To say it’s been a rough few weeks for Glee executive producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk is a bit of an understatement these days. Coming off an uneven sophomore season rife with criticisms and a telltale downswing in ratings, the duo haven’t done themselves any favors chatting with reporters the past two months while on hiatus.
First, Murphy caused fandom panic by alluding to the fact that Lea Michele (Rachel), Chris Colfer (Kurt), and Cory Monteiths (Finn) character’s would be graduating off the show by the end of the third season and possibly would appear in their own NYC based spin-off. However the actors then publically said that the first they heard that news was via Twitter. That perceived break in rank led Murphy to tell Deadline that was all untrue and a fib spun by their representation. Falchuk then tried to clarify (or back peddle) at the show’s San Diego Comic-Con panel saying that no one was leaving the show definitively, but they were trying to keep the realities of high school present in the show’s narrative. From there it just got uglier with Murphy saying in another THR interview that the idea of a spin-off for the three actors was being shelved.
According to AOLTV at today’s Fox TCA panel, entertainment president Kevin Reilly sounded like he was worn out by the whole mess and that everyone could have handled the situation much better.
At Comic-Con, we talked to Falchuk right after his infamous Glee panel appearance, where he was relaxed and willing to address the criticism leveled at his show.
Asked about the negative reaction from fans about some of the characters and storylines in season two, Falchuk shrugged and offered, “I describe it as if you are the General Manager of a baseball team and everyone is saying, 'Your closer sucks! Take them out of the closer role!' They don’t know what’s going on inside.”
He continued, “What I try to do with fan reaction is look for patterns. So what they’re saying is they hate this or maybe a character but maybe that’s not what they’re saying. Maybe they’re saying what we’re doing with that character and another character linked to that character is upsetting to them. Or maybe it’s the storyline they are having an aversion to, so what can I specifically do about it? Sometimes I don’t want to change it because I know where it’s going and I think where it ends up with be worthwhile and audiences will be satisfied. Other times you say ‘I hear what you’re saying’ and you make some changes. At the end of the day, we get in the room and talk about stories and what entertains us. Our job is to have answers and so we try to do that.”
With the addition of a full writing staff for Season Three (including Chuck’s Ali Adler and consulting producer Marti Noxon), Falchuk said the room is more "invigorating." “It’s the same basic thing where you are pitching ideas and throwing stuff around. Now we just have more people with ideas so when we are stuck they come in with stuff. Also there is the energy of all that imagination in the room.”
Falchuk said early ground rules for the season include “really trying to stay away from any big guest stars or theme episodes in the first ten.”
He also said the sectionals, regional, and national competitions will (for now) remain the backbone of the seasonal arc. “The idea is sort of like the Rocky thing, you lose Nationals you want to get back there and take it this time. Whether or not they do, we’ll see. The way we figured out the way this season works is through competition episodes. Those are the things that break up the season. You have one though nine, then nine through 16 and then the last run to nationals. That’s the plan, but I will also say we leave ourselves the right to do something totally insane and lose Sectionals and see what happens.”
And what about the relationships that fell by the wayside last season, like Rachel and Finn and Will and Emma? Falchuk laughed and said, “With Finn and Rachel, I always feel like what more do you want from me? Did you see that last episode? It was like a Finn and Rachel Valentine. We’re not interested in breaking them up this year but at the same time the challenge is they are graduating, they are different kinds of people and where does that take you? Will and Emma will also be getting into it this year. We’re not really interested in breaking up anybody this year. So Will and Emma, definitely…especially in the first ten [episodes].”
As for Sue and her Congressional run, Falchuk confirmed they’re writing the angry coach a brand new adversary to go up against in her race to Washington and will be hiring them soon. “We will... it’s not Will, but we will,” he smiled.
Glee returns September 20 at 8 p.m. (EST/PST)
