Glee club
The series features the New Directions glee club at the fictional William McKinley High School (WMHS) in the town of Lima, Ohio, and some of the graduates of McKinley. The season focuses on the former glee club member, Rachel Berry, who returns to McKinley after her TV Pilot bombs to rebuild the disbanded glee club. The central characters are the former glee club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), school principal Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), and Glee club graduates Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss), Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale), and Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet). Amber Riley returns to the main cast as Mercedes Jones and Dot-Marie Jones, who portrays Shannon Beiste, the school's football coach, was promoted to the main cast after four years as a recurring character. Jenna Ushkowitz, Naya Rivera, Becca Tobin, Jacob Artist, Melissa Benoist, Blake Jenner, and Alex Newell who have portrayed Tina Cohen-Chang, Santana Lopez, Kitty Wilde, Jake Puckerman, Marley Rose, Ryder Lynn, and Wade "Unique" Adams, were demoted from the main cast this season with Ushkowitz, Rivera, and Tobin recurring throughout the season, Newell appeared in one mid season episode then joined Artist and Jenner for a brief appearance in the series finale. Benoist, however, does not appear at all in this season.