The Cutprice Guignol

Let’s take a break from our regular spooky season programming to talk about a real horror: the Glee reboot.

I received news of the upcoming Glee reboot with the dreadful, inevitable shudder of a Lovecraftian protagonist feeling the first tremors of the Old Gods beneath the crust of the earth, and I’m sure many fans of the show are right there with me. To have been a fan of Glee during its original run is like carrying some sort of ancient blood curse; this show sucks complete ass at times, but God, if it’s not some of the most wildly entertaining, hilarious, and even moving TV I’ve ever watched at the same time. Glee has been here with me since the very start of my blog and writing career in general, and, in that time, I have been trying to make sense of the show as best I can (obligatory plug for my Watching Glee Until It Gets Bad series here).

Ever since Ryan Murphy started rumbling about the possibility of a Gleeboot, I knew that it was only a matter of time before it came to pass; if there’s one thing Murphy has proved to be over the course of his career, it’s completely and utterly shameless, and, in this era of reboots and sequels, it was only a matter of time till he leveraged one of the biggest zeitgeist shows of the century into a new version. Glee itself is always a show that rode cultural trends, whether musically or in the subject matter of its episodes, and it kind of fits that it would leap on to this trend of reviving beloved (well, be-endured) shows of yesteryear. Sure, it’s only been eleven years since it finished, but don’t worry, Lea Michele is coming back! And Chris Colfer said that Glee fans would probably hunt him down if he didn’t, so he’ll think about it, I guess!

The question is – well, is it going to be any good? The answer is probably not, to be honest – and yeah, a big part of that is because so many of the original cast will not be returning for obvious and tragic reasons, and it’s doubtful that even those surviving will make a return en masse given the long-standing rumours of drama and disagreements on-set. But I think the biggest issue will prove to be the writing, given the screaming downturn that Murphy’s work has taken in the last ten years or so (I mean, just cast your eye over the last season of American Horror Story if you don’t believe me). Glee has always been a show that, even at its best, came with a full-throated grating edge, and that was only really offset by the genuine skill that Murphy et al had at the time for balancing it with a more melancholy and thoughtful tone about letting go of long-held dreams. But this revival, I imagine, will be trying to tap into the aspects of the show that are most relevant now – and the aspects of Glee that have survived pop culturally are not the smaller, quieter, more impactful moments, but the most ridiculous, overblown, and outrageous nonsense it had to offer. Not to say I don’t enjoy those parts of it, but they only work in balance with everything else, and I fear we’re going to be lacking that in the reboot.

With all that said, I will be covering the show when it comes out, because I am a glutton for punishment and step-tap show-tune choreography. And I would love to hear what you’re thinking about the reboot, if you’re a previous fan of the show – do you think this is a good idea, or is it better left where it is? Let me know in the comments!

If you’d like to read further Glee nonsense from me, you can do so here; if you’d like to support my blog, please consider supporting me by buying my books or dropping me a tip via my Support page!

(header image via Variety)