Amber Riley shared insights into the filming of the Glee pilot episode during a recent appearance on the Zach Sang Show. She revealed that much of the episode was shot at her brother's high school in Long Beach, California. Riley also discussed her audition process and the show's impact on her career and social media's role in television.
Amber Riley, now 40, recounted her early experiences with the television series Glee on the Zach Sang Show. The pilot episode, which aired in 2009, was filmed primarily at her younger brother's high school in Long Beach. "When we actually shot it, I was like, they spent all that money on location. We shot most of the pilot at my little brother’s school," Riley said. "A real high school in Long Beach. That’s where the show is modeled after, the look of the auditorium … they shot the auditorium, and they shot all the football stuff at the real high school, which is my little brother’s high school."
Production on the pilot extended unusually long, lasting about a month compared to the typical one-week schedule for television episodes. Riley noted the significant investment, saying, "The money that they had to have spent on that pilot, bro, is crazy. That’s not normal." After wrapping, she waited months without word from Fox on whether the series would proceed. "I mean months, like it was months and months, and I’m like ‘Oh well, I guess it didn’t do anything,'" she recalled.
Riley's portrayal of Mercedes Jones spanned six seasons from 2009 to 2015, marking her breakthrough in Hollywood. Her audition began with "Tell Me Something Good" by Chaka Khan and Rufus, but a casting director redirected her to "And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going" from Dreamgirls. "I surprised myself," she said of performing the ballad, which impressed those nearby.
Viewing the finished pilot moved Riley deeply. "When I saw it, I was crying. I had seen nothing like it," she stated, praising it as one of the greatest pilots ever. Glee also coincided with the rise of social media, altering how actors received feedback. "‘Glee’ was the beginning of the whole social media thing, and you can instantly see what people think about you," Riley reflected. "Having that access to know exactly, instantly, what people thought about you was just so nerve-wracking to me."
