Cory Monteith‘s untimely death has saddened many, not least of which are his Glee family. Let’s be honest: people are going to think show execs are dicks no matter how they handle his character, Finn’s, storyline when the new season begins this fall. Still, they would like to do him justice by planning a tribute episode before taking a “long hiatus” to figure out the next steps.
From Deadline:
“We will begin shooting in late August the two shows we had already written, so that people can physically go back to work,” [showrunner Ryan Murphy] said. “We will then do an episode that will deal with the death of Finn’s character and follow that with a long hiatus. I don’t know exactly when we will come back, and we are trying our best with this attempt at damage control. We are planning a memorial for the cast and crew sometime this week on the Paramount lot.” Murphy will write that episode with co-creators Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, but acknowledges they aren’t sure at this early stage what form it will take. They will have to have it ready when they finish the first two segments, which is a tribute to The Beatles, and the trio will write the episode using Michele as a creative barometer.
“For many of the people we work with who are very young, and also for the fans of the show, this is probably the first time they have experienced death, and that was not lost on any of us here,” Murphy said. “I understand that everyone has their own way of processing grief. Every possible option was explored, and what we did was look to the people who loved Cory, who worked with him most, and specifically Lea. This is what they wanted to do.”
Fair enough. I don’t even have anything to say about this – the whole situation is just sad and tragic and it’s a shame. I don’t watch Glee, but I hope those who do will find comfort in whatever they come up with.