Chord Overstreet Staying On 'Glee'? Producers Offer Options

Upon last week's news that "Glee" would be largely jettisoning Chord Overstreet -- or, Sam Evans -- from the show, Gleeks across the web shook in anger and sadness, tweeting their emotional farewells to Trouty Mouth, as they call him on the show.

Turns out, it may not be necessary to sing goodbye just yet.

It was always known that Overstreet had options on his contract to return for a few episodes, but it sounds like the intended future for him at the show is larger than first assumed. TV Line is reporting that Overstreet can continue on in his recurring player role and perhaps then be elevated to the permanent cast.

"His option to be a series regular was just not picked up at this time," a source told TV Line. "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."

In fact, the source said, they could even bump him up to regular by mid-season.

The controversy, as it were, comes because Darren Criss, who like Overstreet joined the show in its second season, has already been elevated to full cast. But his character was the breakout star of the season, while it's taken Harry Shum, the other cast member elevated, two full seasons to get bumped up, as it would Overstreet.

In his first year, Overstreet's character became integral part of the season, featuring in an is-or-isn't-he gay storyline before -- unsuccessfully -- offering cheerleader Quinn a promise ring.

For more, click over to TV Line.

Comments

[Abby Phillips]

06:50 PM on 07/31/2011

Why would anyone WANT to leave Glee??

[redbud9]

02:58 PM on 07/08/2011

He's a cutie, hope he stays on. They can get rid of the dancing guy who can't sing. He just takes up space.

[vaf112675]

03:34 AM on 07/08/2011

Hope he comes back. We need to see were the secret relationship hinted at in the season finale goes.

[glowbug25]

01:49 PM on 07/07/2011

I stopped watching Glee; it is not as good as it was in the beginning.

[LindyK]

11:44 AM on 07/07/2011

So the point of this misnamed article is that nothing has changed.

[chaszer]

10:41 AM on 07/07/2011

Something went wrong with the Sam character. In the first few episodes, he was introduced as a major character, but right after the scene where Kurt lets him out of singing the duet, the writers no longer knew what to with him. So they keep throwing pasta at the wall, but nothing stuck. They have him date Quinn, then drop that to restart the Quinn/Finn nonsense. They give him body issues (yeah-after showing him in the shower constantly), claim he's insecure that he is not smart (did anyone see any evidence of that?), then start making fun of his looks. It wasn't until the final few episodes that they finally gave him a storyline (notably one that easily allows him to leave the show).

Something else was supposed to happen between Sam and Kurt, and when it didn't happen, the writers lost interest in Sam. My guess is that Sam was supposed to tell Kurt he knew exactly what he was doing, sang the duet, and the storyline would have been how would Finn and his jock buddies have dealt with a non-stereotypical gay guy.

[aspertame2]

12:51 PM on 07/07/2011

Which would have made for an interesting story: a decent, even popular! - & non-self hating guy still working on coming to terms with being gay in a place and time when it still takes considerable courage to do that, especially if able to "pass" for straight. Instead we got Karofsky the bullying self-hating gay stereotype (softened at the end of the season, but made more 3-dimensional? hm...) and Blaine, the perfect gay boyfriend from the GLBT utopia all-boys prep school. In Lima, OH. Riiiiiiiiiight.

Not that Glee has ever even pretended to be realistic, much, but the writers are just plain lazy, subordinating character continuity to whatever whim they're pursuing THIS week, and decent actors shouldn't get the blame for the hot mess that results.

Speaking of which, the amazing Jane Lynch needs to lobby for her character to DIE, then reappear as her own long-lost twin sister, who is an actual person of some kind.

[Futurama]

04:50 PM on 07/07/2011

"a decent, even popular! - & non-self hating guy still working on coming to terms with being gay in a place and time when it still takes considerab­le courage to do that, especially if able to "pass" for straight"

Why do you consider Sam to be "decent" but not Kurt or Blaine? I don't think either one is "self-hating" either. and Blaine was seen struggling with his sexuality so he wasn't just the "perfect gay boyfriend". In fact, he and Kurt were only together for the last 7 episodes of the season (He was introduced in episode 6 and they didn't start dating until episode 16)

[YourNewNeighbor]

06:03 AM on 07/07/2011

Wow!

