Initially, she is a shy and insecure performer with a fake stutter, and member of the glee club at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio, where the show is set.

[3] After a few months, Artie forgives Tina but makes sexist comments about her appearance, suggesting that she should begin wearing more revealing clothes if she wants to be with him.

In "Props", when New Directions starts planning a set list for the impending Nationals competition, Tina becomes frustrated because Rachel is again singing lead while she remains stuck in the background.

[10] In the fourth season premiere, "The New Rachel", Tina develops a new sassy personality while it's revealed that she broke up with Mike during the summer after his graduation.

[10][11] She later refuses to try out for the school musical, Grease, when Mike returns to help cast and choreograph it, not wanting to spend time with him, but ultimately accepts the role of Jan.[12] Tina develops an infatuation on her gay, fellow New Directions' member, Blaine.

Tina wins prom queen, but she is emotionally wrecked when a new cheerleader, Bree (Erinn Westbrook), dumps a bucket of slushies on her, in similar fashion to the movie Carrie.

It is revealed that Tina joins the glee club because she and Artie were playing truth or dare with their goth friends in the Pilot's parallel episode "2009".

In casting Glee, series creator Ryan Murphy sought out actors who could identify with the rush of starring in theatrical roles.

"[18] Ushkowitz has created her own backstory for Tina, and believes that she is rebelling against her mother rather than genuinely being a Goth, explaining: "I don't think her room is filled with dark posters and heavy metal stuff—I just think this is a phase she's going through.

[17] McHale described Artie and Tina's relationship as being similar to the one between Cory (Ben Savage) and Topanga (Danielle Fishel) in the ABC comedy–drama Boy Meets World, and believes they will always be together.

[24] Zap2it writer Liz Pardue was pleased with the solo, and Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal hailed the track as showcasing Ushkowitz's "strong crystalline voice".

[31] Though Flandez and the Houston Chronicle's Bobby Hankinson also commented positively on the song, the former thought that Tina's sung interjections became annoying and the latter called it "far from the best of the evening".

[34][35] "Special Education"'s concluding number, a cover version of "Dog Days Are Over" with lead vocals by Ushkowitz and Amber Riley, was favored as its musical highlight.

[36][37] Semigran characterized the decision to have Ushkowitz and Riley perform lead vocals as "unconventional (but oddly fitting)" and named the cover "a winner", while The A.V.

[47][48] Tina sings L-O-V-E with Mike in the "Heart" episode, which The Washington Post's Jen Chaney characterized as "cute and buoyant" and gave an "A−", and HuffPost TV's Crystal Bell called "absolute perfection".

[52][53][54] Rolling Stone journalist Erica Futterman was the most pleased, and wrote: "The richness of her voice removes some of the Lite FM softness embedded in the tune, and it really is great to see Tina get a song that suits her vocal abilities".

[55] Futterman said of Michele and Ushkowitz's "Flashdance... What a Feeling": "there was a glimmer of old-school Glee in the performance, carefree underdog status that made me smile".

[57] Following the broadcast of "Theatricality", "Asian Vampires" became the fifth most discussed topic on the social networking website Twitter, in reference to Tina's storyline.

She highlighted the pairing of Tina and Mike (noting their shared surname, "Chang") and the joke of Jacob Ben Israel (Josh Sussman) assuming they are a couple because they are both Asian.

"[61] Futterman called the short performance "mostly spot-on",[62] and Slezak pointed out: "Why is it that every time Tina sings—remember her sobbing "My Funny Valentine"—things end weirdly?

Club graded the episode "C" and wrote,[65] "It's nice to see Amber Riley, Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Ushkowitz get a chance to perform, but making a spectacle out of it does nothing but point out the show's mistreatment of these characters outside of such special showcases.

For example, the show doesn't address the fact that the three cast members selected for solos on "The Night of Neglect" were all visible minorities, and what that 'neglect' might mean to the series' racial diversity; addressing this would require subtlety the show can't muster, three-dimensionality these characters lack, and consistency that seems futile at this stage in the series development".Reviewing the third season debut episode, The Dallas Morning News's Samantha Urban noted that Murphy failed to deliver on his promise to increase Tina's roles.

[66] "Props", an episode that centered on Tina's neglect, was said to "winkingly acknowledged fan complaints that Ryan Murphy & Co. all too often ignore some of Glee's original players in favor of new and more-hyped flavors" by Slezak.