The return of via a reboot more than a decade after the Ryan Murphy-helmed, totally unhinged phenomenon ended… feels a bit like a plot line, to be honest – very funny, completely unbelievable and an unequivocal thrill. Here are 16 essential episodes to rewatch before the bonkers musical comedy lands back on our screens.
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“Pilot” (season 1, episode 1)
Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da… from the show’s very first episode (and particularly its goosebump-inducing ending), it was clear that it was something special – heightened, madcap performances, illogical twists and about 11 truncated musical numbers, all somehow crammed into a neat 48 minutes.
“Wheels” (season 1, episode 9)
When the school budget won’t cover accessible transportation to the sectionals competition – to accommodate the wheelchair-using Artie (played by the, er, able-bodied actor Kevin McHale) – his fellow glee club members are inspired to “experience life from a different point of view” by using wheelchairs themselves. It all ends with a wheelchair-filled performance of “Proud Mary”. There’s nothing more 2009 than that.
“Sectionals” (season 1, episode 13)
The first mid-season finale brought Amber Riley’s Mercedes shutting down the house with her rendition of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from , Lea Michele’s Rachel belting “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from and the glee club’s first taste of real cutthroat competition. A corker.
“The Power of Madonna” (season 1, episode 15)
In an episode dedicated to Madge, eight of her hits get the treatment, from Jane Lynch’s Sue Sylvester recreating the “Vogue” video to a magical-realist take on “Like a Virgin”, a brass band-led “4 Minutes” and a choir-backed “Like a Prayer”. Deranged and delicious in equal measure.
“Theatricality” (season 1, episode 20)
In this surreal instalment, the gals (plus Chris Colfer’s Kurt) pay tribute to Lady Gaga, while the guys dress up as the members of Kiss… because why not? Oh, and Rachel meets and duets with her birth mother, who is – gasp – played by Idina Menzel.
“Journey to Regionals” (season 1, episode 22)
This first season finale is probably the best-ever episode of : the one featuring a Journey medley, Olivia Newton-John as a competition judge, and Dianna Agron’s Quinn giving birth to her daughter, an excruciating scene which is spliced with Jonathan Groff’s Jesse performing “Bohemian Rhapsody”. As my British colleague Riann Phillip says of this sequence, “That’s cinema.”
“Britney/Brittany” (season 2, episode 2)
The single artist-focused homages continued with this paean to Britney Spears centred on Heather Morris’s deadpan cheerleader Brittany. Put under general anaesthesia for dental work carried out by a dashing John Stamos, she and her classmates experience Britney-centric hallucinations which see them dancing with pythons and getting up close and personal with the real Britney herself. (The pop star actually cameos.) Then they start a sexually-charged riot in the school auditorium with their sultry take on “Toxic”. Obviously.
“Grilled Cheesus” (season 2, episode 3)
The thorny topic of the week is religion, triggered by Cory Monteith’s Finn seeing the face of Jesus on a grilled cheese sandwich. Cue much grappling with ideas around death, faith and atheism set to REM’s “Losing My Religion” and “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” from Yentl.
“The Substitute” (season 2, episode 7)
Why did Gwyneth Paltrow join the cast to play substitute Spanish teacher Holly Holliday, who speaks at length about Lindsay Lohan’s stint in rehab, dresses up as a bipolar Mary Todd Lincoln, and sings a censored version of Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You”, as well as a mash-up of “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Umbrella” on a water-clogged stage? I’m still not really sure, but it did earn her an Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy. (Fun fact: this is also how the Hollywood star met her now husband of eight years, co-creator Brad Falchuk.)
“The Sue Sylvester Shuffle” (season 2, episode 11)
The most-watched episode in history, with 26 million viewers (because it was broadcast straight after the Super Bowl), saw “Thriller” mashed-up with “Heads Will Roll” as the worlds of the glee club and the school’s American football team collided, with predictably chaotic results.
“Blame It On the Alcohol” (season 2, episode 14)
The glee club members learn all about underage binge-drinking and hangovers in this wildly inappropriate and very fun episode, which includes a drunken rendition of “Don’t You Want Me” and a wild performance of “Tik Tok” which ends with projectile vomiting.
“Mash Off” (season 3, episode 6)
Idina Menzel returns for this mash-up special, which includes one of the best songs ever: an ingenious combination of Adele’s “Rumour Has It” and “Someone Like You”. Surprisingly emotional.
“The Spanish Teacher” (season 3, episode 12)
This time, it’s not Gwyneth Paltrow but Ricky Martin – shimmying his way through a Spanish version of “Sexy and I Know It” – who is a language teacher putting Matthew Morrison’s Will Schuester through his paces. Again, because why the hell not?
“Nationals” (season 3, episode 21)
Another standout competition episode, whose highlights include Whoopi Goldberg as a New York performing arts school dean named Carmen Tibideaux, Lindsay Lohan and Perez Hilton as competition judges, and a one-two punch performance of “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” followed by “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”. Bravo.
“The Quarterback” (season 5, episode 3)
A tribute to Cory Monteith, the show’s leading man who’d tragically passed away from a drug and alcohol overdose some three months prior, at the age of 31, this season five tearjerker gave characters (and actors) space to mourn the hero. To its credit, it didn’t shrink from the messiness, confusion and self-reflection that always accompanies grief, either.
“Dreams Come True” (season 6, episode 13)
The show’s final episode wrapped up everyone’s arcs and delivered a series of bizarre bombshells: McKinley High’s conversion into a performing arts school, and a flash-forward from 2015 to 2020 featuring Sue Sylvester’s reelection as Vice President of the United States under Jeb Bush. She then confirms that she’ll be running for the top job in 2024. Hey, maybe was more prescient than we realised?