Joss Whedon will direct 'Glee' episode

After cutting his musical teeth on 'Buffy' and 'Dr. Horrible,' the 'Dollhouse' creator will helm a spring episode

By HitFix Staff Monday, Oct 19, 2009 6:07 PM

Joss Whedon

Credit: AP

FOX and "Glee" will attempt to harness the awesome ratings' might of the Whedonverse by recruiting Joss Whedon in to direct an episode.

According to Michael Ausiello at EW.com, Whedon has agreed to direct one of the episodes in the "Glee" back-nine, which won't air until the spring. It helps that "Glee" is set up through 20th Century Fox TV, the same studio that's behind Whedon's current series, "Dollhouse."

"Joss directed one of the great musical episodes in the history of television on 'Buffy,'" gushes "Glee" co-creator Ryan Murphy, referring to the landmark "Once More, With Feeling" episode. "So this is a great, if unexpected, fit. I'm thrilled he'll be loaning us his fantastic groundbreaking talent."

Because "Glee" has already been on production hiatus since late summer waiting for its FOX back-nine order, Whedon presumably won't be called upon to direct until "Dollhouse" has finished its initial 13-episode order.

While Ausiello broke the story, Whedon himself dropped by a devoted fan site to confirm the reports.

"What can we expect from a 'Joss Whedon' epsiode of Glee?" posted Whedon to the Whedonesque story."An episode of Glee. God willin' and the crik don't rise, a good one. A television director's job is, on some level, to be anonymous; to find the most compelling way to present a story without calling attention to himself. I had a wonderful time doing just that on The Office, and hope to again. A guest director can bring a huge amount to the party (we've had CRAZY talent on Dollhouse), but the party isn't his. I just want to work with good people on a show that I like enough to have watched every episode several times."

In addition to his "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" musical episode, Whedon brought song-and-dance to the Internet with the Emmy-winning "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."

While Whedon's directing credits have largely been restricted to his own self-generated film and television and online projects, he also helmed two episodes of "The Office" in 2007.