Ryan Murphy Talks GLEE: 'It Was the Best & Worst Time of My Life'

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ryan Murphy, who co-created the FOX musical dramedy GLEE along with Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, talks about the series that no one ever expected would become a hit.

Premiering in 2009, GLEE centered on an eclectic group of high school students who came together to form a GLEE club. It went on to become a global phenomenon, spawning tours, soundtracks, even a concert film. "No one thought that was going to be anything, I think, other than a solid double, maybe at best," shares Murphy. "And we did it, and it was a magical experience because we shot the first 13 episodes in a bubble because nothing had aired."

The 'American Horror Story' creator admits that things were not always rosy behind-the-scenes of the hit series. "It was the best time in my life and the worst time in my life," he says. "There was a lot of infighting. There was a lot of people sleeping together and breaking up. It was good training for being a parent, I'll tell you that much. But I also made a mistake: We all got too personal. We loved it so much that we would all go out to dinner and we'd hang out and we were always together, so there was no delineation between who was the boss and who was the employee. And we were all so close that finally when something would happen, it would be so personal to me that I would literally hit the roof."

Murphy also addresses the tragic passing of popular cast member Cory Monteith, who died of an overdose in the summer of 2013. The last time he saw the actor was when Monteith and his then girlfriend Lea Michele came to visit him on the set of The Normal Heart. "We hugged, and the last thing he said was 'I love you, man, and thank you for helping me get better.' And then the next thing I knew he was dead. It was like losing a child," he recalls.

Despite the challenging times, Murphy insists that overall, GLEE was a great learning experience. "It was a great lesson in what not to do moving forward. And many of them are my good friends to this day."

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Photo credit: Anthony Behar/NBC