Is there anything that you can tease music-wise that's coming up?
Ryan Murphy: I would prefer not to do that just because there are so many great things, and I was asked not to. But I'll just say that there's something for everyone, but we're doing big, classic rock, '70s songs. The key to the music is to do stuff for the most part that people know, which is why I think so many people love American Idol because it's musical comfort food in some way.

Can we expect a soundtrack of the show?
RM: Yes. We're sort of in the midst of dealing with a soundtrack, and the great thing about it is musically the show has really, really been supported wildly by Fox network and studios. We do between six to eight -- between five and eight -- songs per episode, like I said, and it takes a long time to produce and to get all those songs ready, so what we're doing is there's going to be a series of albums where I think we'll probably put out an album every couple of months because we will have so much material.

Then also, we're going to have all of the songs, when you watch the show, available that night immediately on iTunes, so if you like something, you can go buy it.

There's a bit of an Election vibe from especially Lea Michele's character. Has there been any pressure from Fox to dumb it down? Are you nervous that it's almost too smart for mainstream America?
RM: I've always been hesitant to do a network show. I've never had much luck with it just because I think my voice is pretty specific and a little bit subversive. And I told Kevin Riley when I pitched it that if I was going to do it, I wanted to do it in a very specific way, and to my surprise and utter pleasure, the Fox network has really kept their word. In fact, they're pushing me to make it much more in the vein of the pilot, and they've never once tried to take anything out because they thought it was too sort of nuts, but I've also been very conscious that I think the key to the show is to -- it's a show with a lot of heart, and it's a show about underdogs, and you want it to have a certain kindness to it. But it also does have weird elements, like you said, but they've been very supportive of those knowing that that's my tone, and that's what keeps me interested, so I've been surprised, and it's been a really great give and take so far.

Do you consider this show your chance to revisit Popular?
RM: No, and actually, I don't feel like I am revisiting really those ideas. To me, it's a completely different tone. It's a completely different show. The thing with Popular was Popular was a satire that made fun of everything else on that network at the time, which they never apparently got, and they wanted me to do some sort of Dawson's Creek-esque thing, and I didn't want to, and that show was about ambition. That was show was a very specific one. It was about as seen through the microcosm of these girls. It was sort of Heathers-esque, but they never really got it and I think the show was really ahead of its time, and it's had quite an amazing life on DVD, which I always find surprising and rewarding. People liked the show. They were fans of the show. But I always thought that that was sort of a culty, sort of darker thing that had a very cynical tone to it, and I don't think this show does at all, and I've been very careful not to really try and cross-pollinate the ideas of that show with this.

What was your reaction when you found out the plan for scheduling the premiere after American Idol, but then putting the rest off until fall?
RM: It was an interesting thing where they called me up and they proposed it, and I was sort of hesitant because I said, well, I like that you believe in it so much, and I like the support that you want to put behind it. But it does bother me that it would be off the air for three months. But as Kevin explained it to me, this is really just a great -- it's a preview. It's what they're calling it. It is a preview. And I keep saying it's like having a movie trailer before the movie Titanic.

To me, it also seemed very brave and like nothing that had ever been done on network television, and I think it's a really big night of television. It's not necessarily about popping a number. It's just about slowly getting people to be aware of the show in a way that I think is very original, and I like it because there's no other fall show that will have that. It's just, they're spending a lot of time and money on marketing it in May for one night only and then selling it all summer, and slowly teasing stuff out before it comes in the fall, so I think it's a really good idea.

Will we hear Jane Lynch sing?
RM: You probably won't hear Jane Lynch sing, but we are currently shooting an episode where Jane Lynch does a fantastic 1940's dance. You will see her cut a rug.



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