The final season of "Glee" is cut to just 13 episodes instead of the original 22. The question is why?
Fox Networks Group chairman and CEO Peter Rice explained that it's better that "Glee" be cut into a short but straight run "in a way that celebrates it."
"I think 'Glee' is one of the great shows in television history, and it was so hot and so big," Rice said. "I remember being in this room, and while a lot of people assumed it was going to fail, you guys supported it. And it touched so many hearts and brought social issues to the forefront, and it burned so hot and so fast."
"But it's been on for over 100 episodes now in six seasons, and we want to go out in a way that celebrates it. And we thought that finding 13 episodes and compacting it and doing it in a straight run was a better way to finish the show," Entertainment Weekly quoted Rice as saying during a TCA press tour in Beverly Hills.
"Glee" has suffered a major loss in viewership in season 5, the lowest of all its previous seasons, with cast catfight rumors being splashed in the tabloids, particularly between Lea Michele and Naya Rivera, and the death of one of its main stars Cory Monteith due to drug overdose.
Glee creator Ryan Murphy has expressed optimism to E! Online for the creation of the final season, though and he looks forward to a reunion of sorts of most of the "Glee" actors.
"The fun thing about the ending of the show is that there's room for everybody to come back and be a part of it, and I hope they all want to," Murphy said.
But even before "Glee" finally bows to its last season, the show that Ryan Murphy created was slammed by a court ruling asking for its name to be replaced once it is shown on UK television, A.V Club reported.
It was found that the TV show's title infringes the name of a stand-up comedy chain in the United Kingdom, "The Glee Club." The club's owner Mark Tughan filed a lawsuit in February claiming the trademark and the British High Courts ordered Fox, the maker of the TV musical, to change its name prior to showing in the UK.
The final season of "Glee" cut short to 13 episodes will be aired on 2015.
