Suicide, substance abuse, and addiction are all mentioned in this article.
All Gleeks are invited! In 2015, everyone’s favourite fictional show choir may have vanished from the television (at least temporarily), but its members have done anything but disappear from view. Many of the original “Glee” cast members have kept busy and scheduled, doing everything from performing dance on Broadway to recording original songs.
Tragically, three of the main cast members have died, despite their continued success as individuals. Their co-stars have been greatly impacted by these losses. With the exception of a few well-documented diva moments, the “Glee” ensemble has largely remained quite close off-screen, much like the New Directions on-screen.
From 2009 through 2015, The Original New Directions propagated the “Don’t Stop Believin'” philosophy. However, the program’s resurrection in streaming on Netflix, TikTok, and Disney+ has introduced all things wonderful and gross from the show choir veterans to a new generation. What, however, are the graduates of William McKinley High School doing now?
Matthew Morrison brought it back to Broadway
All six seasons of “Glee” featured Broadway veteran Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester, the teacher sponsor of the New Directions show choir. Morrison told People, “I have very happy recollections of the show, and I adore thinking back on [it].” The biggest pleasure for me from the show, he continued, “was having people approach me constantly and express how much it changed their lives, so many real-life incidents that had physical repercussions on people’s lives.”
As J.M. Barrie, the author of “Peter Pan,” Morrison led the cast of “Finding Neverland” on Broadway after the production ended in 2015. The play “The Man Who Was Peter Pan” by Alan Knee and its later film adaptation, “Finding Neverland,” served as the basis for the musical. At the 2015 Drama Desk Awards, Morrison was nominated for outstanding leading actor in a musical. After leaving the programme in the first quarter of 2016, Morrison appeared in guest spots on “The Good Wife” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” among other shows.
Morrison had a strong year in 2022 in a variety of ways. In Hawaii that summer, he tied the knot with Renee Puente, his longtime partner and the mother of their kid. Alongside JoJo Siwa and the late Stephen “tWitch” Boss, he was selected to serve as a judge for the revival of “So You Think You Can Dance.” However, he revealed in a statement to People that he was removed from the show three months later for failing to follow “competition production protocols.” According to a person who spoke with the newspaper, Morrison was fired because of his interactions with a dancer, and “he sought out to her through seductive direct messages on social media.” Later, Morrison provided his perspective on Instagram.
Jane Lynch made the leap to game show host
After nearly two decades in the entertainment industry, Jane Lynch joined “Glee” as the brutal yet occasionally sympathetic Coach Sue Sylvester. She was awarded an Emmy in 2010 for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for the part and its now-famous array of one-liners. She praised her performance to Entertainment Weekly, saying, “I enjoyed when I got to rip offices apart.” “I had to perform this whole Wagnerian demolition of the guys’ locker room and the gym. I was merely flinging things. My favourite thing was that.”
Lynch continued to appear on television in recurring and guest parts after the show’s cancellation in 2015, including a well-received appearance on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Additionally, she performed voices for other animated films, such as “Wreck-It Wralph” and “American Dad.” Her focus had already shifted to anchoring programmes like “Hollywood Game Night” and a new “The Weakest Link.” She made a comeback to Broadway in 2022 as Mrs. Brice opposite Beanie Feldstein in the revival of “Funny Girl.” Just a few weeks before her old “Glee” co-star Lea Michele assumed the title role following a dramatic recasting tale, Lynch left the Broadway production in August 2022.
Lynch has seen both highs and lows in her personal life since “Glee” ended. Lynch later remarried, to partner Jennifer Cheyne, after divorcing her ex-wife Lara Embry in 2013. “I suggested that we be married as Jennifer and I had been dating since while looking for insurance for her. So that’s how the romance unfolded “According to Lynch, Today.
Lea Michele fulfilled a Glee prophecy
The first few years after “Glee,” Lea Michele worked in the recording studio and appeared on television. She appeared in “The Mayor,” an ABC sitcom, and another Ryan Murphy-produced show called “Scream Queens,” and she has put out a number of studio albums. In 2019, she wed Zandy Reich, and in 2020, she gave birth to a son named Ever. Many people have claimed that Lea Michele and Rachel Berry, the obsessively driven (and frequently repulsive) starlet she portrays on “Glee,” are more similar than not. When Michele joined the Broadway production of “Funny Girl” in 2022, she allegedly fulfilled a “Glee” prophecy, adding fuel to the flames.
