The week started like any other: Grande Strawberry Açai Refresher in hand, I walked down Commonwealth Ave. to my invigoratingly interesting Cities & Cultures class. In class, we discussed Venice, and I pondered the contents of my next paper as I sat down at my desk.
That’s when I saw the insane announcement. It was official: Glee was getting a reboot. And from that moment on, I didn’t shut up.
I grew up on musicals. The first one I remember seeing was Mamma Mia. My family visited our expat family friends in London when I was maybe five years old. My parents practically had to drag me to the show. As a child, I didn’t understand what a musical even was. But what a surprise I was in for! I have an extremely foggy memory of cheering loudly at the end of the performance, jumping up and down, but unable to see the stage as the audience stood to clap for the performers. After that, it was Wicked, The Lion King, and Matilda. Now, at 19, I’ve seen many more musicals, like Hamilton, MJ, and more. That childhood memory is where my obsession with mixing music and acting really began.
At the age of nine, I was all in on Glee. Not exactly a musical, Glee is an American comedy-drama series created by Ryan Murphy. The show follows Will Schuester, a high school Spanish teacher desperate to relive his dreams of show choir, who attempts to kickstart the old glee club. A band of misfit kids gathers to find respite amid their rough high school years as outcasts.
Musical performances and genius comedy lines make the show what it’s — “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse, Journey’s iconic “Don’t Stop Believin'” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen are just a few of the song choices in the series. The club is made up of kids from all kinds of backgrounds who bond over the power of music, realizing the things that make them unique are their greatest assets to the group.
Seasons one through three were easily the best, as it usually goes with any iconic show like Gilmore Girls, New Girl, or How I Met Your Mother (just my opinion!). Ten years later, this show feels like family to me. I frequently quote one-liners by Santana Lopez or Kurt Hummel. I feel incredibly old watching the show as a college student, as the students in the series are high school sophomores when it first began.
Naturally, you can probably sense my excitement when I saw the announcement for the reboot as a Gleek. However, now that all the chatter about the reboot has died down, I’m beginning to wonder if it’s a good idea.
I haven’t had much luck with reboots in the past. Take the Gossip Girl reboot, for example. What a bust that was! How often do you hear people talk about it? I know less of the original cast was involved in that project, but sometimes I think reboots have a tendency to try too hard to replicate the original product. I’m nervous I’ll get excited for it, and then it might end up being absolutely horrible.
Also, many of the jokes made in Glee probably wouldn’t fly nowadays. I saw a TikTok the other day saying you shouldn’t be tuning in for this reboot if you’re “too woke.” Some of the jokes are a little bit distasteful, but I hate to admit that that’s what made the show so iconic. It didn’t hold back, and I don’t think a line was crossed too badly, but maybe you’ll want to ask someone else their opinion. The point is, I want it to be just as funny as the original. I miss the kind of comedy from sitcoms that makes me laugh out loud. Adults has been the thing that has come the closest recently.
I’m both excited and nervous for this reboot. Knowing that some of my favorites from the original series, like Heather Morris and Jenna Ushkowitz, will be involved gives me faith that the series won’t be completely ruined by new-gen actors.
I’m anxiously anticipating more information on the reboot and can’t wait to see what comes for this brilliant show.
More to come!
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