Kevin McHale, who played Artie Abrams on all six seasons of the musical comedy series Glee, revealed that filming the show's season one performance of Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" left the crew visibly stunned.
McHale reposted a video of the performance to his X account on September 3, writing, "Filming this for a shocked crew is still one of my favorite memories of my entire life."
The scene aired during Glee's second episode and featured the glee club rehearsing for a performance in front of fellow students. The group had originally planned to perform "Le Freak," but Lea Michele's character Rachel Berry decided the number needed more sex appeal, leading the club to choose "Push It" instead. McHale performed alongside Michele, Chris Colfer, Jenna Ushkowitz, Amber Riley and the late Cory Monteith, dancing and singing in a highly suggestive manner without telling their teacher Will Schuester, played by Matthew Morrison, what they had planned.
Fans React to the Footage
The clip prompted a wave of nostalgic responses. "Crew members finding out in real time is the only way to experience glee honestly," one person wrote. Another said, "Oh to have been a crew member on this show,,probably extremely stressful but holy s--t it would've been so worth it to see s--t like this." A third pointed out that the number "ended up being not even the wildest scene in Glee," while another wrote, "You have no idea how much this scene changed my life as a teenager. Glee was a cultural reset."
McHale Pushes Back on "Curse" Talk
Glee ended its run 11 years ago but remains part of the pop culture conversation, partly because of a darker legacy. Monteith died of a drug overdose in 2013, Mark Salling died by suicide in 2018, and Naya Rivera drowned accidentally in 2020, deaths that have fueled online talk of a Glee "curse."
McHale, 38, is among the cast members who reject that framing. "Let me log off today because the way too many of you talk about real people who have passed as a 'sacrifice' or a 'curse' in regards to a tv show is f--king diabolical and untethered from any sort of humanity or reality," he posted to X in July. "Get f--ked."
He has said the cast copes with grief partly through dark humor. "We make jokes about a curse, which makes a lot of people uncomfortable," he said on the Elvis Duran Show in 2024. "The amount of times we've said some things that everyone gets really quiet, we're like, 'No no, you [don't] understand, if we don't laugh about this we will all just be sad.'"
Ryan Murphy's Regrets
Series co-creator Ryan Murphy has reflected on how chaotic the show was behind the scenes. "It was the best time in my life and the worst time in my life," he told Entertainment Weekly, adding, "There was a lot of infighting. There was a lot of people sleeping together and breaking up. It was good training for being a parent, I'll tell you that much."
Murphy also expressed regret over his approach as showrunner. "I thought they wanted a parent, and they didn't," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "They didn't want me to tell them what to f--king do... I wish I could go back and do that differently with a lot of those actors. Some of them I'm still very close to: Lea Michele, Chord Overstreet, Darren Criss, but there were some that didn't work out well, and I regret that." Murphy went on to create Scream Queens, American Horror Story and Pose, calling Glee "a great lesson in what not to do moving forward."
Casting Surprises
Murphy wrote the role of Rachel Berry with Michele, a Broadway veteran of Spring Awakening, in mind. Darren Criss originally auditioned for quarterback Finn Hudson before Monteith won the part; Criss later joined as Blaine Anderson in season two. Colfer auditioned for Artie, but producers were so impressed that they created the role of Kurt Hummel for him. Murphy has said Colfer's audition inspired The Glee Project, a companion reality competition that cast actors onto Glee. "It's such a huge honor... I feel like if I inspired something that is giving kids a platform that is incredible," Colfer said.
Dianna Agron, who played head cheerleader Quinn Fabray, was the last actor cast, landing the role a day before the pilot began filming. Murphy said Agron's performance changed the character from a stock mean girl. "She was supposed to be the Cybill Shepherd, Last Picture Show c---, so to speak, but she humanized it," he told Rolling Stone. "So now her character has a conscience, a soul and great vulnerability." Agron left the show after season three, returning only for its 100th episode.
On-Set Romances
Michele wrote in her 2014 memoir Brunette Ambition that she and Morrison dated years before Glee. Michele and Monteith, whose characters Rachel and Finn were one of the show's signature couples, dated for several years before his 2013 death. Blake Jenner and Melissa Benoist, who now stars on Supergirl, met playing love interests in 2012, married in 2015, and divorced in 2017 after splitting in 2016.
Rivera and Salling dated briefly early in the show's run, and the breakup was not amicable. In her 2016 memoir, Rivera wrote, "I think everyone should have that one relationship where you look back and ask yourself, 'What the hell was I thinking?' You'll learn something and you won't regret it. Unless, of course, that relationship was with someone who had a sizable stash of child porn on his computer. Then, by all means, regret everything." She was referring to Salling's 2017 child pornography indictment; he died by suicide in January 2018 at age 35.
Gwyneth Paltrow met Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk during a guest appearance but did not begin dating him until she returned to the show in 2014, more than a year after splitting from Coldplay's Chris Martin. They married in October 2018. McHale and Ushkowitz, meanwhile, faced rumors of a romance but have said they were only ever in a "showmance," a term that became the name of their podcast.
