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Fans of ’00s television history history have been sent into a meltdown at the reunion of two of its most beloved stars.
Actors Chris Colfer and Mike O’Malley played father and son Kurt and Burt Hummel on the musical-comedy-drama series Glee.
Actor-turned-author Chris appeared in all six series of the show – which ran from 2009 – 2015 – as it followed Kurt in his journey of self-acceptance and discovery as an initially closeted and bullied young man.
After embracing himself, Kurt would become one half of the popular duo ‘Klaine’ – the romance he shared with schoolmate Blaine Anderson, played by Darren Criss.
One important part of Kurt’s self-actualisation was his relationship with macho mechanic dad Burt, who overcame his more stereotypical attributes to become one of Kurt’s most vocal supporters.
Ten years on from the show’s end, and the pair have shared a surprise reunion after bumping into each other at an airport.
In a post shared to his Instagram and Threads account, Chris shared a snap of his chance meeting with his one-time screen dad.
‘Always love running into family at the airport!’ Chris wrote in the caption, tagging in Mike’s account. ‘Love ya, Dad!
In the pic, Chris and Mike shared a selfie, with a comically unsmiling Chris snapping back into character to point a finger at his screen son.
In the comments below, Mike responded: ‘This kid is a rock star! The kid who was once the kicker on the football team could play QB now!’
He continued: ‘Couldn’t be more proud of this dude or in admiration of the achievements CC has already collected. Just the start! Book tour now!’
In the comments below, fans shared their thoughts on the family reunion, with Lola_slaythehousedown writing: ‘people don’t know how iconic this is.’
‘The father and son duo the world needed back together again 🥺 Teenage me and adult me, is LIVING ❤️’ agreed katieannduffy.
‘Omg 😭 So many emotions right now 🥹’ said brubiabreu.
‘this is the shining light i needed on my timeline this week,’ commented sunnbaabyy.
‘This is tender and we need it!!!!’ replied blacktresscomedy.
katiemichell.1 said: ‘This healed a part of me I didn’t know needed healed.’
Since graduating from Glee (and earning a Golden Globe in 2011 for his performance), Chris went on to become a prolific writer of children’s fiction, with 20 titles to his name as of 2025.
This includes his work on the New York Times-bestselling series The Land of Stories, and sci-fi series Roswell Johnson Saves the World.
As for TV dad Mike, he’s been keeping very busy since Glee, appearing in hit series The Good Place, Snowpiercer, Suits: LA and Abbott Elementary.
His film work includes the Tom Hanks biopic Sully, and the upcoming action comedy Eenie Meanie.
The Glee cast has been hit with a series of profound tragedies over the years, including the death of Corey Monteith in 2013, and Naya Rivera in 2020.
Last year, Chris spoke of how he was warned against coming out during the first series of Glee.
‘I grew up in a very conservative town where being openly gay was dangerous,’ he said during an appearance on US talk show The View.
‘I remember when I got on Glee, the role was written for me, and I did not know what the role was gonna be.
‘So I opened the script and when I read the script for the first time was when I saw that it was an openly gay character and I was terrified.’
He continued: ‘When I started filming the show I had a lot of people tell me, “Do not come out whatever you do because it will ruin your career.” So I hid for a little bit.
‘But I also told them, “I can’t hide it with my voice… I’m more effeminate than most people. I can’t hide it.” And they said, “Don’t worry. As long as you never address it, you’ll be rewarded for it in the end.”‘
Everything changed for Chris following an emotional encounter with a young fan.
He revealed: ‘This little boy secretly slid me an envelope when his parents weren’t looking and I opened it up and it was a little note that said, “Thank you”
‘And there was a little paperclip chain that was the colors of the rainbow, and in that moment I knew I have to come out.’
He ultimately did so as a guest on comedian Chelsea Handler’s show in December 2009, aged 19.
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