For some, the name Ryan Murphy is associated with the FX series American Horror Story, while for others, he's best known for creating Glee. However, Popular is what first put him on the scene. The long-forgotten high school dramedy series starring Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope premiered on The WB in September of 1999 but was canceled after just two seasons. Despite its short run, though, Popular still became the foundation for most of Murphy's work.
Popular focused on the lives of two girls who lived on opposite ends of the popularity spectrum. Brooke McQueen and Sam McPherson are both students at Jacqueline Kennedy High School, but they couldn't be more different. Brooke is a popular blonde cheerleader who surrounds herself with a posse of mean girls, while Sam is a driven, strong-willed aspiring journalist. The two girls seemingly have nothing in common but are forced to get along when their parents get engaged.
Popular was ahead of its time. The series took a look at social hierarchies, high school stereotypes, student-teacher relationships, sexuality and expectations put on teenagers during a time when teen-targeted series were expected to only have romance and drama. Popular had its fair share of both, including a love triangle in Season 2, but it was more interested in studying the popular kids than knocking them down. At the time, it was essentially the anti-Freaks and Geeks, which focused solely on social outcasts. Ironically, the two shows premiered in the same year, offering two different sides of the high school experience.
Murphy would later reuse parts of Popular for many of his other creations, taking the spine of the series and building new concepts around it. It became the backbone for much of his portfolio, paving the way for Scream Queens, American Horror Story, Feud and most importantly, Glee.
After creating the medical drama Nip/Tuck, Murphy went back to his teen angst roots with the musical-themed drama series, Glee. Following a high school show choir made up of misfits and popular kids, the Fox series took on many social issues, including sexuality, race, body image, teen pregnancy and social class. Glee was all about following your dreams and acknowledging how everyone has a part of themself that deserves to be recognized.
Popular and Glee feel almost too similar, with the only real difference being that the latter is a musical. But Murphy is no stranger to reusing concepts, and in truth, Popular became the foundation for his most popular trademark -- Queen Bees and shallow characters desperate to stay in their prime. Unlike other Murphy shows, however, Popular has yet to find a second life on streaming, leaving it to be a forgotten part of his filmography.