William Michael Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional teacher character and one of the two main protagonists from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee, alongside his student Rachel Berry.

The character initially received some negative reviews from critics, deemed "a little drab" by Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times.

However, as the series progressed, Morrison attracted praise for his performance, with critics also commenting positively on the development of the romantic relationship between Will and Emma.

In casting Glee, series creator Ryan Murphy sought out actors who could identify with the rush of starring in theatrical roles.

Instead of using traditional network casting calls, he spent three months on Broadway, where he found Matthew Morrison, who had previously starred on stage in Hairspray and The Light in the Piazza.

[3] Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk later commented about his casting process, "You'd think there must be a lot of good-looking 30-year-old guys who can sing, dance, and act, but there really aren't.

"[4] Morrison was cast as Spanish teacher Will Schuester, whose primary role in the series conception was re-assembling the school glee club and "restoring it to its former glory.

Studio recordings of Morrison's performances of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "I Wanna Sex You Up" were also released as bonus-tracks on copies of Glee: The Music, Volume 1 purchased from Target stores.

[8] Will briefly works after hours at the school as a janitor to earn extra money, unaware that Terri has discovered that she was experiencing a hysterical pregnancy and is not actually pregnant.

He inadvertently renders the glee club ineligible to compete at Sectionals by sleeping on a mattress that they had been given for working on a television commercial, and steps down as director so they will be allowed to perform.

Will then proceeds to make out with the coach of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline, Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel), who afterward advises him to take time to rediscover who he is now that he's ending a long marriage.

Will admires her for "taking control by telling herself she wasn't ready", and promises to help her with her problems and start a relationship after his divorce with Terri is finalized.

In the episode "Britney/Brittany", Will tries to impress Emma by purchasing a new car similar to that of her boyfriend, Carl, and by joining the glee club in a racy performance of "Toxic".

He remains in love with her, and on a drunken night months later, he drunk dials Emma and leaves a highly suggestive message on the answering machine.

Will decides to abstain from alcohol, and gets the glee club, who have just ended a school assembly by vomiting during a song due to imbibing, to pledge to give up drinking until after Nationals.

In New York, he leaves the glee club unchaperoned while he goes to the Broadway theater where April's show is being mounted, and sings "Still Got Tonight" from the stage.

Sue runs for Congress on a platform of cutting all funding for school arts programs, and Will's attempt to render her a figure of ridicule by glitterbombing her backfires—the viral video instead improves her standing in the polls.

Shelby resigns and her club dissolves, with the original defectors, plus a greatly improved Sugar, returning to New Directions with the understanding that they will be given more solos.

At the same time, his own job as Spanish teacher is put to risk when Santana complains about his teaching style and he eventually gives it up to David Martinez (guest star Ricky Martin) after taking on history at an annual basis while Emma gains the tenure role, beating out Sue in the shortlist.

Despite trying to teach the group a lesson about tolerance with help from Unique Adams after Coach Beiste undergoes gender transitioning, the egos of Vocal Adrenaline drive him to his breaking point.

After helping Unique with Beiste's transitioning by secretly putting together a transgender choir under the guise of pranking McKinley, he calls out Clint and the group about their arrogance and disrespect and quits.

After the Nationals victory, Superintendent Harris tells Will that because of New Directions' success and his never giving up over the years, McKinley High is now designated as a performing arts school and promotes Will to principal.

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan opined following Glee's pilot episode: "Casting Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester [...] was a wise move; the actor not only has a sweet voice but a hangdog hopefulness that gives a needed anchor to the show's more satirical elements.

[19] Bobby Hankinson of the Houston Chronicle wrote that he "was glad to see Will react with the appropriate level of rage", but felt that the scene became too tense, leaving him almost feeling bad for Terri.

[20] Raymund Flandez of the Wall Street Journal wrote that he was happy to see the "convoluted" fake pregnancy storyline end, commenting that it had seemed unreal to him from the outset as "Will Schue doesn’t strike me as a guy who misses much of anything.

"[21] Aly Semigran of MTV praised "a devastated Matthew Morrison" for "nail[ing] just what a scary, sad, and life-altering moment that [was].

[25] Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly wrote that although there was satisfaction in the episode ending on the kiss, it may have been "more intriguing" to conclude with Will finding Emma's office empty, questioning whether it was too soon for the two of them to begin a relationship.

[28] Lisa de Moraes of the Washington Post initially found the focus on the adults a welcome change, but felt their storyline rapidly became convoluted.

[29] Anthony Benigno of the Daily News liked Will less as the episode progressed, and deemed it overall, "Creepy, vaguely uncomfortable, in slightly poor taste but well-intentioned, and ultimately, thoroughly entertaining to watch for reasons I can't quite put into words.

Marc Snetiker wrote that he had "the intrigue of a blank chalkboard and the personality of a pair of pleated khakis", and sometimes made "things just seem a little less gleeful.