Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Chris Colfer to Return for Season Four of Glee; Spin-Off Scrapped

Despite initial reports that graduating Glee seniors Rachel (Lea Michele), Finn (Cory Monteith) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) would possibly depart the show, the actors will remain with the series for its upcoming fourth season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The characters' potential spin-off has also been officially nixed. 

"[Glee creator Ryan Murphy] has come up with a brilliant, ground-breaking idea for how to include us graduating high school seniors into next season and it's really exciting," Michele told the newspaper. "We don't want to give away the new formula, but I'm excited and Cory is so excited to be coming back next year. When we heard Ryan's plan, it really made us even more thrilled."

In July, Murphy first announced that Michele, Monteith and Colfer would depart the show after their characters graduated from McKinley High. Days later the series' executive producer Brad Falchuk revealed the actors were likely remaining on the show. Murphy and Falchuk had also discussed the possibility of a new series following the characters' post-high school life in New York City. 

Glee returns from hiatus on January 17 on FOX.