It’s official – ‘Glee’ is back.
Disney+ and Hulu have ordered a reboot of Ryan Murphy’s musical dramedy. The surprise announcement came on October 21.
The revival still has plenty of unanswered questions. However, Murphy confirmed last month that he had already completed a script with co-creators Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk.
The original series ran on Fox from 2009 to 2015. It became a major cultural phenomenon during its six-season run.
About ‘Glee’
‘Glee’ followed the New Directions show choir at William McKinley High School.
The group’s members chased their musical dreams while dealing with school, relationships and social issues.
The series tackled topics such as sexuality, race, disability and mental health. Its approach was often blunt and controversial.
Music also played a huge role in the show’s success. Episodes featured covers of songs such as ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’, ‘Teenage Dream’, ‘Slave 4 U’ and ‘Smooth Criminal’.
The ‘Glee Cast’ remains popular on streaming platforms. The group currently has millions of monthly listeners on Spotify.
Lea Michele’s alleged comeback as Rachel Berry
Fans now have a major answer about the reboot’s cast.
Variety reports that Lea Michele will return as Rachel Berry. Michele played the ambitious singer throughout the original series.
Rachel dreamed of becoming a Broadway star. She often took charge of the New Directions and competed with her classmates for the spotlight.
Michele previously said she would be happy to appear in a ‘Glee’ reboot.
The actress also praised Murphy and her connection to the original show. Her return now gives the reboot a familiar face from the original cast.
Other cast members hint at return
Heather Morris and Chord Overstreet also hinted at their possible comebacks.
Morris, who played cheerleader Brittany S Pierce, posted a photo of her character on Instagram with the caption saying, “Yes ladies and gentle men of women, rumors are true. Brittany S Pierce was in fact lost in the sewers for all these years.”
“But I’m here to inform you that she is alive and well… And back for more #Glee.”
Overstreet, known for his role as Sam Evans, also posted on social media platform X: “Reunited and it feels so good!”
Murphy had said last month that he had been “in touch with around 10 of the original cast members”, although none of them have read the reboot script yet.
“It’s very sweet, and they all had a lot of questions, but they all were very enthusiastic about the idea,” said the creator.
Fan concern about certain characters
Amid the excitement, however, long-time fans have expressed concern about how the reboot would address certain characters in the show whose actors have passed away after the series ended.
One of them is Naya Rivera, who played Santana Lopez, a sassy cheerleader and the love interest of Morris’ Brittany.
The ‘Brittana’ pairing was one of the iconic LGBTQ+ couples in the show, alongside Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss).
Rivera died in 2020 at age 33
Colfer himself acknowledged recently that reviving the show would be complicated after Rivera’s death.
“It was a really tough show to do, and it would be really hard to do it now that Naya [Rivera] is gone,” he told Bustle.
“But I do know that Glee fans would probably come after me with pitchforks and jazz hands if I said no. So I don’t know, but hopefully I’ll have more information and I can actually think about it,” he added.
Other deaths among the original cast members are Cory Monteith in 2013, while the show was still on air, and Mark Salling, who committed suicide in 2018 after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.
Monteith took on the role of Finn Hudson, while Salling played Puck.
But the show must go all over the place, or something
While news of the reboot was well-received, there is one important question: how would a ‘Glee’ reboot even work in this day and age?
The current cultural climate is admittedly vastly different from over ten years ago, and anyone who has ever watched a few ‘Glee’ episodes would say that many of the show’s arcs and plot points will simply not work today.
What could be once revolutionary may now be considered “problematic” by most.
Yet, despite the worries and uncertainties, fans are still looking forward to the reboot, as evident in their reactions of both horror and delight online.
After all, as Finn once said: “The show must go all over the place, or something.”
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