Feuds With Musicians
Several major acts refused to let Glee cover their songs. Murphy called Kings of Leon "self-centered assholes" after the band declined to license "Use Somebody," sparking a brief feud on Twitter. Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash also turned the show down, saying he wasn't a fan, prompting Murphy to say people who make such comments are usually "uneducated and stupid." Foo Fighters also declined, and frontman Dave Grohl told The Hollywood Reporter, "You shouldn't have to do f--king Glee... I watched 10 minutes... it's not my thing," adding that Murphy seemed offended the band wouldn't appear.
Late Nights and Early Firsts
Colfer and Ushkowitz lived together during the show and hosted cast parties. "Those of us who were obviously over-age would drink themselves into the oblivion," McHale said on Showmance, his podcast with Ushkowitz; Colfer added, "Oh, I drank too," later revealing at a 2013 Paleyfest panel that he had his first drink at their apartment. Riley smoked her first and last cigarette during one of those nights; the four called themselves JACK, using their first initials. Riley also recalled getting into a fight with a stranger while on tour in London, after which the security team paid the woman to stay quiet; Colfer, still under 21 at the time, admitted to sneaking into bars.
Storylines Pulled From Real Life
Colfer said writers frequently drew from the cast's own experiences. "There have been a couple of times when I have gone to Ryan Murphy and told him a couple of things that have happened to me, and then he writes it into the show," he told PR.com, recalling how being barred from singing "Defying Gravity" in a high school talent show because it was considered "a girl's song" became a Glee storyline. Chord Overstreet's lips likewise inspired the song "Trouty Mouth." "I never even realized my lips were anything until the jokes started coming," Overstreet said at a Paleyfest panel. "And they wrote that freakin' song!"
Darren Criss's Breakout
After losing out on Finn, Criss became one of Glee's biggest breakout stars when he debuted as Blaine Anderson in season two, performing Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" in a scene that launched the popular "Klaine" pairing and produced a single that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Criss, who co-created the pre-Glee hit "A Very Potter Musical," was quickly promoted to series regular. Murphy later cast him as serial killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. "I just knew he could do it... when I saw Hedwig, I knew he was capable of great darkness," Murphy told Entertainment Weekly, referencing Criss's Broadway run in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The role earned Criss a Golden Globe, an Emmy and a SAG Award.
From Dance Coach to Fan Favorite
Heather Morris was originally brought on set by the show's choreographer just to teach Colfer the "Single Ladies" dance, drawing on her experience as one of Beyonce's backup dancers. Producers then cast her as a background cheerleader before recognizing her comic timing and promoting her to series regular in season two, when her character Brittany became one half of a central couple with Rivera's Santana. Morris became a recurring guest star for season five after becoming pregnant and chose not to return full-time.
Guest Stars, Present and Absent
Glee drew a long list of high-profile guest stars at its peak, including Paltrow, John Stamos, Helen Mirren (via voiceover), Carol Burnett, Kate Hudson, Lindsay Lohan, Ricky Martin, Sarah Jessica Parker and Whoopi Goldberg. Other announced appearances never materialized: Javier Bardem was set to play a rock star who befriends Artie, Anne Hathaway was cast as Kurt's lesbian aunt, and Jennifer Lopez met with producers, but none of the roles came to pass.
The Britney Spears Episode
Following tribute episodes to Madonna and Lady Gaga, Glee's season two episode "Britney/Brittany" paid homage to Britney Spears, with a second Spears tribute airing in season four. Murphy said the singer approved the idea herself. "It was [Britney's] idea," he said. "I think she loves what the show's about, paying tribute to pop culture in a very loving, respectful, kind way. She responded to that." Unlike Madonna and Gaga, Spears appeared in the episode as herself, later tweeting, "I loved it! Thank you guys SO much for making this happen!" She singled out Morris, writing, "Awww Heather Morris is sooo cute! Brittany S Pearce. Ha! She was so fun to work with and was really sweet in person." Morris told TV Week that Spears "was my idol from, like, age 12 to 16... I just kept flashing back to growing up and being obsessed with her."
Sold-Out Tours and Album Sales
The cast's popularity led to a national concert tour from 2010 to 2011 that sold out nearly all of its 40 dates and later expanded to European cities. "The response of the fans to our little show has been so immediate and so gratifying, we wanted to get out and thank them live and in person," Murphy said at the time. The tour grossed $40 million and led to the two-week theatrical release of Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, built from footage of the cast's New Jersey show. By 2015, the show's 16 soundtrack albums and six compilation albums had sold over 7.9 million copies, while their songs had been downloaded over 45 million times and sold 53 million copies.
