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Glee creator Ryan Murphy just Tweeted the first official picture from season four, highlighting Kate Hudson's upcoming guest arc as Cassandra July, Rachel's NYADA dance instructor/mentor. And the sight of her in mid-routine elated me.

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I'm a huge Kate Hudson fan. Like many of you, I developed strong feelings for the bubbly blonde the instant she burst onto the scene in Almost Famous. That love was cemented with How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days. She's stunning, incredibly talented and without question possesses that It Factor. It also can't be argued that Kate has horrible taste in movie roles.

With the exception of Almost Famous and How To Lose, Kate doesn't have a single hit to her name. That means she's spent the last decade (yes, she wooed McConaughey in 2003) picking the wrong projects, going after the wrong roles and losing major box office clout. Her last film, A Little Bit of Heaven, made $10,011 on opening weekend. For comparison, How To Lose made $8,133 on it's opening weekend ... per theater.

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There comes a point when every actor must take a cold, hard look at the facts and assess their career -- Kate's career is not just in freefall, but the reserve shoot hasn't opened and she's less than 1,000 feet from the ground. My guess is this Glee gig not only serves as a Hail Mary Pass, but also an unofficial test. A backdoor pilot for her career, if you will. To see if the waters are warm, if the critics are kind and if TV might be where her future lies.

I think it's the smartest thing she's done since playing Andie Anderson all those years ago.

At this point talking about the TV versus film debate is moot. Because there isn't one. Television offers actors infinitely more opportunities to breathe life into a stunning array of complex and well-written characters -- this is doubly true for female actors. Kate, who has long been forced to play one of three kinds of women, would suddenly find herself toned belly up to the buffet. Her eyes wide at the dishes of bitches and platters of powerful women laid out before her.

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Clearly she's hopped on the right train because Ryan Murphy has the Midas Touch. Whether he's giving actors their best role in years (see: Jessica Lange on American Horror Story, Jane Lynch on season one of Glee and, seemingly, Ellen Barkin on NBC's The New Normal) or making stars out of thin air (see: Lea Michele & Chris Colfer on Glee, Julian McMahon on Nip/Tuck and, seemingly, Andrew Rannells on NBC's The New Normal), you can't deny he's repeatedly created the show all your friends are talking about.

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And since Gwyneth Paltrow's movie career was still too viable to consider whatever series Ryan Murphy had almost certainly dreamt up for her when she danced her way onto Glee (and into a 2011 Emmy win for her troubles), you know the man already has plenty of ideas percolating.

So, Kate, I hope your time in telly serves you well and offers the opportunity to make good on all that early promise you showed in Almost Famous because, my darling, you're almost not any more. Oh, and Sarah Jessica Parker, don't act like this doesn't apply to you either!