Ryan Murphy has confirmed he has finished the script for a Glee reboot and has contacted the cast, who are 'enthusiastic' about the idea. But while many will be thrilled by the return of the high school singalong show, our TV reporter argues that the series' problematic elements and tragic history mean it should be left alone.
Murphy cites Gen Z embrace as reason for reboot
Murphy, who seems to roll out a new show each time one finishes, says he has seen Gen Z's recent embrace of the show as a potential reason to bring the dysfunctional choir group back. 'It's come back around. So many young people now watch it. And I'm like, "Maybe we should revisit that show",' he told People at the premiere for The Shards. 'My nostalgia and love for that show is enough that I'm like, "Well, maybe people would like to see a new incarnation of that in some capacity."'
When Glee first aired in 2009, it was a high school misfit revelation, inverting the pyramid where the theatre kids were at the bottom and the jocks and cheerleaders ruled the roost. The cultural impact was such that when Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill's characters returned to high school in 21 Jump Street, they pointed to the jukebox musical as the reason students were more tolerant, liked comics, and cared about the climate.
Problematic elements and tragic history
But the place Glee finds itself now, over a decade after the finale, is a far cry from that cultural supremacy. The show's later seasons were marked by ludicrous storylines, including Brittany's biological father being tactlessly revealed as Stephen Hawking, Coach Sue going to work at Fox News before becoming Vice President to Jeb Bush, and the entire penultimate episode flashing back to the pilot. There were also poor song choices, like Frozen's Let It Go, years too late, and a dance number to Hey Ya! when it felt like every show had featured a cover of it, and a white character, Kurt, does a tasteless Atlanta accent for the rap.
The drowning of show standout Naya Rivera, as well as Mark Salling's suicide after pleading guilty to possessing child sex abuse images, made Glee's brand of zany camp difficult to enjoy and its more problematic elements harder to ignore. Younger audiences in the UK have started to discover Glee since it began streaming on Disney+, with clips filtering through TikTok and Matthew Morrison carving out a niche on Cameo performing Mr Shue's cringey raps.
Much of the conversation now points out it would never be made today
Much of the Glee conversation now points out that it would never be made today, and that's why Murphy should leave it well alone. There's the musical episode about a school shooting, inspired by Sandy Hook. Mr Shue's predecessor is fired for being a sex pest, and it's played for laughs. Coach Sue briefly takes over the glee club and divides them on racial and other grounds. Everyone uses wheelchairs for an episode to try to relate to Artie, and at the end they perform Proud Mary, with the lyrics 'rollin', rollin' on the river'. There's a tribute episode to Michael Jackson. And so much more.
One of the chief reasons Gen Z has embraced Glee, aside from its so-bad-it's-good appeal, is the same reason Murphy's recent show Love Story was popular: it's a nostalgia bomb. The 2010s don't feel like that long ago, numerically, but culturally they are a bygone age. But the reasons Glee was culturally relevant and boundary-breaking back then no longer apply – for good reason. The strides forward the show made for LGBTQ+ representation (albeit with plenty of bi erasure in there) are no doubt part of the reason we can go gooey for the likes of Heartstopper and Heated Rivalry.
The reporter cannot see Murphy being able to tackle the rise of far-right young men, or any of the other myriad problems affecting Gen Z, in a way that isn't reductive and offensive. All they can envision is a clunky rendition of some Morgan Wallen track mashed up with Chappell Roan as a means of healing. While they are glad the pall that hung over Glee, for events on and off the screen, has started to lift, they argue that some things should be left in the past. 'So Ryan Murphy, please, enjoy the TikTok edits and the bump in royalty checks, but let's leave Glee well enough alone.'
