“Euphoria” 2009?
Not exactly.
“Glee” creator Ryan Murphy divulged a few secrets about his late 2000s Fox musical series — and how it was much darker in tone than the pop series viewers actually saw.
The “Nip/Tuck” producer, 56, appeared on “Glee” stars’ Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz’s new iHeart Radio podcast, “And That’s What You REALLY Missed,” recently and discussed what the show was originally supposed to look like.
Murphy said he came upon the script that would later be turned into the pilot for “Glee” in an unusual setting.
“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,’” Murphy said. “And he said, ‘My friend wrote this script and you should read it.’”
The friend turned out to be “Glee” co-creator Ian Brennan, who also wrote and directed several episodes of the show.
However, Brennan’s first script draft apparently was not “pop-y” and Murphy said it was too dark and too deep.
Murphy said there was a plot line about drugs, not unlike “Euphoria,” HBO’s rated-R teen drama full of drug-addicted high schoolers, sexual escapades and violence.
Murphy noted how the lead character, Mr. William “Schue” Schuester — played by Matthew Morrison — was a crystal meth addict who touched his students inappropriately.
As fans know, Morrison’s character ended up being a Spanish teacher who forms a show choir in his school and has some very questionable dance moves.
“The NC-17 version of show choir with a weird protagonist who was unraveling,” Murphy said.
The prototype screenplay was later edited and retooled and became the series that fans love.
The “Running with Scissors” director also revealed that he had Justin Timberlake in mind for Mr. Schuester.
“When we were writing the pilot — I’ve never really talked about this — that pilot was written for Justin Timberlake,” Murphy said. “Mr. Schue was written for Justin.”
“Glee” aired from 2009 until 2015 and while it became a pop culture staple throughout its run, it was marred with contention and a so-called “Glee curse.”
Several cast members from the show such as Naya Rivera, Mark Salling and Cory Monteith died, while actors including Lea Michele and Blake Jenner have had run-ins with controversy.