Glee co-creator, Ryan Murphy, dropped some hints, in a recent interview with select media outlets, on what we can expect from Glee Season 6. The big news: Glee won’t be New York City centric next season! Something “big” happens in the Season 5 finale, and Season 6 deals with the aftermath. Also, there will be a time jump between season 5 and its 6th and final season.
You know, the fact that we have fewer characters now means that we have more time to tell those stories, so for example, you’ve seen a lot more of the Kurt and Blaine relationship, and we’re heading toward what’s going to happen to them, you know, and they’re pretty much having trouble every episode. We’re also going to be dealing with the Sam and Mercedes relationship, so all these things are sort of building to a head in episode twenty, a sort of big, natural… I would say explosion is too harsh of a word, but something big happens and then the final season is the aftermath of that.
It looks like next season will be 24 episodes, to make up for the two episodes cut from Season 5. BUT, the episodes will be broken up into parts. Ryan explains that the 3 week production delay due to Cory Monteith’s death put Season 5 behind schedule.
I can’t speak for other people, but for me, doing a straight run-through of 24 episodes just doesn’t seem to be viable. It doesn’t feel right. So we’re looking at how do we take those 24, and do we divide them? What do we do? We’re sort of looking at that right now, but I think the main thrust of them will be a final farewell to all of our characters that we’ve known since season one.
We WILL be seeing the McKinley newbies (Marley, Jake, Unique, Ryder, Kittie) again, but maybe only to tie up their storylines:
I think at some point before the show is concluded, we will definitely catch up with those characters again. We really loved all of those actors and I think they did a great service to the show, so I think at some point before we’re done with our next year’s run, we’ll see many of them again, and sort of find out where they are and check in with them and how being part of that glee club legacy affected their lives, as we do with our original characters.
The season 6 story will be very different from the New York City arc that’s playing out now. The story lines will continue to focus on the original characters.
…the final season is really its own story and its own location and while the New York stuff will be alive, the final season is really not New York-centric at all, and you know, Brad [Falchuk, co-creator] is probably going to start talking about that come June. I think we want to have these episodes play out and then he’s going to talk about that. But it really is a lovely, fitting season that really dwells on the original people that were on the show and what happens to them and how they give back. That really is the last season, but I’m not going to say more…but we’ll revisit some of the new kids that came and went, and there’s a return of the Jay and Matt characters [Jayma Mays, Matt Morrison] in a big way. It’s a really interesting, very sweet, satisfying ending to the story.
Ryan and the writers have an idea for the final scene of the series:
Yes, I mean we do have a final idea that we’re working on that I think is very powerful, and moving and you know, it’s about Rachel and Mr. Schue (Matthew Morrison) and it sort of returns them to their origins and their roots about how they felt about each other and when they were all much younger and everything was idyllic. But I think you gotta get back, the ending has to be a reflection and a celebration of how far all those characters have evolved, and more than that. I mean we were just talking today in the writer’s room about how the world has evolved. I mean if you look at the changes that have happened in the past five years since Glee has been on the air, with the movement towards more gay civil rights with DOMA and gay marriage and the anti-bullying campaign. It’s just an amazingly different world that we or these kids live in than they did when we started, and I think the show should end up in some way talking about that, so that’s something we’re working on right now.
About that time jump:
We are going to do a time jump, and that’s really all I’ll say. My feeling about the last season of Glee is very clear, and that is that we will be reaching out to all of the regulars on the show, that original group of Glee club members and the teachers, and anybody who wants to come back can come back. Anybody who wants to be a part of the show, we welcome them.
I’m disappointed that the show won’t be concentrating on the New York City stories next season. I love the small cast and the intimate, grown-up stories. I’m not surprised, however, that the series creators have decided to end Glee where it began, bringing the show full circle. Ryan was coy about whether the action will be brought back to Lima, he obviously doesn’t want to steal Brad Falchuk’s thunder.
I won’t be surprised if some of the graduates end up in Los Angeles, but I expect at least some of them to eventually land back in Ohio. Remember, Finn was supposed to take over the Glee club before Corey Monteith’s untimely death changed everything. Who could take his place as the savior of Glee club? Rachel maybe. There’s still the possibility that Will ends up directing Vocal Adrenaline. Ryan did say that the “original people” will “give back.” I say: Warm up those choir room seats. Several sets of them, in fact. I think we’re heading to a comeback…
As a side note: When a reporter asked if the rumor that Kurt would go to Russia was still alive, Ryan wouldn’t answer the question. In any case, I expect Blaine and Kurt WILL break up again (they’re too young to be married anyway) but will eventually come back together again. They WILL get married. I have no doubt.
As far as the time jump: Could season 6 actually take place in the future? Right now, it’s winter 2014 in Glee land. By the end of the season, they could be caught up to real time. A significant time jump would give the writers the opportunity to explore the characters’ lives as grown ups. Ryan indicated they would continue to concentrate on the CORE cast members. I hope this is true. However, with his open invitation to former cast members to return, I have to wonder about that. I could live without returning to NYC as long as the stories REMAIN intimate.
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