'Glee': Ryan Murphy defends teen sex episode -- EXCLUSIVE

Last winter on the set of the show's massive post-Super Bowl episode, Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy told EW that he wanted the gay teenage relationship between Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss) to be just as complicated as any of the show's heterosexual romances. Now he's making good on his word: Tonight's episode of the Fox hit, "The First Time," finds not only Rachel (Lea Michele) and Finn (Cory Monteith) having sex with each other for the first time, but — in a groundbreaking move for an 8 p.m. series — McKinley High's gay couple doing the same. (Warning: SPOILERS ahead!)

"We were talking about it [in the writers' room] like, 'Why shouldn't [Kurt and Blaine] lose their virginity at the same time?'" Murphy tells EW exclusively. "Everybody has seen a straight couple losing their virginity, but has anyone dovetailed the gay and straight stories together and given them equal weight? That seemed like an exciting choice and a new thing." According to Murphy, the four actors' only worry was that they look good in the love scenes: "The first thing they all said was 'Do we have to go on diets?'"

Originally, when there was talk this past summer of a Glee spin-off, the thought was that Rachel would lose her virginity after moving to New York. Says Murphy, "Some of the women in the [writer's] room thought it was crazy and thought we should really give that moment this year to Finn."

The Glee co-creator also reveals that network Fox expressed no concern over the episode's potentially polarizing subject matter — though the Parents Television Council issued a statement today condemning the episode: "The fact that Glee intends to…celebrate children having sex is reprehensible. The gender of the high school characters involved is irrelevant." Murphy, who isn't surprised by the controversy, is staying focused on the bigger picture: In a year when bullying and teen suicides have grabbed headlines, he's hopeful that Kurt and Blaine's romance will continue to deliver a positive message to Glee's audience. "I think what it says to a lot of young gay people who are confused and ashamed is that you can get love and are worthy of love."

Viewers will also see the return of Kurt's bully, Karofsky (Max Adler) in tonight's episode. Surprisingly, Murphy says he gets a lot of comments, particularly from gay men, asking for a Kurt/Karofsky romance. Says Murphy, "We're going to write something about it. I do think the reason why he attacked Kurt so viciously is he he had all these feelings that he didn't know what to do with. I am interested in that, like what happens if he finally got to express that in the right way."

Tonight's episode of Glee airs at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT. Want to chat with us and other fans while you watch this episode? Check out viEWer now!

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