By Meryl Gottlieb| mg986611@ohiou.edu| @buzzlightmeryl
Glee will return to Fox on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 9 p.m.
At a Paley Center event honoring FX Wednesday, Ryan Murphy confirmed that Glee will in fact end after season six. The show was renewed through season six in the spring.
When star Cory Monteith passed away in mid-July due to a mixed drug toxicity, many speculated if season five would even happen, let alone the already guaranteed sixth season. But it continued mainly because of star Lea Michele’s wishes to persist and get people back to work.
Last week, Glee bid farewell to Monteith in a way that had just about every viewer tearing up and about every critic praising the tribute. The episode garnered 7.4 million views and a 2.8 rating, a jump from the average 5 million viewers for each episode.
Thankfully, Murphy has already stated that this doesn’t mean Finn will never be mentioned again, and I’m glad. Too often, Glee goes without mentioning certain characters for weeks — see: Sugar and Joe — but we all knew Finn was far too important in the show to never be mentioned again.
Monteith’s passing has obviously changed the ending Murphy had always imagined for the show.
“The final year of the show, which will be next year, was really designed around Rachel-Cory/Finn story. I always knew that. I always knew how it would end,” Murphy said. “I knew what the last shot was — he was in it. I knew what the last line was; she said it to him. So when a tragedy like that happens you sort of have to pause and figure out what you want to do.”
Murphy said he has a “good idea” of what the new ending will look like and plans on pitching the idea to the network and studio next week.
“After Cory’s unfortunate passing we can end the show that I think is very satisfactory. And kind of in his honor, which I love,” Murphy said.
As for now, Murphy said the coming episodes of the current season will be “a little more traditional because (the tribute) episode was so hard on the cast.”
The Nov. 7 episode is titled “A Katy or a Gaga,” so, yes, a traditionally mediocre episode is in store.
Do you think Glee’s time has come? What way would you like to have Glee end? Let me know @buzzlightmeryl
