‘Glee’ season 5 spoilers: Ryan Murphy on season 6 plans, likely cast, location
When you look at the ratings alone for “Glee,” you probably would not think that this is a show that would be back for any sort of run next year. However, the show was renewed last spring for two seasons, and thanks to this and some pretty decent DVR showings, the powers that be feel like there is still a little bit of something left in the property.
As for what the future could hold for “Glee,” the first thing to think about here comes from the standpoint of episode count. Co-creator Ryan Murphy insinuates to TVLine that there could be 24 episodes in the final season, which would make up for the two the show lost this year after Cory Monteith passed away. The plan also is for this season to utilize many of the show’s longtime stars, and not necessarily feature New York as the primary setting. Does this mean that we’re going back to McKinley? Also unlikely. It seems like there is going to be a time jump from one season to the next, and then some sort of new storyline created that puts many of the characters at brand-new places in their lives.
The majority of the show’s original cast has been invited back for the final season, but the jury’s still out on how many of them will accept. Dianna Agron, for example, has a movie career now, and Heather Morris is enjoying life as a new mother. But Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch will for sure be much more included.
Also, there was one other interesting tease from Murphy, as he talked about whether or not Lea Michele’s Rachel Berry will ever move on from Finn:
“We talk about this in the writers’ room all the time. That’s a really hard, very painful, very difficult thing for the show. I’ve said it before, and it was even in Cory’s eulogy, but that was the ending of the show for me, these two star-crossed lovers having a happy ending and both getting their dreams. So the fact that that can’t be is a big pain in all of our hearts. We have to pause and think, ‘What are we going to do with Rachel?’ This year what we decided to do was to remove the equation of anybody coming in and taking Finn’s place, because I don’t really think that’s possible. And I think that worked out quite well. I really liked dwelling on Rachel’s career again. She’s going to be a star. But as for the future, it’s a lot of discussion, and it’s something that we’ll consult with Lea about. To be quite honest, we just haven’t been able to crack it, because I feel like it’s such a sensitive topic and the fans have such an idea about it. I think half of them feel like, yes, Rachel should go on, and I think half of them probably feel like no, she shouldn’t. We’ll follow Lea’s lead, as we have so many times this year. She’s always been so great and so sensitive and been so wise about how to handle that stuff. So we have to make that decision in the next couple of weeks or months: Is Rachel going to have another romance or does the second half [of Rachel’s life], romantically, happen when Glee is over? That’s something we’re debating. It’s hard.”
We understand where Murphy is coming from, since it’s a hard situation to think about here, as well. It was a wise move to not include romance with her this season, and if it happens next year, it has to be done organically and with sensitivity for both Lea and for fans of the show to feel like it is okay. We do think the idea of Rachel spending the rest of her days alone is something that Finn probably would not want for her, but we would be okay if the ended with something that at least gave us hope that at some point down the road, she would be able to find love again. It would just be different and in no way take from what she had with Finn.
As we reported yesterday, one cast member who is returning for at least one episode later this season is Heather Morris (Brittany), but the decision is hers as to whether or not she wants a larger part in the final season.
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Photo: Fox