Glee creator Ryan Muphy spilled bulk tea on the iconic show’s worst character Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), including the fact he was meant to have a meth addiction. Somehow that tracks, tbh.
Murphy appeared as a guest on the And That’s What You REALLY Missed podcast, hosted by Glee alumni Kevin McHale (who played Artie Abrams) and Jenna Ushkowitz (who played Tina Cohen-Chang), and recalled what it was like trying to build a script for a musical show. (Side note: these two still being besties seven years after the show ended warms my heart to no end. If the Glee curse ruins their friendship, I’m rioting).
“We were having these conversations and I was trying to figure it out,” Murphy said.
“Like serendipity, I went to the gym and I was in a towel and a guy went up and handed me a script and he said, ‘I had a feeling you were in show choir, am I right?’ And I was like ‘Yeah.’ And he said, ‘My friend wrote this script and you should read it.’”
If a random man approached ME in the bathroom and correctly guessed my niche career I’d be a bit freaked out but I guess this was a blessing in disguise?
Murphy thought so anyway, because he was impressed with the script and thought it had a great premise. Though not all of it was perfect.
“Mr Schue, I believe, was a crystal meth addict in Ian’s script,” Murphy said.
“The NC-17 version of show choir with a weird protagonist who was unraveling…I just need something optimistic.”
wanted nothing more than to be a glee club member at mckinley until i rewatched glee and realized will schuester should be in jail
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) November 1, 2019
A meth-addicted teacher slowly losing control over his life? It’s giving Breaking Bad: The Musical.
Breaking Bad did actually release a year *before* Glee, so maybe that plot line wasn’t a coincidence.
Anyway, of course the script was completely overhauled to become the show we know and ironically love today. Though one detail was changed more reluctantly: Will Schuester was meant to be played by Justin Timberlake. As in, his entire character was written specifically with Timberlake in mind.
So yeah, it’s no coincidence Matthew Morrison looks like Timberlake from Wish.com. But we won’t have all the tea on that little tidbit until the next episode of the And That’s What You REALLY Missed podcast.
