Ryan Murphy reflects on his "chutzpah" legacy, addresses his seemingly cursed Glee cast

The New Yorker

A New Yorker profile, dubbing Murphy as "The Most Powerful Man on TV," reveals that the TV honcho strongly identifies with Gianni Versace, who was a subject his most recent American Crime Story series. "Murphy has long been a connoisseur of extremes and hyperbole, games and theatricality," writes Emily Nussbaum, adding: "His legacy is not one standout show but, rather, the sheer force and variety and chutzpah of his creations, which are linked by a singular storytelling aesthetic: stylized extremity and rude humor, shock conjoined with sincerity, and serious themes wrapped in circus-bright packaging." Murphy recalls his TV rise, starting with The WB's 1999 teen series Popular, where he'd receive "a fusillade of homophobic notes." And there is Glee, the show that made Murphy a household name in 2009. Yet it is Glee that has a lot of trouble associated with it, with two of its stars now dead. “It’s sad, but it’s also Hollywood,” he says. “Nobody comes here because they’re healthy. Nobody, nobody I know, was parented well who is a successful Hollywood person. Or who’s willing to endure that. You’re just trying to fill up some huge hole.”