It's the "giant Glee shakeup drama"!

I'll let you know if I ever watch the show and then you can all fill me in on why I should be interested.

[paul87920]

02:10 PM on 07/07/2011

Then what's the point of reading the article and replying? Just curious.

[YourNewNeighbor]

02:24 PM on 07/07/2011

Because I live in the world, and I'm being offered and peddled certain information, in the media, environments and circumstances that I'm looking at and listening to, and I enjoy making wry, humorous, pertinent and sarcastic comments about some of it.

A question to you in return: Why the giantStickUpYourAsss? Just curious.

[Sara Janmaat]

04:22 AM on 07/07/2011

Is-he-isn't-he storyline? One, maybe two episodes where Kurt got his knickers in a twist about the gorgeous blonde. Seriously, that does not a storyline make. I'm happy to see everyone coming back for the third season, given the majority will be booted for 'fresh faces' in Season Four. Ryan Murphy is a damned fool for what he's told us about his plans for the fourth season. You know, Joss Whedon took Buffy to college and that was extremely successful. Take notes, Ryan.

[Amy Darnell]

12:44 AM on 07/07/2011

If you 'need' to cut someone, please cut Lauren or Quinn. They're just so very tiresome....

[amityelizabeth]

08:34 PM on 07/06/2011

I really hope that now they can continue his original story, Sam struggling with his sexuality and eventually coming out and dating Kurt. Their potential relationship would be incredible and Sam's coming out story would be so inspiring and helpful to the thousands of real-life LGBT teenagers who aren't flamboyant and fashion loving (Kurt and Blaine) or violent bullies (Karofsky) but are just normal, everyday kids. Their story deserves to be told, too.

I'm offended on Chord's behalf that you name Darren the "breakout star of the season", implying that he is more loved or more talented than Chord. Neither of these things are true, he just as a much more vocal fanbase and a large group of fans who only like him because he's Kurt's boyfriend.

It's my belief that Darren was promoted over Chord because being contracted as a regular means he must remain on the show. Chord doesn't have a lot of other options right now so it isn't really necessary for Glee to up his status. Darren, however, has lots of other options - one example is Starkid, the YouTube musical company that brought him his original fame. Darren brings a lot of money to the show - one of the few benefits of having an army of crazy, rabid fangirls - so Glee doesn't want to lose him.

In the end, though, I'm just happy that Sam's still on the show. He's my favourite character and I probably wouldn't have continued to watch Glee if

[Futurama]

01:11 AM on 07/07/2011

'I'm offended on Chord's behalf that you name Darren the "breakout star of the season", implying that he is more loved or more talented than Chord. "

Darren's rendition of "Teenage Dream" is the biggest selling song from the series, so yeah he was the breakout star!

"It's my belief that Darren was promoted over Chord because being contracted as a regular means he must remain on the show."

Since we're tossing out speculation, I believe Chord or his management team balked at playing a gay character. He already said he didn't know that was what the writers had in mind when they hired him. And Chord has options, his dad is a famous songwriter so he has connections in the industry.

And Blaine and Kurt are "just normal, everyday kids". What makes you think Sam fits that description but not them?

[amityelizabeth]

02:03 AM on 07/07/2011

Darren's rendition of Teenage Dream isn't actually the most selling Glee song anymore - it was when it came out, but it's currently the 14th most sold. In fact, Chord's Billionaire has sold more copies now.

The fact remains that almost all fans of Darren were either fans of his before Glee (and therefore shouldn't count towards him being a "breakout" star, because they're not fans because of his role as Blaine) or people who like him because he plays a gay character/Kurt's boyfriend.

Chord auditioned for the role of Kurt's boyfriend. The public knew that the new character called Sam would play Kurt's boyfriend long before Chord was cast, there's no way that Chord didn't know. He spoke about it in interviews, saying that he was looking forward to it and even saying that he could be comfortable taking part in a gay sex scene. Only a few months ago he was asked what he thought of Sam and Kurt together and he said he thought their relationship would be "Badass". The "Chord is homophobic" argument is horribly offensive and has absolutely nothing to back it up.