The Spinoff That Wasn't
Ahead of season four, Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter that lead trio Michele, Monteith and Colfer would not return as their characters graduated from McKinley High, fueling rumors of a New York-set spinoff following Rachel and Kurt's Broadway ambitions. "You can keep them on the show for six years and people will criticize you for not being realistic," Murphy said, "or you can be really true to life and say when they started the show they were very clearly sophomores and they should graduate at the end of their senior year." The trio ultimately stayed on Glee, and the network's then-president told reporters there would be no spinoff. Murphy told Vulture he gave the original cast the choice to leave once their characters graduated, saying, "Anybody who wants to stay on the show will stay on the show." Most stayed, though many moved to recurring or guest status.
The Glee Project Pipeline
Launched on Oxygen during Glee's third season, spinoff competition series The Glee Project had contestants vying for a role on the main show over two seasons. Four winners crossed over: season one winners Samuel Larsen and Damian McGinty Jr., and runners-up Lindsay Pearce and Alex Newell. Season two winner Blake Jenner became a Glee series regular in season five, while runner-up Ali Stroker made a guest appearance in season four.
Writing for Glee
Colfer, who won a Golden Globe for playing Kurt, wrote a season five episode of Glee despite initial reluctance. "When they first approached me I said, absolutely not," he said at a Paleyfest panel. "I'm not putting words into my costars' mouths. There was a lot of pressure." Criss wrote an original song for the series finale, "This Time," which Michele performed. "I basically wrote a love note to the entire experience," Criss said. "Having Lea sing it to me is one of the most special moments of my career." Michele called it "the greatest gift," saying, "That was the day I fell to my knees and cried. I literally had to call my mother to come [get me]." The song earned an Emmy nomination.
Twitter Scandals
In 2011, an extra named Nicole Crowther leaked prom storyline spoilers on Twitter, prompting Falchuk to respond publicly, "Who are you to spoil something talented people have spent months to create?" and add that he hoped she was "qualified to do something besides work in entertainment." Crowther told E! News she received "very, very hateful messages" from fans and said she was "black-balled" by talent agencies afterward, adding, "I had no idea it would even come close to anything it's been. I regret it." Years later, Colfer's Twitter account was hacked with a false post claiming he had been "let go from the cast of GLEE." Colfer later called the incident "very upsetting" on Good Morning America, saying, "Some jerk hacked me. It was a pain, it really was."
Naya Rivera's Private Struggle
In her 2016 memoir Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes and Growing Up, Rivera wrote that she had an abortion during the show's run. She discovered she was pregnant in late 2010, shortly after breaking up with actor Ryan Dorsey, whom she later married in 2014 and divorced in 2018; the two share a son, Josey. Rivera chose not to tell Dorsey at the time and terminated the pregnancy on a day off from filming. "I think every woman should have the right to choose, and it scares me to think of a world where the decision of whether to have a child is not her choice to make," she wrote.
Honoring Cory Monteith
Monteith died in 2013 at age 31 from combined drug intoxication, and Murphy has said the show considered ending its run afterward. Following an extended hiatus, Glee addressed the loss in the episode "The Quarterback," revealing Finn Hudson had died. "Almost everything in that episode is from the first take of every performance because the actors and the crew had a really hard time shooting it," Murphy said. "I've never seen a crew that you can't continue shooting because they've left the room sobbing." The episode closed with Michele singing Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" and Rachel hanging a plaque in the choir room bearing a photo of Finn and the quote, "The show must go... all over the place... or something." Morrison recalled that Michele's performance set the tone: "It can't be harder for anyone else than it was for me... we knew we had to show up." In a 2013 essay for Entertainment Weekly, Murphy revealed the ending he and the writers had originally envisioned for Finn and Rachel: she returns to Ohio and walks into his glee club, asking what she's doing there, to which he replies, "I'm home."
Tattoos and Reunions
Michele has three Glee-related tattoos among the 16 she has gotten: a "Finn" tattoo matching one her character got on the show, the number 5 for Monteith's football jersey number, and a gold star nodding to Rachel's pilot-episode line about gold stars being "a metaphor for ME being a star." She, Ushkowitz and McHale also got matching "Imagine" tattoos on their feet during a night out, which Michele told Rolling Stone came about because "I'm known to be the instigator to do some more risky stuff."
Much of the cast has stayed close since Glee ended in 2015. Michele and Criss have co-headlined tours together, and each attended the other's wedding; Michele married Zandy Reich in a ceremony officiated by Murphy, while Criss married Mia Swier. Becca Tobin, who joined the cast in season four, remains one of Michele's closest friends, and Tobin's own 2016 wedding, officiated by Jane Lynch, doubled as a mini cast reunion with Michele, McHale, Ushkowitz and others. In 2018, Morrison gathered several former castmates, including Michele, Rivera, Riley, Morris and Colfer, to meet his newborn son, captioning the photo, "It's a GLEE-Union!!" More recently, several cast members, including Crazy Rich Asians actor Harry Shum Jr., reunited on-screen to compete against each other on Drop the Mic.
