If you’ve paid any attention to FOX’s summer seasons, you know the network has had a fair bit of trouble finding a hit to put in place for Idol’s off season. So You Think You Can Dance was a rare win for the network, which has been looking for a similar summer reality hit for their mid-week lineup for several years.

And now, they’ve finally wised up and turned to a scripted series. In-between intense moments on American Idol, FOX has been running increasingly intriguing trailers for their musically-toned Glee. The first time I read a press release about this series, I sneered. Somewhere around the thirty-eighth promo, I started to smile. And now…I feel kinda gleeful about the premiere of Glee.

The series will showcase many musical genres. According to those in the know, everything from “standards with a new twist, to hip-hop and very current artists” will be featured. Kevin Reilly, president of FOX, says Glee is “unconventional,” a statement about which I have no doubt. It’s a rare day when TV can, with any accuracy, capture the particular melding of drama and dysfunction that is high school.

“It’s got music, but it’s not a musical,” he continued. “It’s set in a high school, but it’s not a high school show.”

Sounds….like failure. But give Reilly a break; it isn’t easy to work for the company whose biggest claims to fame are American Idol and The Simpsons - and the most conservative, right-wing news coverage in the market.

Glee is set in a small town in Ohio and stars a cast chock-full of fresh faces. The series premieres next week, but FOX is still billing it as “a fall show.” The pilot will soon be available online, and is scheduled to air on FOX May 19. It’s unclear, at this time, how many episodes of the series will continue to air after this release.