Ryan Murphy Admits Glee Should Have Ended When Its 'Spirit of Joy' Left After Cory Monteith's Death
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Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic Cory Monteith and Ryan Murphy
The death of Cory Monteith left a lasting impact on the cast of Glee and its creator, Ryan Murphy.
During an appearance on the most recent episode of And That's What You REALLY Missed, the podcast hosted by Glee alums Jenna Ushkowitz and Kevin McHale, Murphy, 56, revealed his thoughts on the show following Monteith's passing in July 2013.
"Now, if this had happened, I would be like, 'That's the end,'" Murphy shared. "Because you can't really recover from something like that."
Monteith played Finn Hudson on the popular Fox series from its premiere in May 2009 until his sudden death from a drug overdose at age 31 on July 13, 2013.
Only one month after Monteith's passing, the show filmed a tribute episode titled "The Quarterback". According to Ushkowitz, 36, and McHale, 34, the cast was given a choice to appear in the tribute episode at the time, but felt pressured to say no.
"It just felt like an impossible corner we were all put in," Ushkowitz said. "There's no right or wrong."
FOX via Getty Images Glee cast
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McHale added that filming the episode, even with grief counselors on-set, proved to be quite difficult and recalled walking out during his scenes.
"We're in a scene talking about a character. Obviously we're talking about our real friend," he said. "Then there's a camera on you. When those things happen, you don't know when you're going to lose it and not lose it and break down."
The fifth season of the show, which was in production at the time of Monteith's death, aired on Sept 26. 2013, with the tribute episode airing on Oct. 10.
Murphy expressed that if it were up to him, the show would have "stopped for a very long time and probably not come back."
"It's an episode I was able to watch once," he shared. "And I never looked at it again."
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Lea Michele, who played Rachel Berry on the series and dated Monteith both on-and-off screen from 2012 until his death, expressed similar feelings about the show's tribute episode earlier this year.
In a video captured by an audience member during the An Evening With Lea Michele: Life in Music tour in July, Michele, 36, reflected on performing her rendition of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" for the tribute.
"I don't even remember what I was listening to at the time. Like, nothing. I was just in such a hole," Michele said as she addressed the crowd.
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Christopher Polk/Getty Images Lea Michele and Cory Monteith
"I'm grateful that [Murphy] asked me. I really, really, really am. Because it needed to be something that felt real for me. But it was also so hard," she said.
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She added about filming the episode: "I would film it, and then I would run off, and then I would come back. And it was wild and hard, but we healed together, and this song helped."
