Terri Schuester
Encyclopedia
Terri Schuester is a fictional character
from the Fox
musical
comedy-drama
series Glee
. The character is portrayed by actress Jessalyn Gilsig
, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode
, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Terri was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk
and Ian Brennan
. She is introduced as the wife of glee club
director Will Schuester
(Matthew Morrison
). Her storylines have seen her experience a false pregnancy
, attempt to adopt the baby of pregnant glee club member Quinn Fabray
(Dianna Agron
), and become involved in a love triangle
between herself, Will and school guidance counsellor Emma Pillsbury
(Jayma Mays
).
Gilsig has characterized Terri as being emotionally still in high school, and lacking the skills to make her marriage work. She has explained that Terri feels threatened by her husband's commitment to the glee club, worried that it is pulling him away from her, and will stop at nothing to keep her marriage together. She does not know how long Terri will be featured in the series, as she was initially created simply as an obstacle to come between Will and Emma.
Terri has been poorly received by critics. The Chicago Tribune
' s Maureen Ryan has called her "the worst thing about Glee", and the show's "one big flaw". Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly has described her as a "shrill, lying nag", whose main function is to bring the audience down. Gerrick Kennedy of the Los Angeles Times
, however, has praised Gilsig's acting in the role, and stated that his hatred of the character dissipated once her fake pregnancy was exposed. He noted that: "Gilsig's superb acting isn't exactly doing anything to extinguish those flames", and while he still isn't "in full-on Team Terri uniform [...] she did at least have my attention on the sidelines, as opposed to filing my nails until halftime. Baby steps, right?"
(Matthew Morrison
). Believing herself to be pregnant, Terri pressures Will to quit his job as a Spanish teacher at William McKinley High School, in order to take a better paying job as an accountant. She later discovers she has actually experienced a hysterical pregnancy, but hides this from Will, afraid he will leave her. After she confides her deception in her sister Kendra (Jennifer Aspen
), Terri approaches the recently revealed to be pregnant cheerleader Quinn Fabray
(Dianna Agron
), with an interest in her baby. Terri briefly becomes the school nurse, albeit unqualified, and uses the position to keep a closer eye on Will, whom she believes may be cheating on her with guidance counsellor Emma Pillsbury
(Jayma Mays
). She is fired as the nurse by Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba
), however, after it is discovered that she has given the glee club members pseudoephedrine tablets
. Terri and Kendra bully her OB-GYN (Kenneth Choi
) into faking an ultrasound to convince Will the baby is real. In the episode "Mattress
," Will uncovers Terri's ruse when he discovers her pregnancy pad in a drawer. He angrily confronts her, then walks out, but remains undecided over whether to end their marriage. Terri begins attending therapy, but Will tells her he no longer loves her and is leaving her. Later, in "Hell-O
," Terri returns to warn Emma that she is not going to give Will up without a fight, and also reveals that the song that Will planned on dancing with Emma is also the song Terri and Will had danced to at their prom. Despite this attempted sabotage, Terri and Will still finalize their divorce; Terri then briefly befriends Glee member and newly hired Finn Hudson
(Cory Monteith
) as her protegee at Sheets-N-Things, because he reminds her of a younger Will.
At the start of the second season
, Terri still wants her ex-husband Will back. She is nearly run over as she confronts Will and Emma when they begin to go for a test drive in his spontaneously acquired Corvette. Terri tells Will to get out of the car and they get into an argument, which causes Emma to leave the scene. The words simmer down and Terri advises Will to return the car to the dealership, because he cannot afford it. Before leaving, she says that Emma will break Will's heart again and he'll return to her eventually. In "The Substitute
", Terri returns to take care of a sick Will. They have sex, but the next day when she sees Will's substitute, Holly Holliday (Gwyneth Paltrow
) at his appartment having a beer with him, she becomes suspicious and makes several snarky comments to Holly. Even after Terri apologizes, Will tells her it is over. A heartbroken Terri promises Will he will regret it, and she storms out of the door. In the episode "A Night of Neglect
", Sue Sylvester recruits Terri for her "League of Doom", a new group that Sue hopes will help her bring down Will and the glee club before they can complete in Nationals. In "Funeral
", Terri succeeds in sabotaging the club's travel plans to New York, but fixes the damage and tells Will that she has been promoted to manager for Sheets-N-Things in Miami.
