It’s been over seven years since audiences bid farewell to the choral club at McKinley High School on Fox’sGlee,and now series co-creatorRyan Murphyis admitting that he wished it would’ve ended sooner. During an appearance on theAnd That’s What You REALLY Missedpodcast hosted byGleealumsJenna UshkowitzandKevin McHale, Murphy revealed that he regrets not shutting down production after the tragic and unexpected passing of series starCory Monteithin 2013.
After struggling with addiction during his teenage years, Monteith, encouraged by hisGleeco-stars, checked himself into a rehabilitation program towards the end of filming for the fourth season. 31-years-old at the time of his death, Monteith would pass away during the show’s fifth season, leading the production to pay tribute to him during the season’s third episode, “The Quarterback.” Filming the installment proved to be a challenging and traumatic task for the cast of the musical series with McHale recalling how he struggled to film the scenes centered around the loss of Monteith’s character Finn Hudson. “We’re in a scene talking about a character. Obviously we’re talking about our real friend,” the actor who portrayed Artie Abrams said, adding that he was never sure of when he may “lose it and break down.”
Murphy spoke to his decision to push the show on to its sixth and final season, saying that given the chance for a do-over “[production] would’ve stopped for a very long time and probably not come back.” TheAmerican Horror Storyco-creator added that he believed there was no way to “really recover from something like that” as it was an unexpected death that “happened so quickly with no warning.” Admitting that he was deeply affected by the episode and the impact that it had on his mental health, Murphy stated “It’s an episode I was able to watch once, and I never looked at it again.”
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An incredibly shocking and devastating loss for the cast ofGlee, many members of the production went on to have their names in the headlines for upsetting reasons.Mark Salling, who played Noah “Puck” Puckerman would land in some seriously hot water after being arrested for the possession of child pornography in 2017. After pleading guilty to the charges, the actor took his own life in 2018. A few years later, after voicing her support for the Black Lives Matter movement, starring memberLea Michelewas called out by co-stars who accused her of heinous actions on set — specifically done to her castmateSamantha Ware. Tragedy struck another member ofGleewhen in 2020Naya Rivera, who playedSantana Lopez, drowned in a boating accident while bravely saving her son.
Along with the podcast, atell-all docuseriesis in production surrounding the behind-the-scenes and very public tragedies and drama tied toGlee. Murphy’s most recent comments on the podcast followed last week’s reveal that the series was initially penned to be amuch darker talewithJustin Timberlakeinitially attached as the choir’s director Will Schuester.
