Marley, one of four new characters introduced on the season four premiere of “Glee” on Thursday night, is not the new Rachel.. nor should she be. Marley (played by Melissa Benoist) is gorgeous, likeable and a good singer (but hardly on the same level at Lea Michele’s Rachel). She should develop into her own unique character. In addition, making her the daughter of the overweight lunch lady was trite and unimaginative.

Glee creator Ryan Murphy, who wrote Thursday night’s episode, seems like he’s trying to recycle old characters. Jake is Puck’s half-brother. Kitty? Shades of Quinn.

It will be interesting to see if Benoist, a 23-year-old from Denver, becomes a breakout star. The potential is there. Benoist has been a guest star on “The Good Wife,” “Blue Bloods,” “Law & Order: SVU,” and was last seen on two episodes of “Homeland,” in a different kind of audition — a topless escort seeking to be included in a prince’s harem. No singing required.