15 Years Later, Why Is Glee Still So Popular?

When the creators of the smash hit television series Glee wrote “Being part of something special makes you special” in the pilot episode, I don't think they fully realised how true this statement would become.

The show centred around a group of students in a school choir in middle America as they struggle with issues of popularity, sexuality, race and family. The show was initially very well received, which was in large part due to the quirky charm of the cast and the sense of belonging the show projected. But since premiering in 2009, Glee has also been the subject of much debate, vitriol, adoration and scorn.

I was nine when I watched the first episode of Glee and that moment truly changed my life forever. I remember crying through ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ and feeling a sense of belonging — a feeling I carry with me to this day. Glee’s ability to make outsiders feel less alienated was one of its most admirable elements. It was a full-blown sensation while it aired and the launchpad for many future careers.

However, despite first airing 15 years ago, Glee is still widely discussed in pop culture in 2024, with trending Sue Sylvester TikTok audios, the Rose's Turn's song revival, Lea Michelle's alleged illiteracy, “Trigger Warning: Will Schuester", and Mike’s Mic’s Glee recap videos amassing millions of views on YouTube. And that's not to mention the multitude of other cursed moments that have occurred since the show's run. ⁠

So, why is Glee still so popular?

For a lot of Gen Z, Glee was one of the first shows they watched that was not inherently a ‘kids’ show. I was in year four when I watched the pilot episode and I remember that Glee felt like a vehicle into adulthood. Glee has this innate ability to capture the hearts of almost anybody, and I remember discussing Kurt’s slay rendition of ‘Rose's Turn’ (which recently went viral on TikTok) with my teachers and going to Glee conventions where there was no distinct demographic. I also visited the set when I was travelling in America and somehow managed to meet (and mildly terrify) the cast by being the ‘Gleek’ that I was.

Being so young when a lot of Gen Z first watched the show, we were also very impressionable. This show was groundbreaking in its depiction of queer characters and I believe this has subconsciously permeated through my generation's mostly positive and accepting view of queerness. It is worth remembering that when Glee first aired in 2009, just 33% of Americans supported same-sex marriage. Even among millennials — Glee’s target audience — just 51% were in favour at the time. I believe that shows like Glee helped to change this.

In recent years, there has been a trend of ‘healing your inner child’, which can involve revisiting things that were meaningful to you in your adolescence. This happened to coincide with the pandemic — a time when lots of Gen Z were stuck in their childhood homes in a state of arrested development, with not much else to do but revisit significant things from their youth. For many of us, Glee was one of those things. With the ease of streaming the series, combined with its newfound popularity of TikTok, it was the perfect opportunity for a Glee renaissance.

Some of the first viral moments on TikTok relating to Glee were questioning teacher Will Schuester’s behaviour, like suspending a student for not wearing a risqué outfit in a performance and blackmailing a student into joining the glee club. And let's not forget the time he infamously stated that all of the glee club members were minorities simply because they were in the glee club. 

Many of the most infamous Glee TikTok videos surround Lea Michele, who was ‘cancelled’ in 2020, following alleged racism and bullying on set. Since then, rumours suggesting she’s illiterate and her prophecy-fulfilling return to Broadway in Funny Girl — in which she replaced Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice, a role which was originated by Rachel Berry’s hero, Barbra Streisand — have all been ripe for TikTok fodder.

With more discourse online surrounding Glee’s impact, there have also been many conversations about the show's shortcomings, particularly centring around the stereotypical writing for characters like Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera), whose personality plays into the spicy Latina trope, Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) as the effeminate twink and Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley) being relegated to the sassy black woman trope. Other problematic aspects include Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale), who despite being in a wheelchair, is portrayed by an able-bodied actor. For a show that claimed to celebrate diversity, this is not reflected by its main three characters, Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) as all three are heterosexual, cisgender and non-disabled. 

Due to the resurgence of the show's popularity in recent years, there has also been an uptick in discussions surrounding its use of often tokenistic and superficial ‘after-school special’ messaging.

That said, it is generally agreed that while Glee was most definitely problematic at times and its diversity was often superficial or tokenistic, it was still a relatively progressive show for its time. It is widely understood to be a vital part of queer history, one that played an important role in diversifying television. As one Slate writer put it, "Glee did more to normalise homosexuality than any other show in TV history, perhaps more than any other mainstream work of art."

Unfortunately, the more recent Glee renaissance has also been marred with further controversy and tragedy. Naya Rivera, who portrayed trailblazing lesbian Afro-Latinx character Santana Lopez, passed away unexpectedly in July 2020, following a boating accident. The tragic loss of one of the show's most iconic and beloved characters was an inciting factor in many people revisiting the TV series, which also inspired conversations about the impact of her character on both a micro and macro scale. 

Even more hauntingly, Rivera is the third cast member to pass away over a seven-year period, which is particularly poignant when you consider how young the cast was. Her death follows that of Cory Monteith, who suffered an accidental drug overdose in 2013 and Mark Salling, who died by suicide in 2018, just weeks before he was due to be sentenced over charges relating to child pornography. The show being plagued by such tragedy has undoubtedly contributed to its legacy and the continued interest people have in the show.

Glee’s enduring success can be attributed to any of these factors, but it's my personal belief that Glee was the first taste of more ‘adult’ programming that helped shape the ideologies of many young viewers. It was a pivotal moment in pop culture history: its snarky dialogue and dark humour, its campy and queer undertones, its themes of acceptance and belonging are things that Gen Z is known for today, and I believe Glee played a major role in this development.

Cast members Kevin McHale (Artie Abrams) and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang) are recording a podcast called And That's What You Really Missed, in an attempt to reclaim the narrative after many years of Glee being viewed as a cursed show. This will hopefully provide insight into the discourse surrounding the cultural juggernaut that was Glee, as well as provide the show with a less haunted legacy. The show has long captured the hearts and minds of Gen Z and I can't imagine its popularity will diminish anytime soon.