GLAAD goes “Glee.”
The cast of the beloved musical television series “Glee” is reuniting for a very special tribute to the late actress Naya Rivera.
Pop superstar Demi Lovato, who guest-starred in the show as Santana’s girlfriend, will introduce the long-awaited reunion of the cast of stereotype-crushing show created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan.
On Wednesday, the LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD announced that members of the cast — including Jane Lynch, Darren Criss, Amber Riley and Matthew Morrison — will honor the legacy of Santana Lopez, the popular cheerleader at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio, played by Rivera.
The late Emmy and Grammy-nominated actress and singer died in July 2020, after going on a boat ride with her 4-year-old son at Lake Piru, a man-made reservoir in the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County, California.
Santana, who initially joined the Glee club as a spy for cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Lynch), and started the first season as a minor antagonist, ended up gaining more airtime as the show progressed. By the show’s second season Rivera had been promoted to series regular.
The following year, in November 2011, Santana came out as a lesbian in the episode “I Kissed a Girl.”
The tribute will honor the 10th anniversary of her coming out, highlight the importance of LGBTQ and Latinx representation on television, and also celebrate the impact of Rivera’s character and storylines, according to the organization.
The critically acclaimed comedy-drama was nominated six times for Outstanding Comedy Series at the GLAAD Media Awards, winning the award in both 2010 and 2011.
The cast reunion will be part of the 32nd GLAAD Media Awards.
Hosted by Niecy Nash, and featuring appearances by an impressive list of guest stars — including Dan Levy, Sam Smith, Laverne Cox and JoJo Siwa — this year’s all-virtual ceremony will stream on GLAAD’s YouTube channel at 8 p.m. ET, and on Hulu starting at 10 p.m. ET.
