley High, and for its glee club, New Directions. Members of the club have left, and a recruitment drive is launched to bring the numbers back up. Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss), Kurt Hummel's (Chris Colfer) boyfriend, transfers from Dalton Academy to McKinley High, and Mercedes Jones gets a new boyfriend. Sue Sylvester is running for Congress.
The episode received mixed-to-positive reviews, with favorable notice being taken of the renewed focus on the core characters, though there was a lack of overall enthusiasm from several reviewers. The subplot with Kurt and Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), and its introduction of Harmony (Lindsay Pearce), garnered praise for all three performers. The musical performances were generally well-received, and the "Anything Goes" / "Anything You Can Do" mash-up featuring Pearce was widely acclaimed. Five covers were released as singles, three of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100. Upon its initial airing, this episode was viewed by 9.21 million American viewers and garnered a 4.0/11 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 age group. The total viewership and ratings for this episode were down significantly from the previous episode, "New York".
Original Release
09/20/2011
US Release
09/20/2011
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Dianna Agron | Quinn Fabray |
Chris Colfer | Kurt Hummel |
Darren Criss | Blaine Anderson |
Jane Lynch | Sue Sylvester |
Jayma Mays | Emma Pillsbury |
Kevin McHale | Artie Abrams |
Lea Michele | Rachel Berry |
Cory Monteith | Finn Hudson |
Heather Elizabeth Morris | Brittany S. Pierce |
Matthew Morrison | Will Schuester |
Directors
Writers
Matthew Hodgson, Ross Maxwell, Brad Falchuk
Creators
Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Dianna Agron | Quinn Fabray |
Chris Colfer | Kurt Hummel |
Darren Criss | Blaine Anderson |
Jane Lynch | Sue Sylvester |
Jayma Mays | Emma Pillsbury |
Kevin McHale | Artie Abrams |
Lea Michele | Rachel Berry |
Cory Monteith | Finn Hudson |
Heather Elizabeth Morris | Brittany S. Pierce |
Matthew Morrison | Will Schuester |
Amber Riley | Mercedes Jones |
Naya Rivera | Santana Lopez |
Mark Salling | Noah Puckerman / Noah 'Puck' Puckerman |
Harry Shum Jr. | Mike Chang |
Jenna Ushkowitz | Tina Cohen-Chang |
Iqbal Theba | Principal Figgins |
Dot-Marie Jones | Shannon Beiste |
Josh Sussman | Jacob Ben Israel |
Lauren Potter | Becky Jackson |
Bill A. Jones | Rod Remington |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Brad Falchuk | Executive Producer |
Ali Adler | Executive Producer |
Ian Brennan | Executive Producer |
Bradley Buecker | Executive Producer |
Dante Di Loreto | Executive Producer |
Ryan Murphy | Executive Producer |
Michael Hitchcock | Producer |
Alexis Martin Woodall | Producer |
Marti Noxon | Producer |
Mary Robinson | Producer |
Kenneth J. Silverstein | Producer |
Zachary Woodlee | Producer |