After rewatching Glee in its entirety, Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz are sharing what it was prefer to see their late costars, Cory Monteith and Naya Rivera, on display screen once more.
Whereas guesting on a current episode of How Impolite, Tanneritos! hosted by Full Home stars Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber, McHale and Ushkowitz — who performed Artie and Tina on Glee, respectively — agreed that rewatching Ryan Murphy’s musical dramedy collection for their very own And That’s What You REALLY Missed podcast was unexpectedly “therapeutic and therapeutic” when it got here to revisiting their associates’ performances. Monteith died from an overdose in 2013 in the midst of filming for season 4, whereas Rivera died seven years afterward in an accidental drowning.
“I simply recognize their expertise extra along with loving the people that they had been,” Ushkowitz stated of the pair. “For Cory, particularly, we needed to mourn all of that within the present, whereas we had been filming it, and transfer on with out him within the present.”
“Some moments it’s exhausting, particularly with the storylines or the songs they’re singing,” added McHale. “It truly is a present that we get to look at this, and we obtained so many moments of how nice they’re as individuals [that] shine by way of.”
The actor additionally defined that he and Ushkowitz had beforehand determined to rewatch Glee years in the past on a special podcast known as Showmance, however they scrapped the undertaking after Rivera died on the age of 33 whereas on a boating journey with then-4-year-old son Josey. Shortly afterward, authorities concluded that the vocalist, who performed Santana Lopez on Glee, seemingly used her final moments to get Josey safely again on their boat after taking a swim earlier than she disappeared beneath the water.
Even earlier than that occurred, nonetheless, McHale stated it was troublesome to soak up Monteith’s scenes as lovable jock-turned-show-choir-geek Finn Hudson. “It was exhausting for me to even watch Cory,” he recalled. “As much as that time, I couldn’t actually hearken to the songs he was singing on, however watching it actually helped [us] get by way of it.”
“When Naya handed away, we had been like, ‘We are able to’t do that anymore,’” McHale added. “We simply ended the present.”
When it got here time to revisit the concept of a Glee rewatch podcast, McHale famous that he and Ushkowitz determined that they needed And That’s What You REALLY Missed — which premiered in September 2022 — to be a “celebration” of their associates’ lives and skills. The actress additionally famous that going again by way of the episodes allowed her to present their solid and crew extra “grace” when it got here to how “off the rails” the present’s plot went nearly instantly after shedding Monteith, to whom they paid tribute in a season 4 episode titled “The Quarterback.”
Take heed to McHale and Ushkowitz’s full How Impolite, Tanneritos! episode under.