Writing a death scene on a TV show can be a daunting task, made even more daunting when you are writing out a character portrayed by an actor that you have come to love and respect. That is the task that “Glee” co-creator and showrunner Ryan Murphy was given when actor Cory Monteith passed away earlier this summer.
Montieth passed away on July 13 of a heroin and alcohol overdose in a Vancouver hotel room. The Canadian actor, who played high school jock turned glee club leader Finn Hudson on the Fox comedy, was 31 when he died. There has been speculation over how the show would address the actor’s untimely death and now Murphy has finally opened up about the planned tribute episode.
In an interview with Deadline, the showrunner revealed details of the tribute episode for the actor airing early in the fifth season. “At one point, we were going to have his character die of an accidental overdose--that was something we considered,” Murphy told reporters. “But we decided that we’re not going to have him pass from that.”
Murphy added that fans may not even find out what Monteith’s character dies of at all. “How somebody died is interesting and maybe morbid,” the showrunner said, “but we say early on in the episode, ‘This episode is about a celebration of that character’s life.’ That might be weird for some people, but it felt really exploitive to do it any other way.”
The showrunner also revealed how the show’s cast was coping in light of their co-star’s death. “The cast and crew have had solace in being together,” Murphy said. “There’s been tears on set. It’s been hard for a lot of people. But the really difficult thing is coming. We start shooting the memorial episode this week.”
“But I think it turned out to be a lovely tribute,” the co-creator added, “and it’s a very heartfelt look at how young people grieve.”
Murphy concluded, “We loved Cory and we loved Finn and it feels like a huge loss and a huge heartache not to have either of them around. We’re trying to craft an episode that’s not just about us grieving but about a lot of the young fans grieving.”
As previously reported, Murphy confirmed that Monteith’s tribute episode would air after the season’s first two Beatle-centric episodes. Following the tribute episode, the show will head into hiatus for a few weeks.
“Glee” season five premieres on Thursday, September 26 at 9 p.m. on Fox.
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