 "Never Been Kissed" was written by series co-creator Brad Falchuk, directed by Bradley Buecker, and premiered on November 9, 2010. It launched a story arc about bullying, which Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy had been building to for a season and a half. He explained that he wanted Kurt to reach a point where he would not accept the abusive treatment he received any more, and planned to follow the developments through the rest of the year, as all of the other characters were affected. The revelation that Karofsky's antagonism stemmed from his own homosexual feelings was based on a personal acquaintance of Murphy's. After the episode had been written, a spate of suicides occurred around the nation among teenage victims of bullying, which Murphy said added extra significance to "Never Been Kissed" and "ignite [d] the cast and the crew to do their best and push themselves with the story."
