A Glee reboot is officially happening, and fans are buzzing
asserted
fans → happen → ?
Hints that Lea Michele, Heather Morris and Kevin McHale are returning
Gleeks, ready your slushies — the wacky, irreverent musical dramedy that broke barriers and launched careers in the 2010s is officially getting a reboot, and several original cast members have indicated they’re coming back for the ride.
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they → return → ride
The official Instagram for Glee posted confirmation of a reboot on Wednesday with a picture that says, “It’s official, Glee is returning,” and the caption: “Currently gleeking out!”
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Glee → post → picture
Disney+ and Hulu, reportedly handling the reboot, were both tagged as creators on the post.
uncertain
Disney+ → handle → post
The original show ran on Fox from 2009 to 2015 and followed a ragtag group of students in the William McKinley High School show choir as they tackled issues like relationships, sexuality, identity, or what to do when a rival show choir nearly blinds you by putting rock salt in a slushie they throw in your face (yes, that was a real plotline on Glee).
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that → run → Glee
While the reunion can't be complete since three original cast members have died, several actors from the first show have publicly alluded to involvement with the reboot.
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actors → die → reboot
Lea Michele, who first came to fame playing Rachel Berry in the show, is reportedly coming back to the show, according to Variety, with one source telling the outlet, “she’s in.”
uncertain
she → come → outlet
Heather Morris shared a throwback photo of herself as her Glee character, cheerleader Brittany Pierce, on Instagram on Wednesday, adding that the character is "back for more."
Other cast members have hinted at being involved.
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members → share → more
Former castmate Chord Overstreet posted, “Reunited and it feels so good!” on X on Wednesday.
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it → post → Wednesday
Kevin McHale, who played Artie Abrams, shared a 2020 post about Drake surpassing the cast of Glee for the most Billboard Hot 100 hits of all time, adding the reaction, “Challenge accepted.”
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Challenge → play → reaction
McHale previously expressed enthusiasm to People Magazine in September, saying, “If someone like Ryan [Murphy] is willing to get all of us in a room and on a set together, I could never say no to that.
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I → express → that
I love all of those people.”
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I → love → people
“I’ve been in touch with around 10 of the original cast members,” Murphy said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight at the end of September, adding that he’d already written a script for the reboot.
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he → say → reboot
The internet is buzzing already.
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internet → buzz → ?
Comments under the show’s announcement on Instagram range from shock — “Ur kidding,” singer Laufey posted — to excitement, to horror.
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Laufey → range → horror
“As a huge Glee fan, this is a terrible idea,” one user wrote.
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user → write → fan
CBC News has reached out to Disney+ and Hulu for comment.
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News → reach → comment
The legacy of Glee
The show’s music was wildly successful, with 207 songs charting on the Billboard Hot 100 during its run.
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songs → chart → run
For its first couple of seasons, the show was also a critical and commercial darling, with fans connecting to its message of misfits finding a sense of belonging, and praising its representation.
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misfits → connect → representation
A Slate article about the show’s finale suggested that the show “did more to normalize homosexuality than any other show in TV history, perhaps more than any other mainstream work of art.”
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show → suggest → art
Cast members Darren Criss, left, and Chris Colfer pose at the Paley Center for Media's PaleyFest 2011 event honouring the television series Glee at the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles on March 16, 2011.
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members → pose → March
But the show was also criticized for how its wildly teetering tone, ricocheting at times from satire to painfully sincere, meant some serious topics such as bullying and eating disorders were trivialized.
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topics → criticize → bullying
Tragedy and scandal also surrounded the production and its cast both during the show and in the years after.
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Tragedy → surround → years
Cory Monteith, who played the show’s star quarterback, Finn Hudson, died in Vancouver of an accidental overdose in 2013 at the age of 31, while the show was still airing.
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show → play → 31
Mark Salling, who played Puck, died by suicide after pleading guilty in 2017 to possessing child pornography.
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who → play → pornography
And star Naya Rivera, beloved for her portrayal of Santana on the show, died in an accidental drowning in 2020, after saving her son.
A controversial 2023 docuseries by Investigation Discovery called The Price of Glee claimed to investigate a “curse” behind the show, but was denounced by multiple members of the cast.
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docuseries → belove → cast
In this Jan. 13, 2018, file photo, Naya Rivera participates in the Step Up: High Water panel during the YouTube Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif.
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Rivera → participate → Pasadena
Michele was also accused in 2020 of engaging in bullying and racist remarks on the set of the show by former Glee co-star Samantha Ware.
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Michele → accuse → Ware
Other castmates came forward to share similar experiences, and Michele publicly apologized for her behaviour.
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Michele → come → behaviour
Despite the show's complicated backstory, the internet is reeling at the news that this onetime cultural phenomenon is coming back.
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phenomenon → reel → news
“Just heard the news, I’m trembling,” TikTok influencer @Max_Balegde said in a video.
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@Max_Balegde → hear → video
He speculated with excitement that the reboot would probably feature at least one Chappell Roan cover, and then said, “I hope Sue Sylvester does a Katseye song.”
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Sylvester → speculate → song
Jane Lynch, who played the endlessly meme-able Coach Sue Sylvester, hasn’t confirmed that she’s reprising the role, but did share an article about the reboot on her Instagram story on Wednesday.
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she → play → Wednesday
Influencer Chris Olsen shared a TikTok of him reacting with shock under text reading “WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S OFFICIALLY COMING BACK???” as the Glee cover of River Deep, Mountain High played in the background.
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cover → share → background
Not every fan is confident that a reboot could capture the original chaotic feeling of the show.
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reboot → capture → show
In September, TikTok user @sammnnicole posted a compilation of some of the stranger moments of Glee, with the text "the Glee reboot could never recreate this masterpiece" over it.
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reboot → post → it
The video, which has more than 350,000 views, included a moment from Season 3 in which the Glee cast dove into a pool one by one while singing Rihanna’s We Found Love — with McHale’s Artie cheerfully rolling his wheelchair into the water at the end.
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Artie → have → end
The Aporia
