'Glee' Adds 'Friday Night Lights and 'Hawthorne' Actors for Season Season 3

(Via Pop Crunch)

" Within 24 hours, the musical juggernaut that is “Glee” added two new cast members to its ranks.

Mercedes — who, I don’t care what anyone says, is the best singer in New Directions — finally gets a boyfriend who isn’t gay or written off the show moments after we see them holding hands. He’ll be “Friday Night Lights” star LaMarcus Tinker, who joins the McKinley High football team as a linebacker appropriately named … Marcus.

Brad Falchuk, a writer on “Glee,” recently told reporters at a Comic-Con event that Marcus and Mercedes will be like “Cuba Gooding Jr. and his wife in ‘Jerry Maguire.’ He’s this Big Bubba kind of guy and he encourages her to want more for herself. That drives her arc into the next half of the season.”

Sounds like his heart-of-gold character won’t be too far removed from real-life — back in 2010, he told The Houston Chronicle about his active partnership with the local Boys and Girls clubs.

“You have to help people who are younger than you, and then they’ll lend a hand to someone else. After you die, it’ll still be going on. That’s my hope, because if the rest of this ended today, I’d still say I’ve enjoyed my life. My dreams already came true.”

Aww. So at least we know our little soul sister isn’t getting stuck with a cad. Like she’d put up with that sort of nonsense anyway.

Also enrolling at McKinley this fall will be “American Dreams” alum Vanessa Lengies as a spoiled princessy-type named Sugar (if that’s not a nickname, expect to see her on the pole in future seasons).

She’s described as “a cross between Molly Shannon and a New Jersey Housewife,” whatever that means. We also know she’ll be tone-deaf, but her stint on “American Dreams” certainly proved she can dance — so maybe she’ll be New Directions’ female answer to the non-singing but wicked-dancing Mike Chang. Time will tell.

In the meantime, check her out on the Jada Pinkett-Smith show “HawthoRNe,” where she plays Nurse Kelly Epson.

“Glee” will be back on September 20, for those of you who care (and I do — shut up)."