Lea Michele Returning to ‘Glee’ Reboot as Rachel Berry Despite Past Diva Controversy

A familiar voice is headed back to the halls of McKinley High — and fans of one of TV’s most popular musical shows have plenty to sing about.

Lea Michele is returning to Glee, bringing her famous character back to television more than a decade after the original series ended. The actress will reprise her role as Rachel Berry in the upcoming Disney+ and Hulu reboot, Variety confirmed on Wednesday, October 21.

“She’s in,” one source told the outlet.

“It’s still early-ish days, but it feels good and we’re happy to get the band back together,” another said, per the report.

Michele, 40, starred in all six seasons of the original Fox series, which aired from 2009 to 2015. Her character was an ambitious high school singer determined to make it on Broadway.

According to the article, two former castmates, Heather Morris and Chord Overstreet, have also hinted at returning through social media posts, per the report, although their involvement has not been confirmed.

Series creator Ryan Murphy recently revealed, via Entertainment Tonight, that he had written a reboot script with Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan and contacted about 10 original cast members.

According to E! News, Michele previously expressed enthusiasm about returning, saying, “I love ‘Glee.’ I will always love ‘Glee.'”

Her comeback follows years of controversy over her behavior on the original series. In 2020, former Glee castmate Samantha Ware accused Michele of bullying her and making her first television job “a living hell,” via X.

According to People, Michele apologized, saying in a statement that she “clearly acted in ways which hurt other people” and vowed to “be better in the future from this experience.”

Morris also claimed in 2020 that Michele was “very much” “unpleasant to work with,” per People, while actor Dabier Snell claimed the actress “wouldn’t let me sit at the table with the other cast members cause ‘I didn’t belong there,'” per Variety.

As Star previously reported, an insider explained that “Lea has star quality, she has real, measurable talent as an actress and a singer, but she has very little support within the television business.”

The insider added, “With TV and streaming now, Hollywood doesn’t have a lot of room for old-school divas anymore.”

Michele has been married to businessman Zandy Reich since March 2019, and the couple share two children, son Ever, 6, and daughter Emery, 2.