Glee fans never stopped believin’ that their favorite show would one day return. That day is soon.
Hulu and Disney+ announced on Wednesday that Ryan Murphy‘s Emmy-winning comedy musical has been greenlit for a reboot. The original series aired from 2009 to 2015 and told the story of New Directions, a high school show choir in Lima, Ohio, that consisted of a fun mix of nerds, jocks, and cheerleaders — plus one Broadway-bound diva played by Lea Michele.
Michele is returning for the new episodes as Rachel Berry, with a source telling Variety, “She’s in.” Even more cast members are expected to be announced soon.
Despite being off the air for more than a decade, the show never truly left the cultural zeitgeist. Its music remains incredibly popular, averaging 4.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify. And its stars are constantly making waves on social media.
Read on for everything to know about the Glee reboot.
THE CAST
Now that the lead actress is on board, other cast-member dominoes could soon fall into place. Earlier this month, Murphy told Entertainment Tonight, “I’ve been in touch with around 10 of the original cast members. It’s very sweet, and they all had a lot of questions, but they all were very enthusiastic about the idea.”
Besides Michele, some of the original standouts include Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester, Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester, Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel, Kevin McHale as Artie Abrams, Amber Riley as Mercedes Jones, Jenna Ushkowitz as Tina Cohen-Chang, Harry Shum Jr. as Mike Chang, Heather Morris as Brittany Pierce, Darren Criss as Blaine Anderson, and Chord Overstreet as Sam Evans.
Glee has been plagued by tragedy, notably the deaths of three original cast members: Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson) died from an overdose in 2013; Mark Salling (Noah Puckerman) died by suicide in 2018 after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography; and Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez) drowned in a lake in 2020 after saving her son’s life.
THE PLOT
Hulu and Disney+ haven’t yet released the plot details, but it stands to reason that the reboot will focus on a new group of students at McKinley High School. Fans are already speculating that Michele’s Rachel could be the new choir teacher, giving the character a full-circle moment after she left for Broadway near the end of the original run.
THE PREMIERE DATE & TRAILER
Details are still emerging, but we wouldn’t expect the brand-new Glee to debut until late 2027 or early 2028. A trailer is also many months away from being released. Stay tuned, Gleeks!
THE CREATIVES
Glee creators Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan are all returning. Murphy confirmed in October that the three collaborators had finished writing a pilot script for the reboot. More behind-the-scenes talent will be announced at a later date.
THE AWARDS
Fox’s Glee took home six Emmy Awards throughout the 2010s: director Ryan Murphy, supporting actress Jane Lynch, guest actress Gwyneth Paltrow, guest actor Neil Patrick Harris, casting, and sound mixing. Glee won Best Comedy/Musical Series twice at the Golden Globes, with Colfer and Lynch also picking up statuettes. If the reboot matches the quality of the early seasons, it could shake up the comedy categories when it eventually airs.