. Prior to her casting in Glee, Gilsig was an established actress in both the television and film industry, but had little theatrical experience. In casting Glee, series creator Ryan Murphy sought actors who could identify with the rush of starring in theatrical roles. For the first two seasons of Glee, Gilsig was billed as a contract
player for the show. However, it was reported that Gilsig has been bumped down to a recurring character
for the show's third season
, set to air in September 2011.
When asked what originally drew her to the role of Terri in an interview with TheTVChick, Gilsig said: "Well, first of all, Ryan Murphy. Because I had worked with him on Nip/Tuck
. And that was one of the best experiences as an actor I’ve ever had in my career. He really challenges you as an actor, and he really pushes you, and he really puts a lot of faith in actors to be able to — I think go further than they’ve ever gone before. Certainly for me on Nip/Tuck. You know, for obvious reasons…things I never thought I’d do. (laughs) But also just emotionally and character-wise and comedically. Every script was just this amazing emotional gymnastics. So that first of all: I was like great, I’d love to work with Ryan. And for me, the opportunity to do a comedy is something that I’ve been itching to do for many years now and also if I was going to do that–which is kind of a big risk for me–to be able to do that with Ryan, who I know so well, and then so much of the crew that I was familiar with from Nip/Tuck was kind of a dream scenario I would say."
Gilsig referred to the confrontation between Terri and Will in the episode "Mattress" as "The Reckoning". She described it as sad to shoot, as she and Morrison were so invested in the storyline, and explained: "What I hope is conveyed is that you see the child inside Terri. You see the fear." Gilsig commented that viewers had been wondering why Will was taking so long to discover Terri was not actually pregnant: "I think people have been asking 'How slow is this guy?!'. But [in "Mattress"] Will finally reflects that he is a fully evolved human being and puts two and two together." She noted that while Will and Emma "are adorable together", she still believes in Terri and Will as a couple: "I think that she really loves him. People do crazy things out of deep, deep insecurity. She's obviously flawed, but I think she has love in her heart." Gilsig has further discussed the development of Terri's relationship with Will:
Overall, while fan reaction to her character had previously resulted in a backlash Gilsig found "tough", she hoped that "Mattress" would be the episode in which "anti-Terri fans joined Team Terri". Asked how she felt about Terri being a 'love to hate' character, Gilsig replied: "As long as you love to hate her, that's OK. It would be a different show if there weren't characters like Terri or Sue Sylvester
(Jane Lynch
), otherwise you'd be at Disneyland. It would be the happiest place on Earth." Gilsig does not know how long her character will feature in the series, and has explained "When Terri was created, she was created obviously to be an obstacle between Emma and Will. They needed an obstacle, otherwise there's no show. What's been fun about it is that she's managed to emerge as a character unto herself with her own complexities."
has written that Glee has: "the most unpleasant pack of female characters of any show in recent memory", and deemed Terri the "biggest culprit". George called Terri's hysterical pregnancy "Freudian
" and wrote: "The Terri-Quinn plot sends the message that the devious gender will use every trick to lure and trap its mate — including lying about pregnancy." Variety
' s Brian Lowry commented: "Perhaps to foster a rooting interest (or at least sympathy) for a Will-Emma pairing, [Terri] (Jessalyn Gilsig) is initially presented as a ditsy shrew." The Chicago Tribune
' s Maureen Ryan has called Terri "the worst thing about Glee", and opined: "As written by Murphy and played by Gilsig, the character is screechy, unfunny and deeply unpleasant. It's as if Ryan didn't trust that the audience would get behind Will and the saga of his ragtag glee club and so saw fit to give the teacher the shrewish, nagging wife from hell." Ryan later deemed Terri the "one big flaw in Glee, commenting that she: "manages to drain all the fun out of Glee every time she appears. Not only is this shrill character intensely annoying, but she makes you wonder whether Will has brain damage. What other explanation could there be for his ending up with this materialistic harpy?".
