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If you’ve started watching The Girl from Plainville, Hulu’s new limited series, chances are you’ve already encountered one of the oddest crossovers of all time: Glee. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan’s hit Fox musical dramedy isn’t just mentioned in passing. The show has several major cameos throughout the limited series, from Michelle Carter (Elle Fanning) listening to its songs to full-on homages to the series. Just like everything else in this case, the truth about Glee is even stranger than anything one could imagine.
“Creatively, Glee was really important to us from the beginning. I think we included it as a sort of a warning in every pitch we did to every network,” series creator Liz Hannah said during the Television Critics Association’s 2022 winter tour. “We all took from the article, and then more so even through the texts and the case, just how enamored [Michelle Carter] was by Glee and how much it affected her life.”
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The Girl From Plainville
In real life, Glee was a big part of this case as well as a big part of the article of the same name that served as the basis for the Hulu drama. Michelle Carter was a fan of the show and would often send her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, quotes from both it and interviews its stars would give. One of the episodes she pulled from the most was “The Quarterback”, Glee‘s tribute to Cory Monteith’s death. Carter’s love of Glee is even featured prominently in HBO’s documentary about the case, I Love You, Now Die.
“I think the reason that she, and probably so many of us young people loved Glee or love Fault in Our Stars or the YA world is because you can kind of be, you can be the star of that show,” series star Elle Fanning said. “It’s such an escape for people who feel alone. They get to be the popular girl. They get to be that girl for just a second.”
Hannah thanked Hulu repeatedly for securing the rights so the series could use Glee. “So much of the show is about loneliness and isolation. For, I think, everyone, every character involved, from Lynn (Chloë Sevigny) to Michelle to Coco (Colton Ryan) to all of the families, there’s a real sense of isolation,” Hannah said. “Something that Glee did that I think was so interesting to look at in tandem of this was make people who were lonely feel included. It was something that was really bittersweet to explore through Michelle’s character — this idea of inclusion through this show when she couldn’t do it in real life.”
If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call 911, or call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
New episodes of The Girl from Plainville premiere on Hulu Tuesdays.
