For all those Gleeks (that’s major Glee fans — for all of you uninitiated) who can’t wait for September 21, and the beginning of the 2nd season, the Paley Center for Media had a writer’s panel featuring the creators/writers/producers Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan.
And they didn’t disappoint, tossing in amusing anecdotes along with insightful explanations about scenes, actors and songs and even revealing plot points for next season. Check out the information, but don’t worry it’s not too revealing.
Of course Mike O’Malley (Burt Hummel and father to Kurt) will be returning to Glee next season. O’Malley is nominated for an Emmy (Outstanding Guest Actor) for his outstanding performance in the episode “Wheels.”
Naya Rivera (Santana) and Heather Morris (Brittany) will now be regulars. The fans love them…or maybe hate them a bit too.
Kristen Chenoweth will also return to the show. And they would love to have Neil Patrick Harris back as well — “…even if he is on another network” as Murphy observed.
There is a rumor going around that Javier Bardem will be a guest star for an episode. It’s true. He’s a major fan of the show. “I had just directed Javier Bardem and Julia Roberts in a movie (Eat, Pray, Love).” Murphy says. “We were at a press junket and I went up to him to congratulate him on winning Best Actor at Cannes. He said, ‘I don’t want to talk about Cannes. I want to talk about Glee.’ So yes, it’s true he will appearing on the show. How do you say no to Javier Bardem.”
The will do an episode around Britney Spears, but no, Britney will not be on the show — just her music will be showcased. Heather Morris will have two featured songs in the episode.
Glee will go back to doing five musical numbers an episode instead of the eight they were expanding to at the end of the first season. This will give them more time to work on the relationships.
Speaking of relationships, Rachel (Lea Michele) and Finn (Cory Monteith) are a go for the entire season. The writer’s want to see “what the couple looks like at the end of the season?” That should keep all of you Finchel fans happy. But don’t worry, they won’t jump into bed with each other. The writers know it’s the kiss of death for a show.
And what about the national choir contest? “This year you’ll see Sectionals, Regionals and Nationals, “Murphy explains, “but just because we’re going to do nationals doesn’t mean that they have to be there, that they have to go. Glee is like the Rocky movies so we’ll get to Russia eventually. I think it would be great if they made it. I think it would be great if they lose and then go see New York. That’s an episode. I want to see what does a national champ look like in that choir world? So we’re going to do that.”
But what about Sue Sylvester? “We want to get back to the mean Sue from the beginning” says Murphy. “Keep her mean and Jane (Lynch) loves it.” So do we.
If this doesn’t satisfy your Gleek cravings the first season of Glee is now out on DVD. GLEE: The Complete First Season “The Gleek Edition” is a 7 disk set with all the first season episodes, some behind-the-scenes shots, a dance tutorial, a sing-along karaoke section plus several more goodies. Unless you’re lucky enough to have tickets to the sold out upcoming Comic Con, and can see the Glee gang on Sunday, July 25th, all of this will just have to do.