Robert Bianco for USA Today
noted after the episode "Showmance": "Jessalyn Gilsig's self-centered, ridiculously strident Terri just needs to go, period." Shawna Malcom for the Los Angeles Times
deemed Terri "beyond annoying" in the following episode, "Acafellas
", but wrote: "I have confidence that creator Ryan Murphy will flesh out Jessalyn Gilsig’s character over time. Her seemingly sincere apology to Will for not being more supportive of his boy band was a nice first step." Eric Goldman for IGN
commented after the episode "Preggers
": "So far, Terri has been an incredibly unlikable character. More firmly establishing her as this devilish type of schemer at least pushes her far enough to make her actions entertaining, even as we root against her." Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly noted of the episode "Throwdown
": "the pregnancy subplot is dragging down the show, and tonight that subplot nearly derailed an otherwise-excellent episode. Terri's fake pregnancy and Quinn’s real one started out a few weeks ago as an interesting way to insert some realism and tension into a delightfully surreal musical-comedy universe. By now, however, I watch Glee and feel sorry for Jessalyn Gilsig. I’ll bet the actress didn’t initially sign on to have her character Terri become a shrill, lying nag whose main function is to bring husband Will — and by extension, us — down."
Gerrick Kennedy, in a review of "Mattress" for the Los Angeles Times, noted that in previous reviews he had "never been shy of [his] disdain for Mrs. Schuester". He called her "manipulative, heartless [and] shrill", and added that "this whole train wreck of a fake pregnancy just added fuel to the fire that became a raging inferno of hate for Terri." He also noted: "Gilsig's superb acting isn't exactly doing anything to extinguish those flames", and while he still isn't "in full-on Team Terri uniform [...] she did at least have my attention on the sidelines, as opposed to filing my nails until halftime. Baby steps, right?" Kennedy praised the confrontation scene, and wrote that it was "devastating" to watch and that his hate for Terri "vanished" once the lie was over. Kennedy described:
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
series Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
. The character is portrayed by actress Jessalyn Gilsig
Jessalyn Gilsig
Jessalyn Gilsig is a Canadian actress known for her roles in the television series Boston Public, Nip/Tuck and as Will Schuester's ex-wife Terri Schuester in Glee...
, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode
Pilot (Glee)
"Pilot" is the pilot episode of the television series Glee, which premiered on the Fox network on May 19, 2009. An extended director's cut version aired on September 2, 2009. The show focuses on a high school show choir, also known as a glee club, set within the fictional William McKinley High...
, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Terri was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk
Brad Falchuk
Brad Falchuk is a television writer, director and producer. He is best known for his work on the television series Nip/Tuck, Glee, and American Horror Story.-Early life:...
and Ian Brennan
Ian Brennan (writer)
Ian Brennan is a television writer, actor and producer. He is best known for his work on the television show Glee.-Early life:Brennan is the son of John and Charman Brennan. His sister, Sarah Brennan, is one of the founders of in Chicago...
. She is introduced as the wife of glee club
Glee club
A glee club is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs—glees—by trios or quartets. In the late 19th Century it was very popular in most schools and was made a tradition...
director Will Schuester
Will Schuester
William "Will" Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Matthew Morrison and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Will was developed by Glee...
(Matthew Morrison
Matthew Morrison
Matthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated...
). Her storylines have seen her experience a false pregnancy
False pregnancy
False pregnancy or hysterical pregnancy, most commonly termed pseudocyesis in humans and pseudopregnancy in other mammals, is the appearance of clinical and/or subclinical signs and symptoms associated with pregnancy when the person or animal is not pregnant. Clinically, false pregnancy is most...
