The director might be known for his horror and dolls, but there's no denying him this Fox project

At first glance, Joss Whedon might be the last person one would expect to direct an episode of the freshman Fox comedy "Glee."

But then again, he certainly has the credits with musical work from the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode "Once More With Feeling" as well as the Emmy-winning online musical "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."

And let's not forget that Whedon is a huge fan of the Fox series. In fact, he stood in line at San Diego Comic-Con last summer with other fans of the show just so he could see the first episode after the pilot.

Now, he will get a front-row seat to his very own "Glee," signing on to direct an episode of the first season, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello.

Whedon will helm one of the recently ordered "back nine" episodes Fox placed that essentially gave the show a full-season pickup earlier this month. Twentieth Century Fox Television apparently approached Whedon about taking on the director's chair, and the only thing holding him back was his schedule, Ausiello said.

"Joss directed one of the great musical episodes in the history of television on 'Buffy,' so this is a great, if unexpected, fit," said "Glee" showrunner Ryan Murphy. "I'm thrilled he'll be loaning us his fantastic groundbreaking talent."

How will Whedon fit "Glee" into his schedule? Ausiello suggests that he could move over to McKinley High School soon after he wraps the 13-episode second season order of "Dollhouse."

That show, which has fallen hard in the ratings in its second year, is not expected to return, but Fox has yet to make an official announcement. Whedon has already said he would treat the season finale as a possible series finale, at least trying to provide some closure to fans in case Fox passes on producing any more episodes.

"Glee" may not be Fox's top-rated show, but it has been extremely consistent with its audience. It premiered Sept. 9 with a 4.6 rating/7 share in overnights, and has maintained a 4.4/7 average ever since. Last week's episode earned a 4.5/7, according to Zap2it, and finished middle of the pack for Fox, beating out most of the network's reality and animated shows, as well as "Fringe."

Joss Whedon shared a little bit of his love for "Glee" with Inside Blip sister site Airlock Alpha last July at Comic-Con. See that video by clicking here.