The "Glee" Curse

The tragedy of Chris Colfer.

I'm always surprised nothing happened much with Matthew Morrison's career after "Glee." He is not classically handsome, true, but he's attractive, and has a great body, and a pleasant personality.

I'm not surprised at all that Chris Colfer segued out of performing, though, or that nothing much ever happened with the career of Lea "Witchiepoo" Michele.

Chris Colfer is a best selling author.

Amber Riley won the Olivier for Dreamgirls

Harry Shum is a regular on Shadowhunters.

Alex Newell is in the revival of Once On This Island

Some of them are doing just fine.

[quote]the cringeworthy cover Chris Colfer did on the show of "Le Jazz Hot"?

We set a whole Olympic dance to it. In homophobic Sochi.

Sucks to be you, we guess.

[quote]We set a whole Olympic dance to it. In homophobic Sochi.

Wow, and you're such an attractive pair, too! Obviously with your fingers on the pulse of international pop culture.

[quote]But none of the show's stars (except Darren Criss, and Jane Lynch whose career continues pretty much the same as before) has had much luck with their show business careers

Excuse YOU?

R5, we're awaiting your further irrelevant comments on our physiques with bated breaths!

Yeah, the secondary actors on the show like Amber, Harry, Supergirl, The Flash seem to be fine. Actually, they're probably doing much better than they ever would if it wasn't for Glee.

It's the ones who were considered the breakout stars at the time that seem to be cursed.

[quote]Harry Shum is a regular on Shadowhunters.

Harry Shum was also in the Crouching Tiger sequel, and will be in the Crazy Rich Asians movie which will probably make bank and greenlight the sequels too.

Blake Jenner was in the Linklater movie and doing more.

Miss Lea did two TV shows.

Matt Morrison was in Finding Neverland on Broadway.

[quote]It's the ones who were considered the breakout stars at the time that seem to be cursed.

Names?

Cringe-worthy show.

NeNe Leakes is a pole dancing again in Atlanta.

Patrick Blankenship was in a commercial for Crest Toothpaste last year

Fabiola Divina was in that great back-to-school ad for Target.

More like in a Tony and Grammy winning musical, R13.

But thanks for playing.

Ongs

Quinn married a rich ugly musician and became a professional groupie.

The Glee Curse is Ryan Murphy.

r17, Ryan did other shows as well (Popular, Nip/Tuck, The New Normal, Scream Queens, American Horror Stories) and from none of the other shows comes so much dark mess and drama as from Glee.

Clearly Jenna Ushkovitz cursed the show after being fed up of her character getting sidelined constantly.

Glee means malicious satisfaction. Feelin’ it?

[quote]The "Glee" Curse

Why would you want to go and bring up Lea?

How soon before Lea Michele dies of a heroin overdose?

When you do a show focusing on young actors this seems to happen. Remember the Different Strokes curse.

Plus Mark Salling was a home schooled evangelical raised in a 'christian' household. That probably messed him up more than Glee.

r23 his parents were in complete denial about their monster son

so who is next?

Someone is going to start picking off the members of the Acafellas, one by one.

Watching OP's pic I would be very nervous if I were Chris Colfer given that the other two guys, sharing his frame, are both dead.

The only people 'cursed' by Glee were the audience.

I am genuinely surprised that Lea Michele did not do better. It seemed like she was being groomed to be a kind of junior Idina Menzel and would play the role of Elphaba when they did the movie version of "Wicked" (which for some reason they've yet to do). She was not pretty, but she had a lot of star power.

Chris Colfer was really creepy, so I'm glad he's disappeared. I liked neither him nor his character on the show.

The two handsome boys who are now dead surprised me for being so troubled. I wonder how Murphy found them--normally he does not cast people who are such disaster magnets for his other shows.

Lea Michele is the Liza of the 21st century. Which just about says it all.

Lea Michele was a regular on "Scream Queens" (which was cancelled), and then a regular on "The Mayor" (which I believe was just cancelled)

But she has been steadily working.