, attempt to adopt the baby of pregnant glee club member Quinn Fabray
Quinn Fabray
Quinn Fabray is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Dianna Agron, and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. She is a former cheerleader at the fictional William McKinley High School in...
(Dianna Agron
Dianna Agron
Dianna Agron is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Quinn Fabray on the television series Glee.-Early life:Dianna Agron was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in San Antonio, Texas and San Francisco, California. She is the daughter of Mary and Ronald S. Agron, a general...
), and become involved in a love triangle
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
between herself, Will and school guidance counsellor Emma Pillsbury
Emma Pillsbury
Emma Pillsbury is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Portrayed by actress Jayma Mays, Emma has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Emma was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
(Jayma Mays
Jayma Mays
Jayma Suzette Mays is an American television and film actress, and singer. Mays' most prominent roles include that of Emma Pillsbury on the American television series Glee, recurring appearances on Ugly Betty and on Heroes as characters named Charlie.- Life and career :Mays was born Jamia Suzette...
).
Gilsig has characterized Terri as being emotionally still in high school, and lacking the skills to make her marriage work. She has explained that Terri feels threatened by her husband's commitment to the glee club, worried that it is pulling him away from her, and will stop at nothing to keep her marriage together. She does not know how long Terri will be featured in the series, as she was initially created simply as an obstacle to come between Will and Emma.
Terri has been poorly received by critics. The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, however, has praised Gilsig's acting in the role, and stated that his hatred of the character dissipated once her fake pregnancy was exposed. He noted that: "Gilsig's superb acting isn't exactly doing anything to extinguish those flames", and while he still isn't "in full-on Team Terri uniform [...] she did at least have my attention on the sidelines, as opposed to filing my nails until halftime. Baby steps, right?"
Storylines
Terri is the wife of glee club director Will SchuesterWill Schuester
William "Will" Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Matthew Morrison and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Will was developed by Glee...
(Matthew Morrison
Matthew Morrison
Matthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated...
). Believing herself to be pregnant, Terri pressures Will to quit his job as a Spanish teacher at William McKinley High School, in order to take a better paying job as an accountant. She later discovers she has actually experienced a hysterical pregnancy, but hides this from Will, afraid he will leave her. After she confides her deception in her sister Kendra (Jennifer Aspen
Jennifer Aspen
Jennifer Aspen is an American actress best known for her roles as Daphne Jablonsky in Fox's teen drama Party of Five , as Trina Hamilton in ABC's family comedy Rodney and as Kendra Giardi in the first season of the show Glee.-Personal life:Aspen was born in Richmond, Virginia, and resides in Los...
), Terri approaches the recently revealed to be pregnant cheerleader Quinn Fabray
Quinn Fabray
Quinn Fabray is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Dianna Agron, and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. She is a former cheerleader at the fictional William McKinley High School in...
(Dianna Agron
Dianna Agron
Dianna Agron is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Quinn Fabray on the television series Glee.-Early life:Dianna Agron was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in San Antonio, Texas and San Francisco, California. She is the daughter of Mary and Ronald S. Agron, a general...
), with an interest in her baby. Terri briefly becomes the school nurse, albeit unqualified, and uses the position to keep a closer eye on Will, whom she believes may be cheating on her with guidance counsellor Emma Pillsbury
Emma Pillsbury
Emma Pillsbury is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Portrayed by actress Jayma Mays, Emma has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Emma was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
(Jayma Mays
Jayma Mays
Jayma Suzette Mays is an American television and film actress, and singer. Mays' most prominent roles include that of Emma Pillsbury on the American television series Glee, recurring appearances on Ugly Betty and on Heroes as characters named Charlie.- Life and career :Mays was born Jamia Suzette...
). She is fired as the nurse by Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba
Iqbal Theba
Iqbal Theba is a Pakistani-American actor. Theba currently has a recurring role as Principal Figgins in the show Glee.-Life and career:Theba became a familiar face in the 1990s when he appeared in various TV shows and commercials in the United States....
