Fox Prez Kevin Reilly Addresses "Glee" Issues: "There Isn't Really Any Fighting"

Fox president Kevin Reilly with Glee creator Ryan Murphy

During Friday's TCA Fox presentation, Fox president Kevin Reilly addressed the controversy that has been swirling around Glee of late due to comments made by Glee creator Ryan Murphy regarding the fate of actors Chris Colfer, Lea Michelle and Cory Monteith. Here is what Reilly had to say.

On the controversy itself:

• First of all, this show is such an undertaking. And the management of the whole enterprise…producing a one-hour show that has to reinvent musical numbers and interpret those musical numbers with a large cast, a cast that has experienced…this explosive worldwide impact. As you know, there are shows on the air that have genuine fighting…. Maybe some people were a little surprised…[but] this is not a controversy. I feel like I'm talking about… I'm almost making it bigger by giving it airtime. Those guys get along really well. Ryan is the most even-keeled man… I have never seen anybody who can take an idea from concept to fruition…in a quicker more dynamic way than Ryan Murphy.... I think in the middle of Ryan's creativity, this got out... This is something that was probably a two day issue that somehow has taken on a bigger life. 

On the spinoff:

• I think that Ryan and his group of associates there do a phenomenal job.. The spinoff is on the wind, but we said let's revisit that in the back end of the year. We haven't said we're not doing it. We talked about it last season… Ryan did talk to all the actors about it … Ryan has said he regrets talking about it at that point…

On what to expect next season:

• This season is going to be marked out of the gate in particular…there will be a graduation at the end…there will be surprises, it will not be predictable... I sat down in the middle of that with Brad and Ryan and talked about this season's arc…this season feels so focused this year, you're gonna see a "back-to-basics" this year… Glee is an incredibly creative enterprise. Almost too much of a good thing…  What we hear if anything is 'I love all your core characters'… When I get worried as a programmer is when [people say] 'I'm bored…

On whether or not there will be guest stars:

• No, initially in our first batch [of episodes]… there's not going to be any guest star driven shows, and we're not gonna have any tribute in the first batch of episodes…

On focusing on the core charcters:

• This first batch really focuses on our core characters… There is a very, very clear arc that has already been articulated to me. The competition will be alive and well… Darren Criss is now in the show, [and] you will have the winner from The Glee Project winner will be joining somewhere down the road.