With a long-running series, it can be quite difficult to choose storylines and character arcs, especially when it seems like everything has been done before. But when various series have decided to incorporate music and singing into their storylines in musical episodes of television shows, viewers have received a wonderful reward: a favorite show that they can now sing along to.
These are some our our favorite episodes of musicals on TV and the soundtracks we can’t get enough of.
1. Grey’s Anatomy (Season 7, Episode 18)
For a show about medical trauma and doctors at work in a hospital, a musical episode was quite unexpected. But the show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, was willing to try anything for her long-running series.
“I remember thinking at some point: I have this kind of murder series of Broadway people“, she explained. “There were so many people on the show with beautiful voices. … It felt like it was trending in that direction in a good way.”
2. How I met your mother (Season 5, Episode 12)
You might not have expected a musical episode from this sitcom, but it worked well and was successful. Neil Patrick Harris (who plays Barney) sings the most in the episode, trying to decide between a woman and his famous suits, hence “Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit”.
Josh Radnor (who plays Ted) explained: “The singing and dancing felt like“What’s going on? We were on the New York street of the Fox lot. There were 75 dancers. It felt like an old MGM musical. It was very exciting.”
3. Once upon a time (Season 6, Episode 20)
Although singing is not an integral part of this fantasy series, Once upon a time The musical episode was entertaining. It fit the storyline well and deepened the battle between the Charmings and the Evil Queen.
“I wish we had done more than one musical episode – it was that great!” said Lana Parilla (who plays the Evil Queen). “At first I was nervous because I thought, ‘Oh God, I better figure out how to sing properly!’… I had a blast and did a lot of dancing as the Queen. I ended up doing a whole dance number that was so much fun, I really, really enjoyed it.”
4. Scrubs (Season 6, Episode 6)
This musical episode was very popular with fans and it’s understandable why. This particular show is about a patient who suddenly perceives all talking as singing. Zach Braff (who plays JD) explained that he loved doing these types of episodes, which were very different from their regular program.
“When Bill had the idea, I thought‘Wow. This is going to be a fun, silly thing,‘” Braff said. “But when the music came along and it was really catchy and the lyrics were really funny, it was really fun to do because it brought new energy to the work.”
5. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Season 2, Episode 9)
The science fiction series may not have been the show you would expect from a musical, but Star Trek: Strange New Worlds did it. Showrunner Akiva Goldsman explained how exciting it was to do something completely different than what audiences were prepared for.
“It was built around history and themeand it was tailored to the voices of each actor… It was as if they had all secretly wanted the idea of a musical their whole lives. So it was really fortunate that everyone enjoyed it so much.”
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6. It’s always sunny in Philadelphia (Season 4, Episode 13)
This musical episode is considered one of the best of the entire series. At the end of the fourth season of It’s always sunny in Philadelphia and was titled “The Nightman Cometh.” It was a strange but hilarious episode about the main character Charlie (played by Charlie Day) creating a rock opera.
“The audience had no contextt, so I remember a lot of confused faces during our performance,” said creator Rob McElhenney. “People (who didn’t know the show) wondered why it was so funny…”
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 6, Episode 7)
Musical episodes are always an exciting moment in a series, but Buffy the Vampire Slayer is often considered one of the best musical episodes ever. Entitled “Once More, With Feeling,” the residents of Sunnydale begin to erupt in song and flames when a demon is summoned to town. While most of the cast were nervous about having to use their singing voices, Anthony Head (who played Rupert Giles) was excited.
“‘“Once More with Feeling” was my dream because I got to do a musical on television and it was brilliant. It was extraordinary,” he explained.
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