), however, after it is discovered that she has given the glee club members pseudoephedrine tablets
Pseudoephedrine
Pseudoephedrine is a sympathomimetic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical classes. It is used as a nasal/sinus decongestant and stimulant, or as a wakefulness-promoting agent....
. Terri and Kendra bully her OB-GYN (Kenneth Choi
Kenneth Choi
Kenneth Choi is an American actor. Choi was born in Chicago, Illinois. He originally studied to be an accountant and majored in this at college, but later gave this up to become an actor. He has appeared in a number of films and television series since 1998.-Film:-Television:-Video games:-External...
) into faking an ultrasound to convince Will the baby is real. In the episode "Mattress
Mattress (Glee)
"Mattress", also known as "Once Upon a Mattress", is the twelfth episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on December 2, 2009. It was written by series creator Ryan Murphy and directed by Elodie Keene. In "Mattress", the glee club is omitted from the...
," Will uncovers Terri's ruse when he discovers her pregnancy pad in a drawer. He angrily confronts her, then walks out, but remains undecided over whether to end their marriage. Terri begins attending therapy, but Will tells her he no longer loves her and is leaving her. Later, in "Hell-O
Hell-O (Glee)
"Hell-O" is the 14th episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on April 13, 2010. It was written by series creator Ian Brennan and directed by Brad Falchuk. In "Hell-O", cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester attempts to sabotage the relationship between...
," Terri returns to warn Emma that she is not going to give Will up without a fight, and also reveals that the song that Will planned on dancing with Emma is also the song Terri and Will had danced to at their prom. Despite this attempted sabotage, Terri and Will still finalize their divorce; Terri then briefly befriends Glee member and newly hired Finn Hudson
Finn Hudson
Finn Hudson is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Cory Monteith, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Finn was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
(Cory Monteith
Cory Monteith
Cory Allan Monteith is a Canadian actor and musician, best known for his role of Finn Hudson on the Fox television series Glee.-Early life:...
) as her protegee at Sheets-N-Things, because he reminds her of a younger Will.
At the start of the second season
Glee (season 2)
The second season of the musical comedy-drama television series Glee originally aired between September 21, 2010 and May 24, 2011 on Fox in the United States...
, Terri still wants her ex-husband Will back. She is nearly run over as she confronts Will and Emma when they begin to go for a test drive in his spontaneously acquired Corvette. Terri tells Will to get out of the car and they get into an argument, which causes Emma to leave the scene. The words simmer down and Terri advises Will to return the car to the dealership, because he cannot afford it. Before leaving, she says that Emma will break Will's heart again and he'll return to her eventually. In "The Substitute
The Substitute (Glee)
"The Substitute" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the 29th episode overall. It was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Ryan Murphy, and premiered on Fox on November 16, 2010...
", Terri returns to take care of a sick Will. They have sex, but the next day when she sees Will's substitute, Holly Holliday (Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...
) at his appartment having a beer with him, she becomes suspicious and makes several snarky comments to Holly. Even after Terri apologizes, Will tells her it is over. A heartbroken Terri promises Will he will regret it, and she storms out of the door. In the episode "A Night of Neglect
A Night of Neglect
"A Night of Neglect" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 39th episode overall. It was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Carol Banker, and aired on Fox in the United States on April 19, 2011...
", Sue Sylvester recruits Terri for her "League of Doom", a new group that Sue hopes will help her bring down Will and the glee club before they can complete in Nationals. In "Funeral
Funeral (Glee)
"Funeral" is the twenty-first episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 43rd overall. It first aired May 17, 2011 on Fox in the United States, and was written by series creator Ryan Murphy and directed by Bradley Buecker. The episode featured Jonathan...
", Terri succeeds in sabotaging the club's travel plans to New York, but fixes the damage and tells Will that she has been promoted to manager for Sheets-N-Things in Miami.
