Get ready for a mashup of Glee and Downton Abbey. Well, not quite, but close enough.

According to TVLine, Shirley MacLaine has been cast as a major guest star who will appear in multiple episodes this season. Her first episode airs in late April.

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New York City is home to people like Rachel who are clamoring to be rich and famous. And then there are those who already have all the money in the world — but what to do with all that power? Well, in the world of Glee, it looks like the answer is to turn someone into a superstar.

Based on her character’s description, it sounds like MacLaine will be playing pretty much the same character she plays on Downton Abbey: a wealthy socialite. In this case, she’s a New York socialite, to be more specific, but you probably already figured that considering where the show is now set.

But why would someone like her be involved with our favorite Glee characters? She actually has her eyes set on one of them in particular — Blaine. That’s right: Glee‘s version of Martha Levinson will attempt to use her power and wealth to turn the NYADA freshman into a star.

This news poses so many questions, among them: how do she and Blaine even meet? Does she stop by NYADA looking for talent? Why Blaine of all people? What kind of a superstar does she want to turn him into? (There looks to be at least some dancing involved, since an exclusive image by TVLine, which can be seen here, shows Darren Criss and MacLaine learning choreography.)

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Kurt will probably love being near someone with her stature. But if Blaine decides to go along for the ride, will Kurt become jealous of all the attention his fiance is receiving? How will this affect relationships and friendships among the core group?

Shirley MacLaine is a multi-hyphenate talent: actor, singer, dancer and author. She has won an Oscar, as well as two Golden Globes and an Emmy. Her career spans decades, having starred in such films as The Apartment, Terms of Endearment and Steel Magnolias. In recent years, she played the title role in the TV movie Coco Chanel, and appeared on the hit British period drama Downton Abbey.

What do you making of this casting news? Are you excited to see Shirley MacLaine appear on Glee? And what do you think will happen with Blaine?

Glee airs Tuesdays at 8pm on FOX.

(Image courtesy of WENN)

Jeff Dodge

Staff Writer, BuddyTV

Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.