’s Gay Not Returning for Season 4

Bad news for all you Gleeks: Series regulars Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, and Chris Colfer won't be returning for the fourth season of the hit Fox series Glee. Series cocreator Ryan Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter that the characters played by those three very popular cast members will be graduating at the end of the fall season.

"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 told the Reporter.

Murphy added that planning for the future beyond high school will be a major theme during season 3, noting that "more characters are leaving than are staying" when graduation time comes at the season's end.

Both Michele and Monteith were in on the decision, Murphy says. But Glee star (and just announced Emmy nominee) Chris Colfer, who plays gay teen Kurt Hummel, told Access Hollywood that he learned that his upcoming departure by reading it on Twitter.

"I didn't necessarily know that it was going to be our last season next year," Colfer said. "I knew something like that was coming up eventually. I mean, we can't be there forever. I don't necessarily want to leave so soon, but I mean, it's fine. It's what it is. And all things come to an end."