Casting and creation
Terri Schuester is portrayed by actress Jessalyn GilsigJessalyn Gilsig
Jessalyn Gilsig is a Canadian actress known for her roles in the television series Boston Public, Nip/Tuck and as Will Schuester's ex-wife Terri Schuester in Glee...
. Prior to her casting in Glee, Gilsig was an established actress in both the television and film industry, but had little theatrical experience. In casting Glee, series creator Ryan Murphy sought actors who could identify with the rush of starring in theatrical roles. For the first two seasons of Glee, Gilsig was billed as a contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
player for the show. However, it was reported that Gilsig has been bumped down to a recurring character
Recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus...
for the show's third season
Glee (season 3)
A third season of the Fox musical comedy-drama television series Glee was commissioned on May 23, 2010 while the first season aired. It premiered on September 20, 2011, and is being produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Ryan Murphy Television, with executive producers Dante Di Loreto and...
, set to air in September 2011.
When asked what originally drew her to the role of Terri in an interview with TheTVChick, Gilsig said: "Well, first of all, Ryan Murphy. Because I had worked with him on Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck is an American drama series created by Ryan Murphy, which aired on FX in the United States. The series focuses on McNamara/Troy, a plastic surgery practice, and follows its founders, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy...
. And that was one of the best experiences as an actor I’ve ever had in my career. He really challenges you as an actor, and he really pushes you, and he really puts a lot of faith in actors to be able to — I think go further than they’ve ever gone before. Certainly for me on Nip/Tuck. You know, for obvious reasons…things I never thought I’d do. (laughs) But also just emotionally and character-wise and comedically. Every script was just this amazing emotional gymnastics. So that first of all: I was like great, I’d love to work with Ryan. And for me, the opportunity to do a comedy is something that I’ve been itching to do for many years now and also if I was going to do that–which is kind of a big risk for me–to be able to do that with Ryan, who I know so well, and then so much of the crew that I was familiar with from Nip/Tuck was kind of a dream scenario I would say."
Characterization
Discussing the workplace flirtation between Will and Emma, Gilsig deemed Terri "a woman of conviction", willing to do "whatever it takes" to keep Will from leaving her, "even if that means finding this woman and hunting her down". She explained that Will and Terri's communication is weak and that Terri is "missing a lot of the skills for the marriage", and commented that Terri feels threatened by Will's commitment to the glee club, worried that it will pull him away from her. Gilsig characterized Terri as emotionally still being in high school, and explained: "I think Terri still lives in that world, where I can move the pieces in such a way to create a picture, and that will make it real. I don't think she's learned that you can actually just have open conversations and talk about your fears and ask for your needs to be met in a direct, compassionate way. I think she's still in high school and thinking whatever you do, just don't let anybody know that you don't know what you're doing." Discussing Terri's relationship with her sister Kendra, Gilsig commented: "When Kendra tells Terri to do something, Terri does it. As crazy as Terri might be, she's actually pretty normal in the face of her sister. This [fake pregnancy] is Kendra's brainchild, and she just trusts her implicitly."Gilsig referred to the confrontation between Terri and Will in the episode "Mattress" as "The Reckoning". She described it as sad to shoot, as she and Morrison were so invested in the storyline, and explained: "What I hope is conveyed is that you see the child inside Terri. You see the fear." Gilsig commented that viewers had been wondering why Will was taking so long to discover Terri was not actually pregnant: "I think people have been asking 'How slow is this guy?!'. But [in "Mattress"] Will finally reflects that he is a fully evolved human being and puts two and two together." She noted that while Will and Emma "are adorable together", she still believes in Terri and Will as a couple: "I think that she really loves him. People do crazy things out of deep, deep insecurity. She's obviously flawed, but I think she has love in her heart." Gilsig has further discussed the development of Terri's relationship with Will:
Overall, while fan reaction to her character had previously resulted in a backlash Gilsig found "tough", she hoped that "Mattress" would be the episode in which "anti-Terri fans joined Team Terri". Asked how she felt about Terri being a 'love to hate' character, Gilsig replied: "As long as you love to hate her, that's OK. It would be a different show if there weren't characters like Terri or Sue Sylvester
Sue Sylvester
Susan "Sue" Sylvester is a fictional character of the Fox musical comedy-drama series, Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Jane Lynch, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Sue was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian...
