We learned last Spring that Glee had been renewed for Season 5 and 6. Beyond that, the fate of the series was unknown, but a two-season renewal ensured fans that the musical dramedy would be around for at least two more years, which is more assurance than most drama series get. And then Cory Monteith died. Given the crucial role he played in the drama, his tragic death has understandably forced series creator Ryan Murphy to change course for the sixth and final season. Yes, Season 6 will be Glee's last.
TVLine reports that Ryan Murphy has confirmed that Season 6 will be Glee's last season. Season 5 is currently airing now, so that means the show will end after next season. So how will it end? Obviously he didn't offer up any specifics on that, but Cory Monteith's character Finn was supposed to play a big part in the conclusion of the popular show, and his death has caused Murphy to go back to the drawing board to reshape the season:
“The final year of the show, which will be next year, was designed around Rachel and Cory/Finn’s story. I always knew that, I always knew how it would end. I knew what the last shot was – he was in it. I knew what the last line was – she said it to him. So when a tragedy like that happens you sort of have to pause and figure out what you want to do, so we’re figuring that out now.
Murphy went on to say that he's going to tell the studio and the network how they can end the show that he thinks is satisfactory, "and kind of in his honor," which he said he loves.
I doubt Murphy's exaggerating when he says the final year was designed around Rachel and Finn. Go back to the pilot episode of the series and you'll remember that this couple -- which wasn't a couple at the time -- was one of the big starting points of the show. Their will-they-wont-they relationship drove the first season and two eventually got together. Then they sort of drifted from one another last season after having graduated from high school, and then Cory Monteith took the last couple of episodes off to enter rehab, which left the future of Rachel and Finn an even less certain place. But it's not difficult to imagine that Finn and Rachel would've found their way back to each other by the series' end.
At the very least, Murphy has plenty of time to plan out how the series will end, and though it might not be the Finn/Rachel closing scene he imagined, it sounds like he has something else in mind that will hopefully work.
For a flashback of the pilot, which is kind of bittersweet to watch with the above in mind, here's a classic Glee scene:
