What the cast of Glee is doing now

Glee was unlike anything else on television during its tenure of six seasons. The musical comedy-drama tackled issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, and more on a regular basis. Admittedly, it wasn’t always done in the most tactful way, but there’s something to be said for a teen-focused show even attempting to tackle these topics. Notably, Kurt and Blaine’s first kiss marked a change in audiences’ attitudes towards people in the LGBT community.

Tragically, the show lost one of its stars, Corey Monteith, in 2013 while the show was still airing. Mark Salling, the actor who portrayed Puck, took his own life in early 2018, after being hit with disturbing charges. 

As for the rest of the Glee family that brought over 700 musical performances to fans’ TVs, what are they up to? It’s time to see just what the former “Gleeks” have done since the show ended. Here’s what the cast of Glee is doing now.

Glee's Matthew Morrison continued his teaching career on-screen after playing Will Schuester

There would be no glee club without Mr. Will Schuester, played by Matthew Morrison. So what’s Morrison been up to? Months after Glee‘s final episode aired, Morrison starred in the Broadway musical Finding Neverland. Since then, he’s made some notable appearances on television, including a particularly, uh, memorable stint on American Horror Story: 1984. Also in his time outside the Glee music classroom, he and his wife had their first child. But he’d eventually return to a teaching role again.

In December 2018, it was announced that Morrison would be one of the dance captains for The Greatest Dancer. “I love the format of this show. I’m not a judge, I’m a mentor! It’s why I signed on to the project,” he said in a Q&A for BBC. “I wanted to inspire the next generation of dancers.” That’s certainly the inspiring attitude that fans fell in love with on Glee. You can expect Morrison to keep on dancing for the foreseeable future, as he shared, “I’ve lived dance for the past 25 years and it will be a staple in my life until the day I die.”

Glee star Lea Michele reunited cast members with her music years after portraying Rachel

Just like Rachel Berry on Glee, Lea Michele has had her eyes set on the stars. Michele’s best known TV role after Glee was as Hester on Scream Queens, which lasted two seasons. But Michele stayed plenty busy, as she recorded two albums in 2014 and 2017. Her album Christmas in the City released in October 2019 and featured some familiar names: Jonathan Groff and Darren Criss.

“Jonathan is my best friend in the entire world, and the song we’re singing on the record, ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas,’ we’ve been singing together for over 10 years,” Michele told People in 2019. She noted, “Darren and I are dear friends so it was only natural that I would have him come on the record with me.” 

Despite her sad goodbye to Glee co-star and ex-boyfriend Cory Monteith, Michele seems to be doing very well. She told People, “I just got married, and it’s a very happy time in my life with my family right now. So making this album and releasing it at this time in my life just made so much sense.”

Dianna Agron made the move to serious film after playing Quinn on Glee

Dianna Agron, who played Quinn, began moving away from Glee before the series ended. She was no longer a recurring main cast member in the final two seasons, and thus was able to book several roles in indie films. In 2016, she married her boyfriend, Winston Marshall of Mumford & Sons fame, in Morocco.

In the years since, she has started to transition to more serious film work. She signed on to star alongside Kathy Bates in The Laureate, a biopic about writer and poet Robert Graves, in 2018. 

Hopefully, as Agron continues to navigate Hollywood, she’ll be able to change some of the stigmas she hates. “Women are not paid anywhere near the same [as men] at all, and it’s only getting worse,” she told The Telegraph. She noted, “It’s not just for actors, it’s for hair and make-up and stylists and everything. Nobody wants to pay anybody any more.” Clearly, things need to change.

Chris Colfer became an author after playing Kurt on Glee

When Glee was airing, there weren’t many prominent gay characters on television, and few of them were teenagers. Chris Colfer’s portrayal of Kurt was important not just for his mere existence but also for the power of his performance. Shortly after he made Times‘ 100 Most Influential People List in 2011, he signed his first book deal with Little, Brown and Company, kickstarting his writing career.

His children’s book series, Land of Stories, has been a New York Times‘ bestseller. In 2017, Movie Pilot reported that Colfer was in the works to adapt his first book to film. Colfer has also written for a slightly older audience with his young adult book Stranger than Fanfiction.

In July 2019, he told Out magazine, “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 eventually.”

Glee's Amber Riley, who played Mercedes, made a career on the stage

Amber Riley is well on her way to becoming a big name in the world of Broadway. After starring as Mercedes on Glee, Riley was quickly snatched up for NBC’s live rendition of The Wiz, playing Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North. The following year, she would play the starring role of Effie in the West End’s production of Dreamgirls, winning an Olivier award for best actress in a musical for her performance. In 2019, she snagged another exciting opportunity as playing Audrey II for the Pasadena Playhouse’s production of Little Shop of Horrors. 

Riley has really come into her own as a performer since leaving Glee behind. “I am worthy, and it’s okay for me to say so,” she proclaimed to The Knockturnal, adding, “And I deserve to be in the room if I’m in the room!” She continued, “You gotta know it because nobody is going to tell you. And if they do, you’re not going to believe them if you don’t believe it yourself.”

After starring as Artie on Glee, Kevin McHale came out

If anyone was surprised that Glee came to an end, it wasn’t Kevin McHale, who played Artie. “Towards the end, there weren’t that many people watching Glee,” he told HuffPost, adding, “We’re off the air for a reason.” McHale was quiet in the years after the finale. While he made appearances here and there, he didn’t make as much of a splash as some of his other costars.

In spring 2018, he would make headlines again for a much more personal reason: He came out as gay on Twitter. However, it was apparently only a surprise to those unfamiliar with him. “If somebody was a big fan and following everything I was doing [on social media] … I think there was zero surprise,” McHale told E! News in a Facebook Live. 

In 2019, McHale released his first solo EP, Boy. “During the Glee days, when I doing music outside of it, I was always putting on a persona, or I felt like I had to,” he shared with Paper. “It’s only now … that I’ve had the time to think about something else, and that’s how this music came about.”

Naya Rivera returned to a TV classroom after playing Santana on Glee

The hot-tempered Santana had ups and downs on Glee, having come out as a lesbian to her grandmother and enduring all that went with it. And it looks like Naya Rivera’s own life was just as rocky after the show, though for different reasons. She married actor John Dorsey after a short courtship. Their wedding date was apparently the same date she had set for her wedding with ex-fiancé Big Sean, according to Us Weekly. Rivera gave birth to her son with Dorsey, Josey, in 2015, but violent cracks in the marriage soon started to show. In 2017, Rivera was arrested for alleged domestic battery against Dorsey, as People reported. The couple finally split for good in 2018.

After all the drama in her personal life, Rivera headed back to the classroom — but not as a student. She played school administrator Collette Jones for the YouTube Red series Step Up: High Water. “It definitely feels like home and feels like how much fun I had on Glee,” she told E! News. “Everyone is hilarious and is always just happy to be there and having a great time.”

Since playing Brittany on Glee, Heather Morris became a mother

The cast members of Glee seem like natural picks for Dancing With the Stars. Amber Riley actually ended up winning Season 17 in 2013, and the actress behind Glee‘s lovable, ditzy, blonde cheerleader Brittany would soon follow in her co-star’s footsteps. Heather Morris competed in Season 24 in 2017, but was ultimately eliminated in the same episode that she featured her first perfect score. Fans were understandably confused and upset at her sudden departure.

Prior to DWTS, Morris gave birth to her and her husband’s first child, Elijah, in September 2013. Then Morris had baby no. 2, Owen, in 2016 (via E! News). She definitely wasted no time in growing a family! 

Morris also started the podcast The Dance Room to talk more about, well, dance. “I’ve always wanted to be a judge on a dance show like So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars, World of Dance, etc. And I found myself watching these shows that I mentioned, and going ‘how come nobody is recapping all of this!?’ ESPN and sports channels do it constantly, but why not for dancing too?” she explained to Haute Living.

Jenna Ushkowitz (aka Tina on Glee) produced Tony-winning hits on Broadway

Jenna Ushkowitz’s Glee character Tina was always more of a background character on the show. So, it’s a bit fitting that Ushkowitz has seemed to find her footing behind the stage rather than on it. She did star in musicals like The Waitress, but she’s proved herself to be a star producer. She produced the 2017 show Once on This Island, which won a Tony for best musical revival. In 2019, Ushkowitz produced the Broadway production of Be More Chill, which was nominated for best original score.

Even with Broadway acclaim, Ushkowitz still maintains connections with her Glee family. “She [Ushkowitz] is family at this point and she has seen me in my best and worst and I have seen her,” Glee’s Kevin McHale proclaimed to MEAWW, adding, “And I will literally follow her off of a cliff, whatever she wants I will do.” The two besties have even made their own podcast, Showmance, likely so they can spend even more time together.

Harry Shum Jr., who played Mike on Glee, joined this hit film's cast

After Glee, Harry Shum Jr., who played Mike, would go on to be a regular on another teen-focused show, Freeform’s Shadowhunters, where he would sport some absolutely stellar eyeshadow. His performance as a bisexual warlock landed him a GLAAD award and the award for male TV star of 2018 at E!’s People’s Choice Awards in November 2018. Just a few months later in March 2019, Shum Jr.’s wife, Shelby Rabara, gave birth to their daughter, Xia.

Shadowhunters might have been canceled in its third season, but Shum Jr. had something even bigger on the horizon. He’s was cast in the sequel to the hit film Crazy Rich Asians as Astrid’s new love interest, after briefly appearing in the first movie. “It’s such an incredible thing that the movie has done so well and has made a cultural stamp, even with just romantic comedy status,” he gushed to Cinema Blend. “It’s a really meaningful film, and I know that they are looking to tell that story, as well, but there’s still some time before that happens.”

After playing Blaine on Glee, Darren Criss had a star-studded wedding

Darren Criss, who played Blaine, was one of the few Glee members to be a rising star before the show aired. He had made waves with his musical theater company StarKids and their Very Potter musicals. Then, he became a well-known Broadway performer. Once Glee concluded, Criss played a musical villain on The Flash and Supergirl and starred in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. For his work on the latter, Criss won an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

In January 2018, Criss announced his engagement to longtime girlfriend Mia Swier, no doubt leaving a string of heartbroken fangirls in his wake. “It was a long time coming,” he said of the proposal to Esquire. The two wed in February 2019 in New Orleans. Wedding guests included Glee alums Lea Michele, Chord Overstreet, Harry Shum Jr., and John Stamos.

Jonathan Groff joined the Disney family after playing Jesse on Glee

After playing Jesse on Glee, Jonathan Groff landed himself in the middle of a huge franchise. Groff gave his voice to the character Kristoff in Disney’s Frozen and became familiar to thousands of new, young fans. “I’m so excited that little kids will grow up watching this movie, because Anna and Kristoff aren’t your typical Disney couple,” he told the DIS Disney blog. He then returned to his Broadway roots in the smash-hit musical Hamilton as the petulant King George III. As if that weren’t enough, he also starred in David Fincher’s Netflix series Mindhunters.

Naturally, Groff signed on to return for Frozen 2, and Groff appeared delighted as ever to return. “I’m just excited that I’m in it [laughs], you know? Excited to be in it and that creative team is also just so amazing, so I’m excited to get back in a room with them and play around…. The four of them are such an awesome team and I really, really love them,” he gushed to Entertainment Weekly.

Chord Overstreet turned failed romances into music after playing Sam on Glee

Good ol’ trouty mouth is still singing his heart out. Chord Overstreet went head-on into a music career post-Glee. He signed with Safehouse Records in December 2015, and he opened for big names like Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas on their respective tours. “Instead of me being a character, [this is] who I actually am and the type of person that I am in real life,” he told Billboard. “The character I was playing on a TV show is completely scripted … but to be able to expose who you are to people is a powerful gift and I feel like sharing who you are is the most intimate thing.” 

His single “My Ex” dropped in October 2019. His lyrics combine his failed romances with famous Hollywood exes. “No matter what size town or city you live in, it always seems small when it comes to dating. Running into an old flame is almost too common, and funny how often it actually happens,” he joked to Billboard.

After playing Sue Sylvester on Glee, Jane Lynch guest starred on a super popular show

Just as Will Schuester was the moral compass on Glee, Coach Sue Sylvester was the ongoing antagonizing force. Portrayed excellently by Jane Lynch, Sue’s schemes to tear down the glee club were both vindictive and puzzling. “I love when I got to tear offices apart,” she reminisced to Entertainment Weekly, adding, “I was just throwing stuff. That was my favorite thing.” Lynch was older than most of the cast and thus had a solid career before being on the show, which she continued to enjoy after.

Besides hosting NBC’s Hollywood Game Night, she played the late U.S attorney general Janet Reno in the Discovery Channel’s Manhunt: Unabomber. In another display of Lynch’s versatility, she joined the cast of the Adult Swim animated comedy Final Space for the show’s second season. Then, in 2019, Lynch won an Emmy for guest comedy actress for her recurring role on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, playing Sophie Lennon.

Jayma Mays (aka Emma Pillsbury from Glee) signed on for a Bill & Ted movie

Emma Pillsbury, the doe-eyed guidance counselor played by Jayma Mays, made an early exit from Glee in the show’s fifth season. But it turns out that she didn’t want to leave. “It wasn’t my choice. The creators decided to do it,” Mays admitted to Metro. “It’s very sad to be going but I understand why they do it.” She then made the quick transition to starring in The Millers alongside Will Arnett, which ended in 2015.

Her most consistent work from then on was providing the voice for Dulcinea in the children’s show The Adventures of Puss in Boots. During that time, Mays gave birth to her first child, son Jude Jones. In summer 2019, Deadline reported that Mays had been cast in Bill & Ted Face the Music and would be playing Princess Joanna, Bill’s wife. It’ll be very interesting watching her take a tubular adventure!

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