[amityelizabeth]

02:03 AM on 07/07/2011

"Normal, everyday kids" probably wasn't the best choice of words on my part, and I apologize for that. What I meant was that Sam being gay would break stereotypes. Kurt and Blaine are the classic "gay kid", they love musicals and fashion, they're well-dressed, they're "dapper". There's nothing at all wrong with being stereotypical but the fact remains that there's no shortage of gay teens like them on TV. Karfosky is the same - the self-hating, homophic, closeted bully is a storyline that has been done over and over again. It's nothing new.

Sam - the nice, nerdy, All-American jock - being gay would defy stereotypes and provide a source of inspiration for everyone out there who isn't like Kurt and Blaine or Karofsky. People like that a sorely underrepresented in the media and I know multiple people who are just like Sam and who were so excited at having someone like them in a popular TV show.

Sam's current storyline with his poverty and the hints at his body image issues are fantastic, and he is already an inspiring character. But he could be so much more and the writers promised that he would be, and I will be extremely disappointed if they take that away.

[Sara Janmaat]

04:26 AM on 07/07/2011

I respect that you want Kurt and Sam to be together, that is very sweet and I also know what you're talking about. Ryan Murphy's ideal of GBLT representation for the boys has been sterotypical and downright insulting at times. But I'm a Santana girl and I think that has been handled quite well. Santana wasn't the b---h she portrayed herself as and once she began accepting who she was, that persona melted away. I think they do need to have someone who is 100% down to earth come to realize their sexuality, but sadly, this is a comedy. It would be far too serious to have someone 'average' and 'real' come out. I know they did Kurt's father having a heart attack, and handled it quite well, but yea... I also don't think that the non-gay viewers could stomach another GBLT teen. I could, don't get me wrong! And maybe non-gay viewers could, but I don't want to see another character slammed with so much hatred and fear on a show that's done a great amount of visibility for the community.

[Futurama]

04:51 AM on 07/07/2011

What will be interesting is if Glee gets a gay teacher, other than the creepy self-proclaimed "predatory gay" Sandy Ryerson aka The Pink Dagger.

And for Rachel's dads I'm hoping he can convince Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon to portray Mr. and Mr. Berry

[uclagrrl]

07:36 PM on 07/06/2011

I don't get why this show is so popular. Other than the fact that the characters are oddballs and openly gay, I'm not seeing it. It's not that great a show.

[Futurama]

07:23 PM on 07/06/2011

Please no more Justin Bieber covers.

[Lucky90503]

06:56 PM on 07/06/2011

The creators of Glee are becoming more and more ridiculous by the day, and need to get over themselves (this means you, Ryan Murphy.)

[Sara Janmaat]

04:28 AM on 07/07/2011

Agreed. Ryan Murphy did what many others have done before him - he let fame go to his head. He was momentarily a Hollywood sweetheart and it went straight to his ego, so he started acting like some diva. And it could lead to seeing one of the finest shows in a long time dramatically going down hill.

[Greenjar]

06:06 PM on 07/06/2011

They knew how popular he was. This was a publicity stunt.

[Amy Darnell]

12:44 AM on 07/07/2011

So blatantly obvious now. They've been 'leaking' information all summer to boost the ratings for the "Glee Project" and now this just smacks of "Don't be mad at us, if Chord doesn't come back it's 'his fault'... Done with this show in such a major way. Ridiculous. Murphy ruined Nip/Tuck and he's done the same here. Please Ryan Murphy... watch the first two episodes of the series and see what you once had vs. the drivel you're pushing now.

[Futurama]

01:18 AM on 07/07/2011

Funny but I don't remember Chord being in the first two or twenty two episodes when you say the show was still good and not drivel. Maybe adding Sam is what "ruined" the show?

[gemini68]

05:51 PM on 07/06/2011

I love the back-tracking now that the producers realize how angry everyone was about this. But if it keeps him on the show then great. I would really love to see what they do with Sam and Mercedes' romance.

[Chelsea Scarbrough]

06:09 PM on 07/06/2011

I think the media outlets just misinterpreted what the original news meant for the show and for Overstreet's character. The producers have not changed their decision, just clarified it.