I agree with you, r2. I have been following Matt Morrison since I saw him in "Light in the Piazza" and it is confounding that he does not have a huge career. Maybe he is just too talented. He is good looking, talented actor, superb dancer, great body. The suits just do not know what to do with someone who has so much talent. They know exactly how to place untalented fame whore losers, though.

r29, Lea would have done better if she'd gone back to NYC to do theater. There are too many younger, prettier, more eager to please actresses who are actually photogenic and don't think they're already stars who can make outlandish demands for her to get far with her attitude in LA.

The Canadian sent in an audition of himself playing the drums. He was doing small parts on shows casting in Vancouver beforehand. And I guess also being a rent boy.

Glee itself didn't know what to do with Matthew Morrison.

He started as the lead but after season 1 he was given less and less to do. Just had to stand around and say the same type of trite bullshit to rotating cast members.

I give Morrison credit, he was a trooper, it couldn't have been easy for him to feel so wasted.

I always think Morrison should go back and do more Broadway. He's superb for musical theater, but like many other male Broadway stars (like Andy Karl) he's much handsomer at a distance than in close-up.

Morrison got sidelined when the producers and the FOX Network realized they have a cash cow on their hands by making it a full on teen show instead of a biting satire about teens.

[qutoe]The two handsome boys who are now dead surprised me for being so troubled. I wonder how Murphy found them--normally he does not cast people who are such disaster magnets for his other shows.

Well Glee was a cast of largely unknowns.

And Murphy always said he loved Corey Monteith because he actually seemed like a regular dude. Everyone who auditioned for Finn (and EVERYBODY auditioned for Finn) was too music theater, or boy-bandy, too LA, too gay. He wanted someone that did seem like a normal flyover guy. So Corey managed to beat everyone for the role even though he didn't even know how to sing.

Lea Michele is a neurotic, insecure mess who is ambitious on a Tracy Flick (Election) level. Just like her character on Glee. And nobody was to deal with someone like that either on a personal or professional level. Remember Jessica Lane rushing past her on a red carpet event? That was glorious and rather telling (when you can't even be bothered to make nice for the press).

And nobody WANTS to deal with someone ... Jessica LANGE

To Lea Michele's credit, she at least has the self-awareness to admit she basically is Rachel Berry r38. But yes, you know being around her would annoy the shit out of you. I don't know how Jonathan Groff deals with it.

BLAKE JENNER'S CAREER IS RISING.

[quote]Lea Michele was a regular on "Scream Queens" (which was cancelled), and then a regular on "The Mayor" (which I believe was just cancelled)

Pretty soon she'll be inheriting MY title!

In addition to starring in her own series, Melissa Benoist also has a feature role on the Waco miniseries.

"She was not pretty, but she had a lot of star power."

I beg to differ! She has no star power. She is a very good singer but a terrible actress and annoying to boot.

morisson is so fucking boring!

No, he's not, r45. I think you are just threatened by his looks and talent.

The show was on the right track for about 12 episodes. It was wicked, cynical, and super funny. Somehow, after it returned from its mid-season hiatus, the entire show was different. Song were shoehorned in, most of the songs sung had no point for the story (Kurt singing "Rose's Turn" after feeling underappreciated by the Glee club? Really? Shouldn't that be a song one sings after literally everyone in one's life walks out on you? It's was dramatically inept.), and whole episodes dedicated to the work of Madonna or Britney Spears....it just became idiotic.

The characters started becoming wishy washy and they'd change personas on an episode by episode basis. Nothing made any sense. But of course, America fucking loved it more once it dropped the satire.

[quote]Everyone who auditioned for Finn (and EVERYBODY auditioned for Finn) was too music theater, or boy-bandy, too LA, too gay.

Tell me about it!

I've seen Morrison guest starring on two shows since the end of Glee (The Good Wife and Grey's Anatomy, and yes I watch too much tv). He's really only OK as an actor (though I was surprised at his ability to act "angry" in Grey's), and he really sort of disappears into the woodwork. I think he is probably a better at the physical side of things (watch him sing and dance), than at the facial part of acting (his close-ups don't vary much), and that's not helpful for tv and movies.

