The season 5 premiere of popular musical show Glee may be delayed until November due to the unexpected death of star Cory Monteith.
NY Daily News reported that Fox began talks Monday about how to handle the death of Monteith in regards to the show. Fox is thinking about delaying the production for a month, “let everyone breathe,” a Fox source said. The original production start date is next week.
Monteith did not appear in the final three episodes of Glee’s fourth season due to entering rehab in March for substance-abuse. The last episode that featured Monteith’s character, Finn Hudson, had his character attending the University of Lima studying to become a teacher. Hudson was expected to play a major role in the first two episodes of the upcoming season.
The Wrap reports that the show was already scheduled for a revamp for the upcoming season, which may ease the absence of Monteith. The show recently added American Idol Adam Lambert as well as cutting series regulars Dianna Agron, Heather Morris and Mark Salling, Harry Shum, Jr.. and Amber Riley.
Past shows who have lost stars unexpectedly have returned often have an episode to pay tribute to the actor. 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter star John Ritter died in 2003 during production of the show’s second season, the sitcom had an episode that mourned the loss of Ritter’s character.