Chord Overstreet Not Returning to Glee

There's been a major shakeup at McKinley High! When Glee returns for its third season Sept. 20, there's one student who won't be roaming the halls. TVLine.com reports that show creators have decided not to renew Chord Overstreet's contract as a series regular. However, a source tells TVLine Overstreet's character, transfer student Sam Evans, could return to the series as an occasional guest star. The sudden casting news comes on the heels of a cryptic Twitter posting the 22-year-old Overstreet sent out Friday, while he and the Glee cast were performing the show's concert tour overseas. "Well it's been a good year. Too bad its over. Time for summer and starting fresh," the actor tweeted. With Overstreet's reported exit comes news that Darren Criss and Harry Shum, Jr. -- who play Blaine and Mike -- will be upgraded to series regulars come season three. As for Glee's original characters -- including Cory Monteith, Lea Michele and Chris Colfer -- creator Ryan Murphy says they'll don caps and gowns this fall as they complete their senior year. "We didn't want to have a show where they were in high school for eight years," Murphy told KIIS-FM's Ryan Seacrest earlier this month. "We really wanted to be true to that experience." Clarifying his comments to TVLine, Murphy explained that he's not necessarily trying to push any of the cast members out deliberately. "The show to me is about the way you express yourself as you start to move out into the world as a fresh, young person," Murphy told TVLine. "Do we really want to have an eight-year [high school] senior? The only way somebody could stay on the show is if they flunk, and that is always a possibility. I think [Heather Morris' character] Brittany is pulling straight Fs."