Between 2009 and 2015, “Glee” was one of the most popular running shows on television. Spanning 121 episodes across six seasons, the musical teen dramedy was an Emmy Award favorite, earning 32 nominations and six wins—including an Outstanding Guest Actor/Actress award for Neil Patrick Harris and Gwyneth Paltrow, one year after the other.
On top of its television success, the show also earned the rare distinction of musical achievement, landing a total of 207 songs in the US Billboard Hot 100. Three of those songs would land in the top 10, one of which was “Loser Like Me”—an original that peaked at number six.
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And while the numbers are impressive, the show’s cultural impact was immeasurable. For many of its audience, it was their first introduction to musical theater, ‘80s rock, and quickly-forgotten pop. The power of those musical genres was a gold mine; combined with the strength of Ryan Murphy’s hysterical plotlines and a stellar cast, the show bolstered our emotional economies for more than half a decade.
Now, the hit show is set to make a return with many of the original cast members slated to reprise their roles. Among them is Lea Michele, who played Rachel Berry, the show’s lead.
“Glee,” then and now
The premise of “Glee” was rather brilliant. While many popular shows at the time were set in liberal cosmopolitans like New York City, Murphy opted for a more remote setting—Lima, Ohio. The show revolved around a simple proposition: What would happen if a bunch of kids discovered Glee club in a state that actively denied funding for the arts?
The result was an offbeat dramatic masterpiece complete with mash-ups of “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Umbrella,” a teen pregnancy storyline, and queer frenzy. The show’s humor may go over people’s heads now, but the satire wasn’t lost on audiences then.
More than 10 years have passed since the series ended and naturally, many have revisited old jokes and storylines that would perhaps not hold up today. The question of whether the show “aged well” is still in the air, though the concept of aging well is a defective rubric.
Problematic or profound?
The satirical nature of the show already demands nuance that discourse around “aging well” often lacks. And ultimately, measuring a work of art by setting it against today’s moral standards is a quick and easy way to bypass critical engagement.
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“Glee” was about as sincere as “SNL” or “The Office.” But when you least expected it, it was gutwrenchingly earnest. While many of the gags made fun of gay people and other marginalized communities, the joke was never on them.
The show wasn’t ideologically perfect, but it made worthy—and hilarious—attempts at tackling misogyny, homophobia, and racism. In a contemporary landscape where almost everything in film and television is obnoxiously spelled out, it goes without saying that audiences may not be as prepared for what “Glee” had once achieved.
A shifting political landscape
We live in a vastly different world now than we did when “Glee” ended. Not only has the show’s cast experienced their share of scandal and tragedy—three main cast members have since passed away—but America has devolved beyond comprehension. About a year after the show’s last episode aired, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States.
His administration brought about an overwhelming degree of blatant xenophobia, enforcing an inhumane crackdown on immigration policies and anti-trans legislation.
During the first 18 months of President Trump’s second term, officials carried out approximately 980,000 deportations. And by 2026, 63 bills were passed across the country to block trans people from receiving basic healthcare, education, and the right to public participation.
A show like “Glee” would not only have to implicitly reflect this historical trajectory but also the response of scholars and artists. Alongside a terrifying demonstration of right-wing control, there has also been a shift in the entertainment landscape.
Mainstream media is wrestling with an evolving political lexicon. Modes of communication have changed, and so too have the individuals determining the vernacular.
But can “Glee” pull it off?
“Glee” entered the pop culture sphere when diversity and queer representation weren’t quite the industry norm. Now, although measures to ensure diversity both onscreen and in writers’ rooms are sometimes circumvented, there are more and more shows that bring minorities to the center—“Insecure,” “Never Have I Ever,” “Adults,” to name a few.
A lot needs to be addressed in the return of “Glee.” As a staggering amount of 2000s classics get rebooted, there seems to be a recurring issue across all of them: the failure to consider that the fanbase has grown, too.
No longer are we the wide-eyed teens (though I’m not speaking for myself in this instance, as I was much younger) easily swayed by an acoustic cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”Many of us are well into our 20s, in the pits of political despair, searching for a catharsis of greater substance.