News: GLEE Spin-Off is Dead

Even thought I'm not at the Television Critics Association press tour (maybe some day), I have been keeping up with some of the news via Twitter. Today was FOX's turn to face the firing squad, and some not so shocking news was confirmed: there will not be a Glee spin-off.

While the idea of a New York-based spin-off felt like a natural next step for some of the members of New Directions, I was always hesitant about buying into the hype because it felt like overkill. By now, we all know how much backlash Glee's faced, so adding another show on top of it would've been a step too far. The way I've always seen it is the creators need to focus on fixing Glee before adding to the universe. Plus, a spin-off is unnecessary.

When I first learned that the Gleeks would graduate and leave McKinley, I've been getting behind the idea that the show could combine old characters with new ones like Friday Night Lights did after its third season. The writers could still tell the stories of familiar characters while easing in new ones (Harmony!) for fans to get behind. Heck, a fourth season that has this kind of structure doesn't even need to be handcuffed to one location, so who's to say we still won't see Rachel and Kurt in NYC (although I don't see how they're getting into NYADA at this point).

Regardless of what Ryan, Ian and Brad decide to do, I'm just glad we can put the spin-off idea to rest once and for all ... except this is Glee we're talking about so I'm sure everyone will backtrack on what was said in a few months.