Musical Episodes of TV Shows We Can't Stop Singing Along To
During a long-running series, choosing storylines and character arcs can be quite difficult, especially if it seems everything has been done before. But when different series have decided to incorporate music and singing into their storylines into musical episodes of TV shows, audiences have gotten a delightful treat: a favorite show that they could now sing along to.
These are some of our favorite TV show musical episodes and the soundtracks that we can’t stop listening to.
1. Grey’s Anatomy (Season 7, Episode 18)
For a show that revolves around medical traumas and doctors working in a hospital, a musical episode was very out of the blue. But the show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, was willing to try anything for her long-running series.
“I remember thinking to myself at a certain point, I have this sort of murderers’ row of Broadway people,” she explained. “There were so many people in the show with beautiful voices. ... It felt like it was leaning in that direction in a good way.”
2. How I Met Your Mother (Season 5, Episode 12)
This sitcom was one that you might not have expected a musical episode from, but it worked well and was successful. Neil Patrick Harris (who portrays 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 portrays Ted), explained, “The singing and dancing thing felt like, ‘What is going on?’ We were on the New York street of the Fox lot. There were 75 dancers around. It felt like an old MGM musical. It was very exciting.”
3. Once Upon a Time (Season 6, Episode 20)
Despite singing not being an integral part of this fantasy series, the Once Upon a Time musical episode was an entertaining one. It fit the storyline well, further exploring the battle between the Charmings and the Evil Queen.
“I wish that we would've done more than one musical episode — that's how great it was!” Lana Parilla (who portrays the Evil Queen) shared. “At first I was nervous, because I thought, ‘Oh god, I'd better figure out how to really sing!’… I had a blast, and I danced a lot as the queen. There's a whole dance number that I ended up doing, which was so much fun, so I really, really enjoyed that.”
4. Scrubs (Season 6, Episode 6)
This musical episode was very popular with fans and it’s understandable why. This particular show revolves around a patient who suddenly starts hearing everyone’s speech as singing. Zach Braff (who portrays J.D.) explained that he loved doing this kind of episode, which was very different from their regularly scheduled program.
“When Bill came up with the idea, I thought, 'Wow. It will be a fun, silly thing to do,’” Braff said. “But when the music came in and it was actually really catchy and the lyrics were really funny, it was a really fun thing to do, because it brought a new energy to work.”
5. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Season 2, Episode 9)
The sci-fi series might not have been the show you’d expect a musical from, but Star Trek: Strange New Worlds nailed it. Showrunner Akiva Goldsman explained how exciting it was to do something completely different than what an audience would have been prepared for.
“It was built around story and theme, and it was tailored to the vocal ranges of the particular actors … It was as if they all secretly had been coveting the idea of a musical their entire lives. So, it was really good fortune how much everybody liked doing it.”
MUST-READ: All of the Star Trek coverage at our sister site
6. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 4, Episode 13)
This musical episode is considered one of the best of the entire series. Closing out the fourth season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and titled “The Nightman Cometh,” it was a strange but hilarious episode about the main character, Charlie (portrayed by Charlie Day), creating a rock opera.
“The audience didn't have any context, so I remember a lot of confused faces as we were performing,” creator Rob McElhenney said. “People [who weren't familiar with the show] were wondering why it was 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 out there. Titled “Once More, With Feeling,” the residents of Sunnydale begin bursting into song and flames when a demon is summoned to town. While most of the cast was nervous about putting their singing voices to use, Anthony Head (who portrayed Rupert Giles) was excited.
“‘Once More with Feeling’ was my dream because I got to do a musical on TV, and it was genius. It was extraordinary,” he explained.
RELATED:
90s TV Shows to Catch On Streaming
