Fox's musical comedy-drama Glee ran for six seasons, and was beloved by fans, to the point of similar shows being greenlit for different audiences such as NBC's Smash, for adults. Will Schuester's (Matthew Morrison) revival of William McKinley High's failing Glee club, conceived at the beginning of season one, went on to achieve notoriety throughout the next several years in the show's universe.
However, the show is notorious for events off-screen as well. There are plenty of stories about the creation of the show that fans don't know about, as there is with any production. With Glee, that includes surprises about how the show was meant to progress, and even an actor lying about his age to get a part.
Chris Colfer's Role Was Written For Him
Instead of running the usual casting calls for actors, show creator Ryan Murphy instead went to Broadway for months to scope out the talent. Since his show is about a show choir, he wanted to find actors who could also sing and dance, which each actor who had no previous experience with had to prove in casting. Murphy ended up finding Morrison and Lea Michele on Broadway.
However, though Chris Colfer had no previous musical experience, something about him caught Murphy's eye. According to the LA Times, Colfer said that Murphy believed he had played Kurt in The Sound of Music before and wrote him in as the character Kurt.
Original Contract
According to The Film Stage, the original actors' contracts also included the possibility of engaging them for up to three feature-length films. Of course, this didn't pan out, as the only film that was released was Glee: The Concert Movie in 2011, for a two-week engagement.
This film is based on four weeks of the North American Glee Live! In Concert! tour. It featured the cast both onstage in performance and backstage.
Original Ending
The original ending for the show was planned to involve Lea Michele and Cory Monteith. Rachel (Michele) would have become a huge Broadway star, as she had expected her whole life, while Finn (Monteith) would settle down as a teacher in Ohio. The last scene would involve them as Rachel returns to Ohio and to Finn, and when he asks what she's doing there, she simply replies that she's home.
Due to Monteith's death in 2013, this plan had to be scrapped. Instead, the fifth season finishes out the semester begun in season four but later jumps to see how the alumni from the first several seasons are doing in New York. The sixth season, the show's last, focuses on Rachel's journey.
Slushie Scenes
Ahh, the slushie facial! This is a true Glee icon, having shown up in several seasons, including regionals in season two. Later in the series, a gelatin mix was used to simulate the drink, but in earlier seasons it was a full-on slushie, complete with hard ice.
Kevin McHale, who plays Artie, described getting one (plus ice!) in the face as like getting hypothermia.
Colfer Wrote An Episode
Chris Colfer wrote the season five episode "Old Dog, New Tricks", which centers on Rachel and Santana working on Rachel's public image.
Colfer's own character, Kurt, helps a retired Broadway cast put on a showing of "Peter Pan". Colfer is also a published author, having written Struck by Lightning, which was subsequently adapted into a film.
Finale Song, Written By Cast Member
Darren Criss, who played Blaine throughout the show, wrote the season six finale song "This Time" for Lea Michele.
It was essentially his love letter to Glee, in song form, and both he and Michele felt it worked well for the final episode. Michele described the experience: "But [I couldn't] think of the words and he wrote them."
Matthew Morrison's Age
As is the case with most television shows and films set in high school, the young teacher is played by an actor not much older than the ones playing the students. Most of New Directions were played by actors in their twenties, and as Morrison was in his thirties while filming, there wasn't that much of an age gap.
For example, Harry Shum Jr., who plays Mike Chang throughout the show, is only four years younger than Morrison.
First Season Changes
Before the series was picked up for a second season, New Directions was originally written to win Regionals in season one.
Show creator Ryan Murphy didn't think Glee would be picked up for another season. However, after it was, Murphy decided to have New Directions lose, so they could work towards winning Regionals throughout the next season.
Mark Salling Lied About His Age
Mark Salling, who played Puck, apparently originally lied to the producers about his age. He said he was 19 when he was actually 26. Said producers later checked up, though this didn't bother them, as they were reportedly looking for older actors.
Though plenty of productions have characters who are younger than the actors they are portrayed by, rarely does lying come into it, except in this case.
Dianna Agron Was Last To Be Cast
Actress Dianna Agron's character, Quinn Fabray, was created practically the night before filming began. Agron later said she was incredibly nervous at her audition, and gained the role just before cameras started rolling.
Agron's warmth actually helped in shaping Quinn's character, which evolves throughout season one as she gets to know the other members of New Directions.