Photo: Matthias Clamer/FOX; Jamie McCarthy/FilmMagic
Mr. Schuester could have brought “Sexy Back”.
GleecreatorRyan Murphyrevealed that he originally hadJustin Timberlake— yes, the “Can’t Stop the Feeling” musician — in mind when he created Will Schuester, the high school Spanish teacher and glee club director on the beloved series.
“I’ve never really talked about this,” Murphy, 56, began. “That pilot was written forJustin Timberlake.”
As fans know, Timberlake didn’t end up in the shoes of Mr. Schuester.Matthew Morrisonlanded the role and has since become synonymous with the musical series, which aired on Fox from 2009 to 2015.
Matthew Morrison.Gareth Cattermole/Getty
What ultimately happened that led to Morrison’s casting has yet to be revealed — as are details about whether or not Timberlake had any interest in the role. The podcast hosts ended the first episode on a cliffhanger, with the conversation to be continued next week.
Murphy gave one more, giant reveal that could have changed the course ofGleeentirely. According to the showrunner, Mr. Schuester wasn’t always planned to be the best influence.
“Mr. Schue, I believe, was a crystal meth addict in Ian’s script,” Murphy shared earlier in the episode. “The NC-17 version of show choir with a weird protagonist who was unraveling.”
That plotline ultimately didn’t make it to the screen, as Morrison’s Schuester was a music-loving, nerdy professor who did not have a drug habit.
WhileGleeis certainly one of Murphy’s most well-known projects, his latest,Dahmer, justbroke a Netflix streaming record. Just 20 days after the dark drama — which starsEvan PetersasJeffrey Dahmer— aired, it became the platform’s second-most-watched English series of all time.
It won the spot with 701 million total hours watched. (Stranger Thingsstill holds the record, totaling 1.35 billion hours watched.)
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Murphy is also known for his other successful series includingAmerican Horror Story,American Crime Story,Pose, and most recently, Netflix’sThe Watcher.
source: people.com
