'Glee' Actors Not Leaving Show

As it turns out, the three main stars of Fox's Glee – Lea Michele, Corey Monteith and Chris Colfer – will not be leaving the show as originally reported. Creator Ryan Murphy had told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show in June that because the stars' characters were sophomores during the first season, they are set to graduate at the end of season three. Most listeners interpreted this to mean Glee would be singing bye-bye-bye to Rachel, Finn and Kurt. The shocking news caused an uproar among Glee's wide fan base.

Not so fast, said producer Dante Di Loreto at Comic-Con this past weekend, back-peddling on Murphy's headline-making comment. “From the very beginning, we knew the kids were going to graduate,” Di Loreto began, careful not to fully negate what Murphy said. “The idea was not have the kids in school for eight years. That shouldn’t have been a news story, because it was interpreted that if they’re graduating, they must be leaving the show, and no it doesn’t mean they’re leaving the show. Just like, when you graduated high school, you may not have left town right away. I stayed in town as a delivery boy."

Di Loreto hammered home the fact that the actors have standard, seven-year contracts, which means that we can expect to keep seeing them around for some time, regardless of where their characters go. "Hopefully we’ll all be working together for a long time." However, Chord Overstreet, who plays Sam, is still definitely leaving the show. He will not be returning in the fall.