Ryan Murphy has publicly announced he’s working on another television show, and this time, in a sinister yet totally predictable fashion, it’s a reboot. Murphy told Entertainment Tonight that he has finished a first-season script for a reboot of the 2010s cult classic Glee, along with Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan — who he collaborated with on seasons 1 and 2 of the original. Murphy went on to explain that he has already contacted 10 original cast members, and that they all showed enthusiasm about the idea, including Lea Michele — she’s difficult, but boy can she maintain relevancy.
Despite my disdain for a Glee reboot, I did grow up queer with unlimited access to television, so obviously I would shamefully consider myself a ‘gleek.’ My disagreement with the concept of a reboot does not come from a place of hatred. Instead, it comes from what I believe is a significant shift in audience attitudes between Glee’s release in 2009 and the present day. Now, while Glee undeniably had its fair share of controversial jokes, it was still remarkably progressive for its time in how it represented LGBTQ+ characters and storylines. It handled serious topics with real tact while somehow simultaneously being deliberately outrageous and relying on offensive stereotypes. For example, lesbian character Santana Lopez has a beautiful storyline expressing her difficulty coming out to her family, in the same series in which educator Sue Sylvester regularly refers to gay character Kurt as ‘Porcelain.’ Despite this contrast, Glee would undoubtedly need to be watered down to be approved today. But in sanitising such a unique writing approach, you would completely remove the ridiculously unpredictable quality that is arguably the cornerstone of its recently renewed popularity online.
Unfortunately, the show’s controversial nature is a core part of what makes it so appealing to both new and old audiences. However, it’s fun to imagine what absolute plot nonsense Murphy could cook up in a new version of the show. When entertaining myself by imagining what the plot could possibly be, I found one character to have a particularly compelling potential arc. Famous for leading her threatening competitors to “crack dens”. Rachel Berry will go full current-Ryan-Murphy-mode, inserting herself as the new coach of the New Directions, naturally against everybody’s will, before setting out to kill the group’s new ingénue. The weapon? Toilet brush. The soundtrack? Expect Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and a Brat medley performed by the modern New Directions as Rachel carries out her heinous crime. Finally, what do I think Murphy would name this mess? Well, it’s right under his nose! Monster: The Rachel Berry Story.
“Glee cast” by Keith McD￮ from Northborough, MA, USA is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
