After weeks of speculation, Glee will be stepping back into the spotlight in a revival that brings the series back after 10 years. During its initial run, the series absolutely dominated pop culture and became a phenomenon with over 200 entries in the Hot 100, two live tours, 121 episodes, and millions of passionate fans. Depending on whether or not Spring Awakening affected you at a young age—which, ironically, is also returning to the stage this year—this could either be good news or just another headline on your timeline.
However, as a person who lived, breathed, and became a fangirl because of this show, the news absolutely rocked me. Here was the show that inspired me to have the career I now have coming back in a new time in my life. Different from the fanfare that the Girls revival got, fans were very conflicted over the news, especially considering how many of the show’s storylines did not age well in the 2020s.
It’s very funny to see a show that is so beloved also bring back war flashbacks to those who lived through it. It makes complete sense though. The show’s final few seasons were not as well received as new characters came in and the series ballooned into something else entirely.
Plus, the show has been plagued with tragedy—particularly with the losses of Cory Monteith and Naya Rivera—that has left many feeling like it cannot return in the same way. But all this drama ignores an essential truth. Sometimes it’s all right to just have fun, and that is what it seems like this show is going to do.
When Glee first aired in May 2009, it was clear that the series was ready to tackle anything and everything. Kurt and Blaine’s relationship and later Santana and Brittany’s was a major point in pop culture as the fight for marriage equality was roaring in the United States. Many shows had all-white casts, but Glee’s ensemble featuring Asian, Latino, and Black characters felt like a new wave for TV representation.
Kevin McHale’s Artie was in a wheelchair, while Lauren Potter’s Becky Jackson was one of the few characters on mainstream TV with Down Syndrome. And, as very evident in the show’s thesis, there was more to these characters than their identities as the series covered everything from teen pregnancy, suicide, grief, eating disorders, income inequality, through some of the biggest songs in the world. And those problems feel even bigger in 2026.
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