Despite the controversy surrounding Michele’s replacement of Beanie Feldstein in the part, critics praised her portrayal of the famous Fanny Brice. For Rachel Berry, who relocated to New York and earned the role just after graduating from high school, it was all a curious parallel to a later-season plotline. Additionally, Berry and Michele have both referred to the part as a “dream come true,” in a full circle-come-eerie synchronicity.
There is more drama involving Michele than just that. Actress Samantha Lee Ware wrote in a since-deleted tweet from 2021: “Remember when you turned my first television gag into a living hell? LMAO I’LL NEVER FORGET THE CAUSE “(via BuzzFeed), adding more Michele-related accusations. Other “Glee” cast members published their own complaints, which was enough to prompt Michele to post a semi-apology on Instagram.
Dianna Agron spread her acting wings
In all six seasons of “Glee,” Dianna Agron played Quinn Fabray, a former head cheerleader who is now a teenage mother. Agron, though, found her way to the big screen alongside several A-list actors before her time at McKinley High ended.
Agron achieved significant notoriety. She appeared in “The Family” alongside Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer and co-starred in “I Am Number Four” with heartthrob and ex-boyfriend Alex Pettyfer. She has starred in a number of music videos, including those for the songs “I’m Not The Only One” by Sam Smith and “Just Another Girl” by The Killers.
Agron’s decision to divide her time between television and movies only helped her once “Glee” ended. With performances in “Shiva Baby” and “The Laureate,” she transitioned to independent films. She then entered the producing world with “ACIDMAN,” which had its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. She debuted “Narcissa,” the science fiction podcast in which she both stars and executive produces, in 2022. Before being married to former Mumford and Sons singer Winston Marshall in 2016, Agron was said to have dated a number of notable people, including Sebastian Stan and Bradley Cooper. However, the pair reportedly lived apart for a year before divorcing in 2020.
Chris Colfer wrote his way to the top
As the outspokenly gay, fashion-forward Kurt Hummel on “Glee,” Chris Colfer created history. For this portrayal, he won the 2011 Golden Globe for best supporting actor. Kurt and the dapper Blaine Anderson (played by Darren Criss), dubbed “Klaine,” quickly rose to the top of the show’s fan favourites.
The six-book “The Land of Stories” children’s fantasy series by Colfer made it to the New York Times Bestseller List. Colfer said on KTLA 5 Morning News, “I just [wrote] for my own mental health to just get the tale out of my mind.” I’m delighted that it attracted such a sizable audience. Along with “Stories,” Colfer has also published the prequel series “A Tale of Magic,” as well as the young adult book “Stranger Than Fanfiction.” But after “Glee,” he didn’t entirely leave the entertainment industry; he had cameos on “Hot in Cleveland,” “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie,” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars.”
In 2019, Colfer said in an interview with USA Today, “I’ve taken a few years off [from TV] to focus on writing because it’s really taken on a life of its own and it’s really been a dream come true, but I think I’ll get back out there soon. Colfer’s personal life included a 10th anniversary with his companion Will Sherrod in 2023.
Darren Criss became a jack of all trades
On “Glee,” Darren Criss portrayed Blaine Anderson, a teenage dream and part of the beloved pair “Klaine.” Even though Criss didn’t make his debut until Season 2, Blaine and Criss quickly won the hearts of all Gleeks, and Criss’ career took off when the show ended.
Criss went to Broadway to play the lead role in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” once “Glee” filming was finished. He had already performed on the biggest stage in the world before his celebrated turn in sky-high heels. He had made a quick cameo in the revival of “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” while it was airing on “Glee.” For Criss, Broadway has been a top priority. Criss appeared alongside Laurence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell in the 2022 revival of “American Buffalo.” Criss told Playbill, “Theatre is one of the only arts that you can witness and think, ‘Hopefully one day I can do that.'” He was referring to the fact that different actors might excel in the same roles in musical theatre. Additionally, he was a founding member of the “Elsie Fest” musical theatre event, which featured performances by notable Broadway actors, including Criss himself.
Criss has been thinking about other things outside Broadway. For his work in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” a production directed by “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy, he received an Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actor in a limited series. He has also received a Golden Globe. A Very Darren Crissmas, one of Criss’ albums, was produced and published in 2021. The celebrity wed Mia Swier, his lifelong love, in 2019. In 2022, the couple had their first child.
Amber Riley continues to bring the house down
Amber Riley spent six years murdering the game with her phenomenal voice as the strong diva Mercedes Jones. But Riley continued to show off her skills in a variety of new venues after “Glee” ended. Riley won an Olivier Award (the British equivalent of a Tony) for best actress in a musical for her role as Effie White in the 2016 West End debut of “Dreamgirls.” She continued to perform musical roles on stage and in films, including roles in live productions of “The Wiz” and “The Little Mermaid.”
Riley does well in areas other than musical theatre, though. Riley won “The Masked Singer” in 2022 after winning “Dancing with the Stars” in 2013 and taking home the prized Mirrorball trophy. Riley became the first person to win both programmes with these two victories. Riley said in her winning reveal speech on “The Masked Singer” that it had been “such a fantastic experience just to be able to come out here and be completely covered and let my skill speak for itself.”
Under the stage name RILEY, the multi-talented performer has also recorded her own music. Without a label, she debuted her self-titled album in 2020. She also belonged to the stage-based supergroup Leading Ladies, which also included the singer-actors Cassidy Janson and Beverley Knight. In 2017, they issued their debut album, “Songs from the Stage.”
Kevin McHale keeps it real
On “Glee,” Kevin McHale sang with a voice of gold and played Artie Abrams. Artie utilises a wheelchair because a car accident he was in as a child left his lower body disabled. McHale, who does not actually require a wheelchair, has expressed his reluctance to play the role in a hypothetical revival. He said to Insider, “I don’t know if Artie could be in it. “I don’t believe I ought to be portraying a wheelchair-bound character in light of what we now know. So, if they’ll let me lose my beard and take on a new role, I’ll do it.”
“McRiley,” a podcast that McHale and co-star Amber Riley (who played Mercedes Jones) started in 2014, carried on after “Glee” ended in 2015. On their “Showmance” podcast in 2019, he and his co-star and best friend Jenna Ushkowitz (who played Tina Cohen-Chang) devoted a portion to recapping “Glee” episodes. The couple finished the second season’s “Rocky Horror Glee Show” episode before taking an indefinite break in August 2020 due to the passing of their friend and co-star Naya Rivera. The show featured cameos from other cast members and crew members (who played Santana Lopez). In 2022, McHale and Ushkowitz got back together for the “Showmance” rebooted podcast “And That’s What You REALLY Missed.”
Outside of the mic, McHale has had a few guest appearances in American and British television programmes, including as “RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race.” Since 2016, he has been dating musician and actor Austin P. McKenzie.
Jenna Ushkowitz made her way back to Broadway
All six seasons of “Glee” included Jenna Ushkowitz as Tina Cohen-Chang, a founding member of the New Directions. Nearly ten years after her previous performance, Ushkowitz returned to Broadway as Dawn in the musical “Waitress” after the show’s curtain call. She also became a part of the production crew working behind the scenes on the revival of “Once On This Island,” which starred her “Glee” co-star Alex Newell. In 2018, “Island” and its producing team won the Tony Award for best musical revival, and Ushkowitz won the award again in 2020 for directing “The Inheritance.”
Ushkowitz is still active as a performer. She has had a few other appearances in movies after “Glee,” including the 2017 movie “Hello Again,” which was based on the Off-Broadway musical of the same name. The celebrity, who wed David Stanley in 2021, had a child in 2022 but prefers to keep her family life quiet.
When iHeartRadio contacted them, she told People that she would be starting a new show with Kevin McHale in 2022. “We were like, “We’re going to do it correctly this time,” and I feel like in a way the stars were in alignment. This is one we’re really, really thrilled about “Ushkowitz stated. The hosts raised money for Alexandria House, a homeless people’s transitional schooling and living facility, in Naya Rivera’s honour.
Harry Shum Jr. lit up the silver screen
At William McKinley High, Mike Chang’s graceful movements were legendary, and Harry Shum Jr. brought them to life. Shum performed in all six seasons of the show, transitioning from an ensemble dancer in Season 1 to a featured performer in Season 2. Shum continued to shine off-screen and elsewhere after “Glee” ended.
He was chosen to play Magnus Bane in “Shadowhunters,” the television series based on the “Mortal Instruments” book series, which premiered in 2015. He appeared for a while in the popular “Grey’s Anatomy,” which he joined in 2022, as Dr. Benson “Blue” Kwan. In an interview with The Wrap, Shum referred to the show’s established family theme as “the biggest thing that I’ve learned.” “We occasionally spend more time together than with our families. And I believe that the reason this specific play has endured for so long is because this location functions as a haven.”
With roles in blockbuster films including “Crazy Rich Asians,” “All My Life,” “Love Hard,” and “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” Shum has also made the transition to the big screen. In his private life, he wed Shelby Rabara, whom he had loved for a very long time, in 2013. A daughter was born to the couple in 2019.
Heather Morris is one dancin’ mama
Heather Morris is well-known for her incredible dancing moves in classic songs like “Valerie” and “I’m A Slave 4 U.” Heather Morris portrayed the snarky Brittany S. Pierce on “Glee.” Morris, a backup dancer for Beyonce, was first hired to teach the ensemble the “Single Ladies” dance. However, she quickly won everyone over with her prowess and developed into one of the show’s most adored characters.
Morris concentrated on family as “Glee” came to a close. She gave birth to her first kid in 2013 and wed Taylor Hubbell, her lifelong love, in 2015. The couple had their second son in 2016. She told E! News, “Working moms are the best type.” When they arrive home, they still find time to spend with their children and engage them in great activities.
Morris has kept ties with her fictional family as well. Morris and several other “Glee” cast members teamed together for charity events following the passing of Naya Rivera, who was Morris’ on-screen wife and a close friend in real life. “Every day I do something to recognise your fortitude, and it makes me feel closer to you. I adore you, No “Shared by Morris on Instagram. Morris has continuously kept up with the Hollywood industry, making cameos in a number of independent films and shorts. She used her dancing background to perform on an episode of “Raven’s Home,” “GLOW,” and in the music video for the Whitney Houston and Clean Bandit remix of “How Will I Know.”
Chord Overstreet is multitalented
From Season 2 through the show’s conclusion, Chord Overstreet portrayed the amiable quarterback-turned-model Sam Evans on “Glee.” Overstreet has recorded music his own way and made appearances in a variety of series and television movies since leaving the halls of McKinley High behind.
Overstreet was naturally adept at making his own name because he comes from a musical family in the Nashville, Tennessee, region. He was the first artist to be signed to Safehouse Records in 2015, a joint project between Island Records and the management team of Nick Jonas, Demi Lovato, and Phil McIntyre. In August 2016, “Homeland,” his debut single, debuted on radio. After that, he released a number of EPs, one of which featured the song “Hold On,” which is probably most known for its use in the Season 8 finale of “The Vampire Diaries” at (spoiler alert) Stefan’s burial. The celebrity said to Forbes, “I was a little bit exhausted after finishing “Glee” because of the demanding schedule. I took some time to concentrate only on music, and then I gave it my all again. But after a while, I realised that I was missing acting, so I decided to pick it back up. I’ve always appreciated both of these things, despite the fact that they are very different.”
Overstreet has made on-screen appearances in “The Bold Type” and “Acapulco” on Apple TV. He appeared in the Netflix holiday comedy “Falling for Christmas” in 2022 opposite Lindsay Lohan. Overstreet gushed to The Hollywood Reporter, “I responded to the script because it reminded me in a great way of ‘Overboard’ — I’m a huge rom-com fan. “Oh, I would kill to do something like this,” I thought.
The Glee cast members who passed away
According to CNN, Cory Monteith, who played quarterback Finn Hudson, reportedly passed away in July 2013 from “mixed drug poisoning, involving intravenous heroin use combined with alcohol consumption.” At the time, Monteith, who had taken rehab classes earlier that year, was 31 years old. “He had a drug issue, which I was unaware of. I was gullible. Ryan Murphy, the creator of “Glee,” admitted on “And That’s What You REALLY Missed” that he was unaware “with Jenna Ushkowitz and Kevin McHale. I was merely frantic for him to survive.
In February 2018, Mark Salling, who portrayed Noah “Puck” Puckerman, Finn’s best friend, committed suicide. According to USA Today, Salling would have received a sentence the following month after being found guilty of possessing materials relating to child sexual assault. According to Deadline, Naya Rivera, who portrayed spunky Santana Lopez, drowned by accident and was declared dead in July 2020. Rivera’s passing was reported on the sixth anniversary of Monteith’s death. “My Snixx, my Bee, and my Naya. Without you, I cannot picture this life “Tweeted McHale
The contentious 2023 television programme “The Price of Glee,” which concentrated on the “Glee curse” allegedly afflicting the cast and creatives, discussed all three fatalities. Despite the fact that several cast members disapproved of the docuseries, there was a lot of excitement about the show online before its debut.
There is assistance available if you or someone you know needs it for addiction-related problems. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or call 1-800-662-HELP for information about SAMHSA (4357).
Please call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or utilise their live chat services if you believe that you or someone you know may be a victim of child abuse.
Please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialling 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255) if you or someone you know is having suicide thoughts.
