It is finally that time of year; the leaves are falling, the air is chilling, and Glee is back for its fourth season. As many of the Gleeks out there know, this year many of our New Direction stars have graduated from William McKinley High School and newbies are filling up the choir room.

Many people have speculated that season four would be lackluster without Rachel Berry (Lea Michelle), Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), Mike Chang (Harry Shum Jr.), Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera), Puck (Mark Salling), and Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron). But a few months before the season premiere the writer and creator of Glee, Ryan Murphy, was dropping hints that many of the cast would be returning. Fans would follow the graduates into their new lives, like Rachel studying at New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts, NYADA.

Now there are some Glee staples that haven’t changed. Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) is still firing away witty comments, Mr. Shuester (Matthew Morrison) is still trying to follow his own dreams, and Britney Pierce (Heather Morris) is still, well, intellectually challenged. But the halls of McKinley are still drastically changed. The choir room feels smaller with our graduates spread across the country. Instead of the entire episode being located in Lima, Ohio, we see Rachel and Kurt in New York.

The big changes that are giving gleeks heart palpitations are new cast members. The new girl on the block is Marley (Melissa Benoist), a transfer whose mother is the obese lunch lady that is the target of high school ridicule. Jake Puckerman (Jacob Artist) is Puck’s half brother that is just as much as a punk as Puckerman was. But, just like his brother, has a weakness for ladies, including Marley. Kitty (Becca Tobin) is the new tormenting popular girl from the Cheerios, also the girlfriend of Jake. Out of the choir room, NYADA student Brody (Dean Geyer) falls for Rachel, hard.

After all the spectating, it is safe to say season four has proved itself. The new cast members add to the story instead of take from it, and you still have the New Directioners from the beginning. The new season may have Gleeks stressed from the change, but now the first episodes have aired, Murphy has proven his vision.

Glee airs every Thursday at 9/8 central time. For more information go to http://www.fox.com/glee/