Lea Michele to Appear on Season 2 Premiere of THE GLEE PROJECT

GLEE's spinoff competition series THE GLEE PROJECT, which awards one winner a seven episode arc on "Glee," will return with Ryan Murphy and Dante di Loreto continuing as executive producers along with series executive producers Michael Davies and Shauna Minoprio of Embassy Row. "The Glee Project" will air on Oxygen this summer with 14 contenders.

Last season, many of GLEE actress Lea Michele's co-stars - including Darren Criss, who completes his limited run in HOW TO SUCCEED today - appeared as mentors to the contestants. When the show returns this summer, Michele will make her "Glee Project" debut with it. "So excited to announce that I'll be guest mentoring on the season 2 premiere of the Glee Project," the Broadway vet tweeted. "I[t] was such an amazing experience! All the kids are so talent! Can't wait for you guys to see it!"

"The Glee Project," whose first season galvanized "Gleeks" around the country, averaged more than one million total viewers (1.191 MM) linearly over the course of its summer run, according to Nielsen. Two lucky winners (Damian McGinty and Samuel Larsen) each won seven episode arcs at the end of the competition and two of the final four contenders (Lindsay Pearce and Alex Newell) were awarded two-episode guest starring roles in the current season of "Glee" on FOX.

McGinty is currently appearing in "Glee" and Pearce recently wrapped up her guest starring stint; Larsen and Newell will feature on the series later this season.