There was a good chance that Glee's sixth and final season was going to be short at least a few episodes. It looks like it'll be more than a few, as word has come down that Season 6 of Glee will only consist of thirteen episodes. Glee's final season will air during Midseason 2015.
Deadline posted the news, stating that Glee's final season will consist of 13 episodes. That's a reduction of nine episodes from the usual 22 that the Fox musical dramedy has had in previous seasons, though Season 5 actually only consisted of twenty. As Deadline notes, we learned back in May that Fox was planning on reducing Glee's episode count, we just didn't know by how much. Fans will not only be seeing fewer episodes with Season 6, but the series will make a shift to a new location for its final season.
The last couple of seasons have been split between the remaining glee club members at William McKinley High School -- including new characters introduced following other characters' graduation -- and Rachel and Kurt's adventures in New York City. The divide was a decision made after a potential Rachel/Kurt spinoff series ended up not moving forward. Back in April, series creator Ryan Murphy told TVLine that Season 6 "is its own story in its own location" and that it would not be New York-centric at all. It will, however, focus on the original people on the show.
Months after the unfortunate death of Glee star Cory Monteith, Ryan Murphy revealed the original idea he had for the series' ending. From what Murphy said, it sounded like the series would have come full circle in focusing its conclusion on the romantic relationship between Lea Michele's character Rachel and Monteith's character Finn. Monteith died July 2013 from "mixed drug toxicity" and his Glee character was later written out of the show, having died of unspecified causes. The actor and characters' exit leaves Murphy and the other writers to come up with a new conclusion to Rachel's arc on the series.
While fans may be disappointed that Season 6 is only 13 episodes, the bright side to the situation is that it might allow the writers to buckle down and focus on one central story for the last season. As a fan of the series, I have to admit that i haven't loved the way the last few seasons have played out. Dividing the story between WMHS and New York didn't pan out very well, as it obviously affected the focus of the series. Half the characters' stories were barely connected to the other half. Setting the final season in one place may fix that situation, and few episodes will hopefully allow the series to focus on this closing chapter and where the characters are set to leave off when the series wraps up next Spring.
It's unfortunate that Glee is no longer airing. However, if you are looking to add the series to your dvd or blu-ray collection, you can check that out here.
