Ryan Murphy is entertaining the idea of bringing “Glee” back, citing a wave of younger viewers who have found the musical dramedy on streaming nearly two decades after it debuted. Murphy raised the possibility Monday night at the New York premiere of his new FX series “The Shards,” telling reporters the show’s staying power has him reconsidering its future.
“That show is interesting because it’s come back around. So many young people now watch it,” Murphy said. “And I’m like, ‘Maybe we should revisit that show.'” He added that his affection for the series remains strong enough to consider “a new incarnation of that in some capacity,” pointing to what it “became” and “what it meant to so many people” as reasons to look back.
“Glee” ran on Fox from 2009 to 2015, following the misfit members of a high school glee club called New Directions as they navigated identity, ambition and rivalry through pop-song mashups. Murphy created the series with Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, and it launched or elevated the careers of Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley, Darren Criss and Jane Lynch, among others. At its commercial peak, the show landed 113 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single year, a mark that at the time surpassed a longstanding record held by Elvis Presley. It also collected multiple Emmy and Golden Globe wins over its run.
The show’s legacy carries weight beyond its chart success. Its production years were marked by tragedy, including the deaths of several cast and crew members, and Michele in particular faced public accusations from former co-stars of mistreatment on set, allegations that resurfaced repeatedly in the years after the finale aired. Those episodes have shadowed nostalgic conversations about the series even as its fan base has grown among viewers who discovered it long after its network run ended.
Murphy has floated the idea of returning to “Glee” before, telling former cast members on their own podcast in 2023 that any revival would aim to recapture the tone of the show’s earliest seasons rather than repeat its later, more polarizing turns. He gave no timeline or format Monday for what a new version might look like, leaving open whether it would take the shape of a limited series, a full reboot or something else entirely.