[quote]Kurt singing "Rose's Turn" after feeling underappreciated by the Glee club? Really? Shouldn't that be a song one sings after literally everyone in one's life walks out on you? It's was dramatically inept

Dramatically inept? Hello, earth to super dramatic teenager years when everything is blown out of proportion.

This is exactly what I'd expect a drama queen gay in a fictional heightened reality music show to sing.

Because of Cory Monteith dying and DL I know what a fascinator is.

r49, Morrison was also in an episode of Younger where he plays a hipster selling artisanal goods who happens to be a great writer, too. Don't want to spoil it, but his manuscript doesn't get published in the end.

[quote]I think you are just threatened by his looks and talent.

And what threat might that be, retard R45?

Ryan Murphy shows generally start out strong then get confusing, confounding and maddening before they bflame out. Nip/Tuck is a good example as well as the Horror Story series.

Ryan Murphy offered to up Jonathan Groff's character to a regular after season 1 and Groff passed on it. He probably dodged a bullet.

You too R48

I think the bigger stars like Lea and Chris were high maintenance and had too many diva antics that word got around about their behaviour. And they were not worth the baggage.

However, like r31 said, Lea's been in two series. She's also released two albums. Her last one was released quietly.

Chris Colfer was always going to have a very limited screen acting career, given his very high-pitched voice and toothless-looking smile. But it's good he's segued successfully into writing.

The key problem with Ryan Murphy is that he has absolutely no taste. None. Not a single drop. Even his bad taste is sloppy and unfinished.

Are they going to have to keep photoshopping people off the box sets until there is no one left except me? Goody!

What happened with that production of FUNNY GIRL that Murphy was supposed to be putting together for Michele?

R61 She sang Don't Rain on My Parade on live TV.

I know she sang that on the Tony Awards show R62 (copying Streisand's every inflection), but after the planned FUNNY GIRL revival on Broadway with Lauren Ambrose fell apart, there were reports that Murphy was planning to do a production of the show with Michele.

In fairness, Funny Girl isn't a very good show (but, then again, neither is Hello Dolly).

I started rewatching the firsr season on Netflix and I had forgotten how good that first season was. I forgot about “Sue’s Corner” and her hilarious journaling, April Rhodes and how the show often skirted the line. Im only up to ep6, but im waiting for the inevitable descent into dreck.

I think episode 9 was the first glimpse of what the show would become. When taken in isolation, it's not a bad episode at all, but when looked at with the knowledge of later episodes and seasons, it's kind of depressing.

[quote]I started rewatching the firsr season on Netflix and I had forgotten how good that first season was.

It was, there was a reason why Glee became such a huge smash. There was something so magical and entertaining about the show at first.

Unfortunately the show it stated off was very different than the show it became.

The first season was very good. If you skipped over every scene with Matthew Morrison and his wife.

Morrison was also in the "South Pacific" revival on Broadway around 2008.

Naya Rivera's post-Glee career and off-screen drama kinda feeds the "curse" theory...

I really liked Chris Colfer, but it's true he was going to have a short career on screen. He was going to do a Noel Coward biopic with Vanessa Redgrave I think he would have been good in, but it fell apart. But he's doing very well as an author, so yeah good for him.

Lea Michele should have gone back to Broadway since Glee ended. Her two latest tv shows were bad.

Harry Shum, Darren Criss, Amber Riley and other "later" kids like Melissa Benoist, Grant Gustin and Alex Newell seem to be doing well. Matt Morrisson, Jenna Ushkowitz and that other girl from the last season had good Broadway gigs. I think Dianna Agron has been sticking to small theatre productions and indie films very few people watch. I like her, but she was never the most talented.

Naya Rivera, on the other hand, seemed to me like the one with the biggest potential and she's been making lame career choices and getting arrested for phisically attacking her husband.

I didn't know Blake Jenner is doing something?

[quote]The key problem with Ryan Murphy is that he has absolutely no taste. None. Not a single drop. Even his bad taste is sloppy and unfinished.

He co-prdouces his shows with Brad Falchuk. He must have some taste. It's just that he loses interest fast and needs a new shiny toy to play with.

I can’t imagine Chris as Noel Coward or acting with Vanessa Redgrave.