It’s a question every producer of a school-themed show must face. Do we ignore reality in order to keep our stars on camera, or do we let them graduate in order to keep some measure of integrity? Glee, despite its completely unrealistic bouts of song and dance, has bravely opted to let its stars go.
(PHOTOS: Glee’s Broadway Roots)
Show creator Ryan Murphy called into Ryan Seacrest’s radio show to discuss the upcoming third season. When asked if he was truly thinking about cleaning house on the show, Murphy said he was indeed:
“That is true. I don’t think of it in terms of eliminating or replacing. … The thing that I wanted to do and the cast wanted to do, we didn’t want to have a show where they were in high school for 8 years. We really wanted it to be true to that experience. We thought it would be really cool if we were true to the timeline.”
Staying true means, to at least some extent, dropping most of the characters who have become synonymous with the show—yes, that includes people like Rachel (played by Lea Michele) and Finn (played by Cory Monteith, who is already pushing 30 in real life). But other series, such as Friday Night Lights, have successfully given their high school shows a second generation. And as the LA Times points out, getting a new batch leaves the original crew “open for movies, albums, reality projects, making some milkshakes for the paparazzi and then any inevitable comebacks.”