As previously, the new season will have a "show-within-a-show" format featuring the characters played by Lea Michele and Chris Colfer at a performing arts school in New York City at the same time as the series will continue focusing on McKinley High in Ohio. Oscar nominee Kate Hudson and Broadway veteran and Emmy Award winner Sarah Jessica Parker will be featured in multi-episode arcs as part of the New York storyline.

The series will continue to star theater veterans Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch.