It's an understatement to say the smash hit TV show Glee has had its fair share of drama over the years. Between the resurfacing of outrageous clips of the show, the deaths of three of the cast members, and the multiple cast feuds, the teen dramedy has stayed in the headlines consistently since it ended in 2015, for better or for worse.
Now, stars Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz are ready to set the record gay straight and give us the real behind-the-scenes tea. They've launched their new podcast, And That's What You REALLY Missed, with the promise to rewatch the entire six seasons of the show and interview some of the stars, crew, other celebrities, and even creator/showrunner Ryan Murphy.
The iconic gay director had a lot to say in episode one. Murphy might be a TV powerhouse now with shows like American Horror Story and Dahmer under his belt, but he confesses that he had no idea what he was doing when Glee first blew up back in 2009. He tells McHale and Uskowitz that he now realizes that once the show took off, he became something like an "absentee father" to the cast, and regrets how he handled many situations. He even confesses that he checked out of the show after Cory Monteith's death. Tragically, the moment that reconnected Murphy and the cast was Naya Rivera's death. "It was a moment when all of us were brought back together in grief. "
Murphy also talks about the inception of the show. He reveals that the pilot was actually written with Justin Timberlake in mind for Mr. Schue, and that the problematic rapping teacher was originally going to be a crystal meth addict. Fresh off the gritty cable drama Nip/Tuck, Murphy and the network reworked into something more family-friendly and Timberlake was never formally attached to it. The role went to the now infamous (and lookalike) actor, Matthew Morrison.
Murphy also recalls "a lot of homophobic fear" around the show. This was back in 2008/2009, when nothing like this had been on television before. It was an uphill battle for Murphy to get to the show greenlit, who even said that some executives would make fun of his voice in meetings.
"There was one very powerful person within the corporation who would repeatedly, at screenings of it, before it was picked up, who kept calling it 'the f*g show,' which made executives who had championed it furious. That was back in the day when you could say this in a room full of people and no one would bat an eye." Alas, Murphy did not give any names.
He had the last laugh, of course, when the show became a massive hit. But did you know that Darren Criss' all-boy acapella group, The Warblers, almost got their own spinoff around season three? Murphy, overwhelmed already, declined at the time, but now wishes that he had done it.
These are all just a taste of the secrets revealed. The three apparently had a three-hour conversation and will pick back up with part two next week.
And that's what you REALLY missed on Glee! New episodes premiere Mondays. Stream the episode below:
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