Welcome to the Club! Glee Bumps Up Newest Cast Members to Series Regulars & Demotes Four Original Stars

As one might expect with a long-running TV show set in high school, Glee is making some big cast changes. According to Deadline.com, the FOX series has bumped up the current New Directions kids Melissa Benoist (Marley), Blake Jenner (Ryder), Jacob Artist (Jake), Becca Tobin (Kitty) and Alex Newell (Unique) to series regulars. Glee returns to FOX in September 2013 for its fifth season.

And while the new kids are getting bigger storylines, a handful of the original stars (who “graduated McKinley High”) have been downgraded from series regulars to guest stars. Fans shouldn’t expect to see too much of Heather Morris (Brittany), Mark Salling (Puck), Amber Riley (Mercedes) and Harry Shum Jr. (Mike) in the show’s fifth season. They join Dianna Agron and Jayma Mays, who were also downgraded during the show’s fourth season.

This news should not be shocking to Gleeks since Riley, Agron and Shum made very limited appearances last season, and Morris announced she was pregnant. Mays leaves McKinley behind to co-star with Will Arnett and Margo Martindale in the new CBS sitcom The Millers. No word yet on Salling’s next project. 

No word on stars Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith, Darren Criss, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Naya Rivera, Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison, though it is assumed they are maintaining their current status as series regulars.

Relive the “Glory Days” with Glee’s original New Directions in the video below.