Ryan Murphy‘s “Glee” was known for its pop sensibility and optimistic tone, but that’s not exactly what the original script was like for the Emmy-winning Fox musical series. Murphy guested on the first episode of the “And That’s What You REALLY Missed” podcast, hosted by “Glee” cast members Kevin McHale (Artie Abrams) and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), and he spoke about trying to crack an idea for a musical show shortly after signing a first look deal with Fox.
“We were having these conversations and I was trying to figure it out,” Murphy said (via Insider). “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.'”
Murphy agreed and thought the script had the perfect musical idea for a show, but it was just a bit too dark for network television.
“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.”
Murphy worked with Brennan to overhaul the pilot script and turn it into the show “Glee” fans know today. The co-creator also let it slip on the podcast that Justin Timberlake was the original casting choice for Mr. Shue, played across the series by Matthew Morrison.
“When we were writing the pilot, I’ve never really talked about this, that pilot was written for Justin Timberlake. Mr Schue was written for Justin,” Murphy said before the interview was cut short. The next half of the chat will air on the second episode of the “And That’s What You REALLY Missed” podcast.
