Fans of Chord Overstreet aren’t giving up without a fight.
Last night TV Line reported that Chord Overstreet, who plays Sam Evans on the hit show “Glee”, has not been picked up as a series regular for Season 3. Instead, Overstreet “could return as an occasional guest star.” “Well its been a good yr too bad its over,” Overstreet tweeted early Friday evening. “Time for summer and starting fresh.” Although the tweet seemed harmless enough at first, with the tour wrapping up this weekend and filming for “Glee” starting in a month, it was easy to assume that Overstreet was looking forward to some rest and relaxation before heading back to work. Fox reps confirmed to People that the news about Overstreet’s status on the show was true. But fans of Overstreet aren’t taking this news lying down. Overstreet’s fans, known as “Sammites” and “Unichords”, have been fighting to keep Sam Evans in the series.
Overstreet began trending on Twitter almost immediately and a petition, started shortly after the news dropped, has gathered over 3,000 Twitter signatures and counting. Fans have also been reaching into their wallets to show their support. Many are purchasing copies of Sam’s signature cover “Billionaire” in hopes that the money raised will speak louder than Twitter messages. And so far, it seems to be working. Climbing from #64 on the “Glee” charts, the single is now at #10 and continues to move up the charts. The push to purchase the cover was started by Katie Barnett of San Francisco, CA. “I wanted to do this because I think Sam is an incredibly important and relatable character, primarily because of the storyline surrounding his family’s poverty,” Barnett said. “I want the writers and showrunners to see that people care about the issues he represents and what Chord brings to the cast dynamic.” What started on Barnett’s tumblr blog as a suggestion to friends has grown to a campaign involving hundreds of Gleeks. FOXChord Overstreet performed Justin Bieber’s hit “Baby” for the glee club in the episode “Comeback” which heavily focused on Sam Evans’s relationships.
“Sam is my favorite character and Chord has worked so hard this season,” said Betsy M. of Rochester, NY, who contributed to the cause. “Sam Evans is an enigma. He’s a gorgeous, geeky, confident, shy, sci-fi-addicted jock. He has the kind of layers we need in TV aimed toward teens. He Bieber’d his way into our hearts and there he will remain,” said Chris M. of Philadelphia, PA. “Sam Evans is by far the least boring, most amazing character on ‘Glee’ and to hear that he might not even make it to season 3 is by far the saddest news I have heard. Chord is a brilliant actor, he’s hilarious and the fact that this has rumored to come to an end is by far devastating,” added Jessica U. of Adelaide, SA, Australia. Although whether the race to make “Billionaire” the #1 “Glee” cover will turn the attention of the show’s production staff remains undetermined, as does the extent of Overstreet’s involvement with Season 3, it’s clear that Sam Evans is a character people care about. Other Sammites have shown their support by discussing methods of donating to charities in Sam Evans’s name and sending letters to the show’s production staff.
