Ryan Murphy must be feeling on top the world right now following the storm of Emmys won by The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Murphy has had plenty of successful shows in the past, ranging from Nip/Tuck to American Horror Story, but arguably the show that burned the brightest was Glee. Debuting in 2009, the musical comedy was an overnight success, but it wasn't without its problems. According to Murphy, the show could be as stressful as it was enjoyable to make.
It was the best time in my life and the worst time in my life. 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. But I also made a mistake: We all got too personal. We loved it so much that we would all go out to dinner and we'd hang out and we were always together, so there was no delineation between who was the boss and who was the employee. And we were all so close that finally when something would happen, it would be so personal to me that I would literally hit the roof.
Looking back on the show with Entertainment Weekly, Ryan Murphy remembered that while Glee was a highlight of his career, it could also be pretty awful. Like A Tale of Two Cities, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. While building a strong bond with the cast was great, Murphy admitted that being so close caused a fair amount of problems too. The line between boss and employee was blurred, so whenever a problem arose he might have been more invested than he should have. On the flip side of that, he probably has a lot of great memories of hanging out with everyone.
Murphy also had to deal with the antics of his young cast. Apparently, there was a lot of behind-the-scenes dating and Murphy would have to mend a lot of fences. The cast of Saved by the Bell supposedly went through a similar thing. Having to console heartbroken actors might not be on the top of anyone's bucket lists, but at least Murphy got some free parent training out of the deal.
Glee was a smash hit when it first debuted in 2009, ending its run in 2015. It ran for six seasons, with a total of 121 episodes and 728 musical performances. While the show was known for its humor and musical performances, Glee tackled several social issues such as gay bashing, transitioning, bullying, and learning to accept yourself. The show won four Emmys, four Golden Globes, and 9 People's Choice Awards. Hopefully, the stories Murphy got to tell made up for having to wrangle any horny actors.