(Jane Lynch
Jane Lynch
Jane Marie Lynch is an American comedian, actress and singer. She gained fame in Christopher Guest's improv mockumentary pictures such as Best in Show and is currently best known for playing the role of Sue Sylvester in the television series Glee...
), otherwise you'd be at Disneyland. It would be the happiest place on Earth." Gilsig does not know how long her character will feature in the series, and has explained "When Terri was created, she was created obviously to be an obstacle between Emma and Will. They needed an obstacle, otherwise there's no show. What's been fun about it is that she's managed to emerge as a character unto herself with her own complexities."
Reception
The critical reception of the character has been generally negative, while Gilsig's performance as Terri has been widely acclaimed. Robert A. George of the New York PostNew York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
has written that Glee has: "the most unpleasant pack of female characters of any show in recent memory", and deemed Terri the "biggest culprit". George called Terri's hysterical pregnancy "Freudian
Freudian slip
A Freudian slip, also called parapraxis, is an error in speech, memory, or physical action that is interpreted as occurring due to the interference of some unconscious , subdued, wish, conflict, or train of thought...
" and wrote: "The Terri-Quinn plot sends the message that the devious gender will use every trick to lure and trap its mate — including lying about pregnancy." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
Robert Bianco for USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
noted after the episode "Showmance": "Jessalyn Gilsig's self-centered, ridiculously strident Terri just needs to go, period." Shawna Malcom for the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
deemed Terri "beyond annoying" in the following episode, "Acafellas
Acafellas
"Acafellas" is the third episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on September 16, 2009. It was directed by John Scott and written by series creator Ryan Murphy...
", but wrote: "I have confidence that creator Ryan Murphy will flesh out Jessalyn Gilsig’s character over time. Her seemingly sincere apology to Will for not being more supportive of his boy band was a nice first step." Eric Goldman for IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
commented after the episode "Preggers
Preggers (Glee)
"Preggers" is the fourth episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on September 23, 2009, and was written and directed by executive producer Brad Falchuk. "Preggers" sees glee club member Kurt join the football team and admit his homosexuality to his...
": "So far, Terri has been an incredibly unlikable character. More firmly establishing her as this devilish type of schemer at least pushes her far enough to make her actions entertaining, even as we root against her." Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly noted of the episode "Throwdown
Throwdown (Glee)
"Throwdown" is the seventh episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on October 14, 2009. It was directed by series creator Ryan Murphy and written by Brad Falchuk...
": "the pregnancy subplot is dragging down the show, and tonight that subplot nearly derailed an otherwise-excellent episode. Terri's fake pregnancy and Quinn’s real one started out a few weeks ago as an interesting way to insert some realism and tension into a delightfully surreal musical-comedy universe. By now, however, I watch Glee and feel sorry for Jessalyn Gilsig. I’ll bet the actress didn’t initially sign on to have her character Terri become a shrill, lying nag whose main function is to bring husband Will — and by extension, us — down."
Gerrick Kennedy, in a review of "Mattress" for the Los Angeles Times, noted that in previous reviews he had "never been shy of [his] disdain for Mrs. Schuester". He called her "manipulative, heartless [and] shrill", and added that "this whole train wreck of a fake pregnancy just added fuel to the fire that became a raging inferno of hate for Terri." He also noted: "Gilsig's superb acting isn't exactly doing anything to extinguish those flames", and while he still isn't "in full-on Team Terri uniform [...] she did at least have my attention on the sidelines, as opposed to filing my nails until halftime. Baby steps, right?" Kennedy praised the confrontation scene, and wrote that it was "devastating" to watch and that his hate for Terri "vanished" once the lie was over. Kennedy described:
External links
- Terri Schuester at Fox.comFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...