This whole Chord Overstreet situation on Glee has me very confused. The drama began on Friday when FOX announced that it had promoted Darren Criss and Harry Shum, Jr. to series regulars, but not Chord Overstreet.
This led many to speculate that the show was dumping him, and that fire was fueled when Overstreet himself tweeted: “well its been a good yr too bad its over, time for summer and starting fresh.” Reading between the complete lack of punctuation or capitalization, it seemed that he was commenting on the end of his days on Glee, and the long Fourth of July weekend passed as fans started petitions and campaigns to keep him on Glee, the best being the #DontCuttheChord hash tag.
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Now today, there’s a new wrinkle in the story, as TVLine reports that Glee is still interested in keeping Overstreet around in the same capacity as last season: as a recurring guest star.
A source tells TVLine that “If Chord wants to appear on Glee, the choice is his. The Glee writers like his Sam character, and have plans to write for him. He and his reps have been told that he is welcome back to Glee, and everyone hopes he will show up on August 10 when filming begins.”
If possible, that quote from an anonymous source is even more confounding than Overstreet’s tweet. It reeks of passive aggressiveness, like Glee is trying to dig itself out of a hole with fans by turning it back on the actor. Maybe I’m wrong, but this sounds far more like damage control than a clarification on the misinterpretation of Friday’s news.
Also, if they don’t know if he’s going to show up for filming, how can they possibly write a script that includes his character? I’m no TV producer, but I think it’s important to make sure actors are available and willing to work before you write a storyline for them.
Only time will tell whether this was just a temporary case of confusion or if there’s a real conflict here, but as much as I love Chord Overstreet and Sam, I’m not sure returning is the right move for him. While Glee did take two years to promote Harry Shum, Jr. to a series regular, Darren Criss already got the bump after a lot less time on the show than Overstreet (13 episodes compared to Overstreet’s 21).
In a recent interview with TVGuide, Ryan Murphy explained that he thinks all of the New Directions are seniors, with the exception of Sam, meaning that if most of them graduate at the end of season 3, Sam might be one of the only kids left at McKinley. Given that news, it’s a mystery why the show wouldn’t lock him in as a series regular since he’s one of the only current stars with the potential to stick around for season 4.
I view these latest comments from Glee as pure P.R., trying to fend off some of the intense hatred and anger raised by the possible departure of Overstreet.
For more updates as this story develops, be sure to check out TVLine or follow Chord’s official Twitter account, though be wanred that he’s a tad dull when it comes to wit.
Source: TVLine
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
