Canadian actor Cory Monteith among others leaving Glee

You either love 'em or you hate 'em, but fans of Glee will most likely be saddened to hear that three main characters will be leaving the TV show this fall.

Lea Michele, who plays over-achieving star singer Rachel Berry; Chris Colfer, who plays fashionable gay countertenor Kurt Hummel; and Canadian actor Cory Monteith, who plays quarterback-turned-singer Finn Hudson, are slated to be written off the show at the end of the third season, which premieres on September 20.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the show's co-creator, Ryan Murphy, said, "You can keep them on the show for six years and people will criticize you for not being realistic, or you can be really true to life and say when they started the show they were very clearly sophomores and they should graduate at the end of their senior year.”

Michele, Colfer, and Monteith won't be the only characters disappering at the end of the third season. "More characters are leaving than are staying," Murphy said.

While Murphy said that Michele and Colfer were involved in the decision to "graduate", the show's writers hadn't spoken to Monteith about his pending unemployment at the time of the interview. However, Murphy said that he "presumes he [Monteith] is aware that Finn will be among those graduating," based on the fact that Finn was a sophomore when the show started in 2009.

Monteith, who was raised in Victoria, started his acting career in Vancouver after being cast in Final Destination 3. He has also appeared in Vancouver-filmed TV shows, including Smallville, Supernatural, and Stargate Atlantis, and he recently starred in teen rom-com Monte Carlo.

You can follow Michelle da Silva on Twitter at twitter.com/michdas.