What Is The 'Glee' Cast Doing After The Series Finale? They're Going In All Kinds Of New Directions

Benoist’s vanilla character may not have been the most-loved in Glee’s history, but the actress hasn’t let that stop her from conquering Hollywood. She had a supporting role opposite Miles Teller in last year’s Oscar-winning indie Whiplash, and she’s currently in production as the lead in the upcoming CBS comic book series Supergirl . (Benoist also has a small role as the true-to-formula “best friend” in next month’s Nicholas Sparks adaptation The Longest Ride .)

As one of the show’s most iconic characters, insecure gay teen Kurt, Colfer impacted many kids’ lives in a positive way. He’ll continue to do that post-Glee… just not on a TV screen. He’s continuing his book deal with Little, Brown publishers (with whom he’s already published three installments in his Land Of Stories series) with a fourth book, titled The Curvy Tree , due out on Oct. 27 of this year.

Last May, it was announced that Colfer would play the title role in Noel , the biopic of playwright Noel Coward’s life also starring Ian McKellen and Vanessa Redgrave. There hasn’t been any news on the film since then, but hopefully now that Glee has wrapped, we’ll be hearing more about this exciting project.

Blaine Anderson may have been cut from NYADA following his break-up with Kurt, but his portrayer is having no such troubles. Next month, Criss will be heading back to the Great White Way for his second stint on Broadway (following his three-week run in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying in 2012). He’s taking over the lead role in the Tony-winning revival of Hedwig And The Angry Inch , fitting into the fishnets and high heels previously worn by Neil Patrick Harris, Andrew Rannells, Michael C. Hall, and the original Hedwig himself, John Cameron Mitchell. Criss will portray the transgender rocker for three months starting on April 29.

(It would seem that some casting directing heard our prayers.)

After a surprise resurfacing in Glee’s final season, Rachel’s Broadway soulmate (and Lea Michele’s real-life bestie) will be heading back to HBO, where he headlines the romantic dramedy Looking(which has its own season finale this Sunday). No official word yet on a Season 3 renewal, although I’m keeping my fingers crossed. (And I’m not the only one.)

Groff will also presumably return to voice Kristoff in the just-announced Frozen sequel, alongside fellow Glee guest star Idina Menzel.

Like Groff, Gustin followed up his recurring role on Glee by headlining his very own TV show. The conniving Warbler donned a spandex suit to become the DC hero Barry Allen in The CW’s über-popular comic book series The Flash , which has already been renewed for a second season.

Jenner has gone from dyslexic football player to successful screenwriter, penning the script of the upcoming indie film Billy Boy, in which he also stars alongside his real-life fiancée Melissa Benoist. Even more impressively, Jenner will then star in That’s What I’m Talking About, writer/director Richard Linklater’s follow-up to 2014’s highly-acclaimed Boyhood. Linklater describes the film, about a college student who falls in with some rowdy baseball players, as a “spiritual sequel” to his 1993 hit Dazed And Confused . The young cast also includes Teen Wolf ’s Tyler Hoechlin, The Boy Next Door’s Ryan Guzman, and Ringer’s Zoey Deutch.

Glee may have inexplicably discarded this once-promising character (and her follow-up show, Mixology, didn’t fare very well, either), but Lengies isn’t letting that hold her back. You can catch her on the big screen later this year in the Zac Efron-starring romantic EDM drama We Are Your Friends , alongside Wes Bentley (American Horror Story), Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead), Shiloh Fernandez (Evil Dead), and Emily Ratajkowski (Gone Girl).

Tracksuits. Bullhorns. Protein shakes. You think being in a musical dramedy TV show is hard? Try being the iconic villain of said TV show, that’s hard! Fortunately, Lynch isn’t wasting any time after hanging up her unflattering workout attire for the last time. She’s already signed on to star in the CBS pilot Angel From Hell , where she’ll play “brassy and flamboyant” Amy, who’s either a guardian angel… or just a crazy person. (Or both?)

The reason we’ve been seeing much less of McKinley’s OCD guidance counselor these past couple of seasons (and a lot more of the back of awkward stand-ins’ heads) is because Mays joined the cast of the Will Arnett comedy The Millers. Then CBS unexpectedly cancelled that show late last year… but Mays wasn’t out of work for long, quickly joining the already-impressive cast of Netflix’s upcoming original series, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp . We already know the entire original cast of the 2001 comedy is returning for the series; Mays will play new character Jessica, alongside other Wet Hot newbies like Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, and Chris Pine.

In July of last year, McHale left Artie’s wheelchair behind to host the British comedy panel show Virtually Famous, centered around viral videos. (A “panel show” is a format that doesn’t really exist in the United States, but Who’s Line Is It Anyway? is probably our closest equivalent.) In Nov. 2014, the U.K. channel E4 renewed Virtually Famous for two more seasons, so McHale will be busy with that for the foreseeable future. He’s also due to star alongside Aaron Tveit (Les Misérables) in They Might Be Kennedys , an ’80s comedy about two friends who escape their lives by pretending to be John and Ted Kennedy.

Lea Michele may be leaving Rachel Berry behind, but she isn’t straying very far from the Gleeverse. For her first job after the role that made her a star, Michele has taken a part in Scream Queens , the next television project from Glee creator Ryan Murphy… airing on Glee’s network, FOX, to boot! She’s joining Abigail Breslin, Emma Roberts (American Horror Story), Diego Boneta (Rocky Of Ages), Keke Palmer (Masters Of Sex), Oliver Hudson (Nashville), Niecy Nash (The Mindy Project), as well as singers Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas, and the original Scream Queen herself, Jamie Lee Curtis.

Lest you worry that Michele’s new role will be too Glee-esque, the actress herself is here to assuage your fears: ”You won’t see any signs of Glee in this show,” she says. ”My character [Brittany] is out-of-control crazy, insane and hilarious, and it’s been so fun to play.”

Morris gave birth to her first child, Elijah, in Sept. 2013 (the reason why her screen time on Glee was drastically reduced post-Season 4). But the wicked dancer has no plans to just be a stay-at-home mom: she’s set to appear in the TV movie Romantically Speaking , where she’ll co-star with Mean Girls’ Jonathan Bennett (yes — Aaron Samuels himself!) as a radio personality relationship expert.

Like a certain hair gel-loving Warbler, Morrison is also heading back to Broadway! While Darren Criss struts around on the set of Hedwig, Morrison will be starring in Finding Neverland , the musical adaptation of the 2004 Johnny Depp film. Morrison will be playing Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie alongside Kelsey Grammer as the man who inspired Hook and Laura Michelle Kelly (of Broadway’s Mary Poppins) in the Kate Winslet role.

This will be Morrison’s eighth time on the Great White Way, after roles that include the original Link Larkin in Hairspray, Fabrizio in The Light In The Piazza (for which he received a Tony nomination), and Lt. Cable in the recent revival of South Pacific.

On Glee, Newell broke boundaries with his portrayal of transgender teen Unique… and now the 22-year-old actor with the powerhouse voice is setting the house music scene on fire with his cover of Robin S.’s classic “Show Me Love” (in collaboration with DJ Matvey Emerson). The song, which just dropped yesterday, has MTV singing Newell’s praises, calling his vocals “amazing,” proclaiming that the musician is “kind of having a moment right now,” and extolling his “flawlessness” and his general “slaying.”

Every time O’Malley appeared onscreen as Kurt’s lovable dad, viewers knew copious amounts of tears wouldn’t be far behind. So it will be interesting to see the actor in his next part, in the hard-hitting sports drama Concussion . About the controversies surrounding head injuries within the NFL, the film stars Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Luke Wilson, Albert Brooks (Drive), Stephen Moyer (True Blood), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle), David Morse (Mad Men), Paul Reiser (Whiplash), and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost).

Don’t worry, you haven’t seen that trouty mouth for the last time. You can next catch Overstreet and his froggy lips in the indie dramedy Fourth Man Out , in which he stars alongside Parker Young (Enlisted, Suburgatory) as one in a group of blue-collar friends from a working class town who’s shocked when his car mechanic friend comes out of the closet.

During her downtime between appearances during Glee’s fifth season, Riley competed on — and won — Season 17 of Dancing With The Stars . (Looks like all those big production numbers really paid off!) The singer/actress hasn’t yet announced her next project, though rumors of a solo album have abounded for years. Now new speculation is joining the Amber-Riley-rumor-mill, as people whisper about whether or not she’ll be offered a role on Empire’s second season. After all, she already plays a successful recording artist on one FOX show — you wouldn’t even have to change her character! It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to imagine diva-tastic Mercedes Jones within the over-the-top Empire ensemble.

When asked about this very possibility on the talk show The Real , Riley responded, “I know Lee Daniels, and I love him, and I would love to be on Empire.” Somebody make this happen, stat!

Everyone’s favorite acid-tongued Cheerio isn’t letting the recent announcement that she and husband Ryan Dorsey are expecting a child slow her down one bit. Rivera will be returning to co-host several episodes of The View after her successful guest stints over the past few months. Not only that, but the actress also nabbed a recurring role on Lifetime’s soapy drama Devious Maids as Blanca, “a new maid in the neighborhood who has landed a job with the seemingly picture-perfect Beverly Hills family. But she soon discovers a terrible secret — something that could change her life forever.” Dun, dun, DUNNN!

Glee fans were consternated when sexy dancer Mike Chang was pretty much the only alum not to return in the Season 6 episode “Homecoming.” But there was actually a very good reason Mike wasn’t at McKinley: Shum, Jr. was busy in New Zealand shooting Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend, the sequel to Ang Lee’s 2000 martial arts film. Starring Michelle Yeoh from the original Crouching Tiger, The Green Legend will be released on Aug. 28 on both IMAX screens and Netflix streaming simultaneously.

Kitty was the only one of Season 4’s new New Directioners to survive all the way to Season 6; but will Tobin survive her next gig? The blonde cheerleader will next be seen on the March 30 episode of NCIS: Los Angeles, and one-episode guest roles on crime procedurals are typically fatal… But given that the episode is titled “Blaze Of Glory” and her character’s name is “Blaze Talcott,” I’m willing to bet that she’ll have a fairly major role to play in the hour. “When a missile test is hijacked and sent off course, the team searches for the hacking group responsible for the attack with the help of a young computer specialist Hetty brings in to assist the team,” reads the press release. Tobin is playing that “young computer specialist” — Is it too much to hope that she might translate this guest part into an actual recurring role?

Ushkowitz doesn’t have any new projects lined up on her resume just yet, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t staying busy. In fact, the 28-year-old has been channeling all of her post-Glee energy into charity work. She recently co-founded the Kindred Foundation with actress Samantha Futerman (Kroll Show), a support foundation for adoptees. (Ushkowitz herself was adopted from Seoul, South Korea by New Yorker parents.) Earlier this month, the Foundation held its inaugural fundraiser, featuring appearances from Glee cast mates Darren Criss, Kevin McHale, Kristin Chenoweth, and John Stamos, as well as fellow TV actresses Emma Roberts (American Horror Story) and Sarah Hyland (Modern Family).