14 DAY TRIAL // Fans of the incredibly popular television series “Glee” must be heartbroken right now: co-creator Ryan Murphy has revealed that three of the main stars of the show, Lea Michele, Chris Colfer and Cory Monteith, will not return for season 4.
Unlike other television projects that last for many years, with “Glee,” the decision had nothing to do with money issues or diva demands from the cast, Murphy says in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
As much as it may pain fans, the decision had to do with keeping the show as “real” as possible – and you can’t have that without severing some ties and cutting loose members of the cast, says the series’ creator.
Once season 4 premieres, fans are to expect to see more characters leaving than staying, he stresses. Unfortunately, that includes the three aforementioned favorites.
“You can keep them on the show for six years and people will criticize you for not being realistic, or you can be really true to life and say when they started the show they were very clearly sophomores and they should graduate at the end of their senior year,” Murphy explains.
Taking out Michele, Colfer and Monteith also means not falling into a routine with “Glee,” staying true to one of the many things that have made this show such an incredible hit.
“We’ve never done anything by the book. We made that decision and I involved Chris and Lea and they thought that was a good idea. They both trust the writing and trust me and felt that it would be great to have an open and closed experience for them to go out while they were on top,” Murphy says.
He’s already told the new writers about the decision and, he promises, they believe this will eventually work out in the best interest of the show, leading to a boost in ratings.
“We already made the decision before the new writers came in, but everybody likes where we’re taking it and what we’re writing toward,” he says.
On September 20, when the new season premieres, fans will also learn the names of the other characters that will graduate and leave.