Super Bowl leads into a special 'Glee'

Just when it seems it can't get better for "Glee," the show gets another big boost: the slot after the Super Bowl.

Any network that carries the NFL Championship game is careful about what it schedules immediately afterward, hoping to hold as much of the huge audience as possible. This year, Fox gives the honor to its musical comedy-drama hit, which serves up a football-themed episode Sunday at 10:30 p.m.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

The glee club and the football team aren't getting along, so Will (Matthew Morrison) and Coach Bieste (Dot Marie Jones) devise a plan to get the groups to work together. The episode, titled "The Sue Sylvester Bowl Shuffle," includes an appearance by CBS News anchor Katie Couric - interviewing take-no-prisoners gym coach Sue Sylvester, played by Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jane Lynch - and an elaborate staging of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" mashed-up with the Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Heads Will Roll." It also will offer more "Glee" than usual, with fewer commercials and several extra minutes. (A review copy was not available at press time.)

"It's a great opportunity for people who don't watch our show already," says co-star Lea Michele, who also will sing "America the Beautiful" before the Big Game. "Maybe they'll tune in and realize they might enjoy it if they didn't think they would have before."

MARKING A RETURN

In fact, the post-Super Bowl airing is a re-entry of sorts for "Glee," which has been in repeats for nearly two months. That's shorter than last season's hiatus, which was closer to four months; fresh weekly stories resume Tuesday. (As was done last year, the first half of the season has been released on DVD by Fox Home Entertainment.)

"You cannot get a better lead-in than the Super Bowl," says Brad Falchuk, one of the creators and executive producers of "Glee" (along with Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan). Also the director of the Feb. 6 airing, he says, "We talked about whether we should do a tribute episode or this or that, and we settled on doing a solid 'Glee' episode that fans really can appreciate and enjoy on its own. We also wanted to give those who had never seen the show a sample of what they would see every week. We didn't say this would have to be the biggest episode we've ever done, just one of our great ones."

Oxygen to air 'Glee' marathon Saturday

For those who can't get enough "Glee," Oxygen will air a marathon of fan favorite episodes from seasons one and two on Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.Episodes include "The Power of Madonna," "The Rocky Horror Glee Show" and "Britney/Brittany." During the marathon, viewers can log on to OxygenLive.com for a chat with cast and crew from the series. Additionally, fans can go to Oxygen .com for exclusive content, such as fan blogs, photo galleries and videos from the auditions.