Entertainment

A Santana Spin-off?

by Christine DiStasio

In the midst of copious amounts of swirling Fifty Shades and Kardashian-West engagement news to numb our brains, here's something to celebrate: Naya Rivera wants a Santana Lopez Glee spin-off! And what an awesome spin-off it would be...

Last week, Ryan Murphy bombarded Glee fans with unbearably sad news about how he needed to rework the entire show's ending following the death of Cory Monteith. The show's creator also broke the sad news that Season 6 would be Glee's last (tear), but the prospect of a Santana spin-off makes the world seem a little bit brighter.

The 26-year-old, uber-talented Glee star told reporters at Elle's Women in Hollywood gala, "She can do anything, that's the beauty of Santana." And she's totally right. Rivera's bad-ass lesbian Cheerio with epic pipes has been a valuable asset to the Glee cast since they finally let her out of the back of the classroom in Season 2. She carried a difficult storyline in terms of coming to terms with her sexuality and coming out about her relationship with Brittany and continues to make us laugh and cry. If the show has to end and we have to pick one character who could potentially survive and star in a show that we'd actually want to watch, it'd be Santana. (Even though my love for Kurt & Blaine is everlasting.) Mostly because she might be the only character that never gave us a reason to hate her.

If Ryan Murphy were to grant Rivera her wish (I will sell you my soul, Ryan), I'd hope that Santana's spin-off would be a little something like this:

Santana Lopez is still living in NYC, trying to come to terms with the challenges of her career path and the day-to-day life challenges of living in Manhattan. She's developed a successful career (and impressive stock of "lifetime supplies") of starring in commericials that allowed her to stay in New York after Rachel and Kurt moved on but maintains her job at Stardust Diner for extra cash to pay for recording studio time. She's looking for love after her relationship with Dani (Demi Lovato) ended abruptly when Dani decided on a whim to move to Los Angeles, leaving Santana behind and brokenhearted. She's also looking for new friends/roommates but is finding the process increasingly difficult considering her penchant for sarcasm and cruel nicknames.

Basically, we'd get to watch the Glee alum battle with living on her own, seeking out meaningful relationships, and pursuing her dream career with reality biting at her heels and her biting back. I know what you're thinking: This sounds like any other show about twentysomethings trying to cope with life on their own, but bear with me. First off, Naya Rivera is crazy talented (emphasis on crazy) in the acting department, and the character could only get better with age. She's a well-developed fake person that could realistically stand on her own, with or without musical numbers peppered in. The spin-off would probably work best in a 30-minute comedy slot with one short musical number (if Ryan Murphy is the creator, we know there has to be one) rather than the hour-long slot that Glee will leave behind. And we'd get to continue to be obsessed with Santana. It's a win/win.

Whether a spin-off is in the cards for her beloved character or not, Rivera is grateful for the opportunity that Glee has give her. As she told reporters, "We've had an amazing run on this show, and so whenever it ends, it has to end. Unfortunately, it can't go on forever. But I'm just really grateful that I was on it for this long." Please, Ryan Murphy, just give us a Santana show. I promise it'll make us feel better.