Good. Times. At last night's Glee Sing-A-Long Under the Stars, thousands of fans and TV Academy members got the chance to ask questions of the actors and producers as part of a celebration of the show's 12 Emmy nominations. And thanks to one particularly brave (is it appropriate to call an 8-year-old girl "ballsy?") young fan who took the mic, we also got a response to the question so many of you have been begging to know:
Why isn't Chord Overstreet coming back on the show?
Executive Producer Dante DiLoreto had this to say:
"[Chord] is leaving for reasons that him and I know. He's pursuing other opportunities and we really wish him well. He's a lovely guy and we were so lucky to have him on the show. He contributed great things to it. We're excited to see what opportunities lie ahead for him, and what interesting characters are going to come in and fill his role on the show."
Before the event, I chatted with Chris Colfer about the possibility of a Juilliard-centric spinoff, after his character Kurt graduates off of Glee this season, and he said he's on board with the concept.
"Yes, I think it'd be a lot of fun," Chris says of Glee 2.0. "I'm very much looking forward to hearing what happens with that. I love Kurt more than myself sometimes. I would love to be with him and see where he goes and see what happens to him in the future."
When asked if Blaine (Darren Criss) might make the trek to NYC with him, Chris tells me, "I don't know what will happen with that. We'll see where it goes. There are more gay people in New York where they would go, so they might have some tough times. Maybe they'll go to New York and get married. Who knows?"
Ratings. Bonanza.
Chris and Dante were joined at the sing-a-long (which I hosted, pinch me) by Jane Lynch (Sue), Kristin Chenoweth (April), Kevin McHale (Artie), Dot Marie Jones (Coach Beiste), Harry Shum (Mike) and casting director Robert Ulrich. So what else can they tell us of the new season?
Chris on the first episode back: "Great starter for the [new] season. Stuff in the first episode I was like, 'How are we going to do that?! How is that legal?!"
Jane on the new characters: "I will interact with Vanessa [Lengies]. She plays Sugar Manta. She's hilarious! I heard her recording today and saw her perform it. Ah-ooh. That's all I'm gonna say. Ah-ooh." Dante says of Vanessa: "There is a definite surprise twist to her character, but I don't want to spoil it. It's good."
Harry and Kevin on who will graduate: "I'm not gonna say [if Artie is a senior]" Kevin tells me. "That spoils the fun. You just gotta watch. You find out in the first episode who's all graduating and what not." And Harry says of his character Mike Chang: "I think he is a senior. I'm leaning toward that…We're definitely going to see the relationship of Mike Chang and Tina this year. And what's gonna happen as far as Mike graduating or not."
Kevin on whether he wants Artie and Tina back together: "I like them, I also like Artie and Brittany together and there are some other ladies. [Artie is a ladies' man] at the beginning of the relationship, then he gets sensitive and yells at them and insults them. He doesn't know how to deal with it."
Who are you most hoping will stick around another season?
Check out all the exclusive video interviews above for more scoop from your Glee faves, including what Sue will be doing with the Cheerios, whether Harry thinks Mike Chang can get into Juilliard and lots of Emmy talk!