‘Glee’ season 5 spoilers: More on Shirley MacLaine’s visit; Naya Rivera’s plan

As of right now, you may have heard the news regarding Shirley MacLaine: The legendary actress is heading to “Glee” for a part that could be integral to Blaine’s future. After spending the past few episodes struggling to find a place in New York City and get out of his boyfriend’s shadow, he will find some surprising support from the recent “Downton Abbey” guest star.

We now have confirmation that MacLaine’s appearance will be during the upcoming April 29 episode “Back-Up” plan, and the synopsis below also teases that there is big stuff ahead for Naya Rivera’s Santana and Lea Michele’s Rachel when it comes to their careers:

“Rachel jeopardizes her ‘Funny Girl’ lead when she auditions for a television pilot. Meanwhile, Mercedes (guest star Amber Riley) tries to help get Santana in on her recording deal, and Blaine befriends an older, rich socialite (guest star Shirley MacLaine).”

The one part of this story that doesn’t make much sense from this vantage point is with Rachel. Obviously, Lea herself knows a thing or two about transitioning from Broadway to television, but she made the move after many years on the stage. Why in the world would Rachel want to risk her job given that this episode is not that long after opening night? The only thing that we can think of is that some of the rigors of the stage may be starting to wear on her. It’s difficult to show up to work every week for many months, and then be expected to play the same role with the same energy like it is completely new and exciting to you. Television’s a different animal: you shoot things, and they are done correctly, you move on.

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Photo: Fox