Ryan Murphy Makes His Lighthearted Plea With Glee - Page 2

Murphy still admits his sensibilities lean to the subversive, but don’t expect this show to cover the dark material that’s found in Nip/Tuck, his racy and over-the-top FX series about two plastic surgeon brothers. Mainstream America and FOX aren’t ready for that.

“I want to do a show that appeals to everybody,” Murphy said. “I’ve done a cable show and that to me was a big challenge. I’ve done sort of eight years of darkness and really adult stuff, and I was like, okay, I want to try something different. I want to do a show that has a bigger heart and is kinder, but make no mistake. It still has an edge, and (the network has) been supportive of that.”

With his previous series about high schoolers, 1999’s Popular, Murphy sharpened his rough edge while exploring the lives of two girls dealing with survival on opposite ends of the social scale. He doesn’t plan to repeat those themes either.

Murphy said Popular, which lasted two seasons on the WB, “was a satire that made fun of everything else on that network at the time” (think Dawson’s Creek) that the network never got. “But I always thought that that was sort of a culty, sort of darker thing that had a very cynical tone to it, and I don’t think this show does at all.”

So thinking those positive thoughts on Glee will be a largely unknown cast led by Matthew Morrison (above right), the former star of Broadway’s Hairspray who plays Will Schuester, the instructor rooting for his team to succeed against all odds. Another Broadway star, Spring Awakening’s talented Lea Michele, plays perfectionist Rachel Berry, who believes this is her opportunity to shine.

The most recognizable cast member might be Lynch, who has gone from brief appearances in Popular and Dawson’s Creek to splendid supporting roles in wry Christopher Guest films such as Best in Show and A Mighty Wind to uproarious turns in raucous comedies such as The 40 Year Old Virgin and Role Models. She currently is part of the excellent ensemble cast of Starz’s Party Down, an underrated series that takes an amusing and often bawdy look at a group of caterers (if you can imagine that) and their clientele.

When the casting process began, Murphy admitted he had his eye on hiring Lynch, who plays coach Sue Sylvester of the Cheerios, her “awesome” cheerleading squad. “I’ve always loved working with her, and she’s very, very funny,” Murphy said. “The funny thing about that role was, it was a very, very small role when we did the pilot, and it was put in the pilot just to give Will a foil, like somebody to sort of butt against."

Article Author: Michael Bialas

A newspaper editor and former college football player, Michael Bialas makes sports his business but exploring and reviewing music, movies, TV and other forms of pop culture are among the games he enjoys playing now.
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