'Glee': Ryan Murphy lays out Season 3 plans, where New Directions are headed

There's a moment in Season 3 premiere of "Glee" where Rachel (Lea Michele) and Kurt (Chris Colfer), overcome with doubt about their college prospects, break down crying. It's the kind of thing you might expect from high school seniors. And according to co-creator Ryan Murphy, it's something you will see a lot of this year.

"We're very busy writing the core group," he told reporters, including Zap2it, after a screening of the episode. "We're writing those senior scenes, they're emotional and heartbreaking. You realize how attached you get to those characters."

Uncertainty plays a big part in the new season of "Glee." Not only do the characters not know where they're headed, fans don't know which cast members will stick around after graduation.

"I would never again say that people are leaving," says Murphy. "I have learned my lesson."

The premiere, "The Purple Piano Project," makes it very clear which characters are seniors and which will still be eligible to be in New Directions during the possible (and, let's face it, nearly certain) Season 4 -- but graduation does not ensure a departure from the show.

"I think it's a big, big world," says Murphy. "We would never do 'Glee: The College Years,' but I think there's very organic ways that you could keep them on the show, keep them big, and keep the audience invested in them. But you know the show is always going to be about that choir room."

As he's said before, Murphy and company have curbed spin-off talk, but they are still open to the possibility.

"[Season 3] ends with the core group graduating and you figuring out what their futures are," he says, adding that the final scene, in particular, will reveal where the seniors are headed. "So let's wait to make that decision... I think it's better to just concentrate on making this the best year we've ever done."

And for the creators, that means bringing back the focus to the original group, which explains Lauren (Ashley Fink) quitting New Directions and Sam's (Chord Overstreet) departure from McKinley.

"People are always under the assumption that everybody we're casting are huge roles," says Murphy. "The stars of the show are the stars of the show, and, particularly this year, I think you want to give a lot of air time to the characters that people love."

But while Trouty Mouth seems gone for good, Lauren will return.

"We love writing for her," Murphy says of Fink. "To me, that character was always sort of comic relief, so, despite reports, she is coming back for a really major storyline. She just won't be in the glee club."

For more on Season 3 of "Glee," including what we can expect from "The Glee Project" contestants, head back to Zap2it before the premiere.