The Fox series “Glee,” still reeling from the death last weekend of star Cory Monteith, was set to go into production shortly on Season 5.
Reportedly, writers had already penned the first two episodes of the season, which is scheduled to premiere Sept. 19.
But all that could change now that Monteith, who played glee club coach Finn Hudson, is dead. An autopsy was performed on him yesterday, according to the British Columbia Coroner’s Service.
Monteith, 31, temporarily left the series last season to check himself into a rehab facility late last March, and had publicly admitted to a battle with substance abuse since his teenage years. He left the rehab facility in April.
His return to the series in September was eagerly anticipated by fans, since he played one of the show’s most popular characters. Monteith was found dead in a hotel room in Vancouver on Saturday.
Sources at Fox would not comment on whether the role of Finn Hudson would be recast or written out of the series altogether, though the latter option seems most likely, with Finn already having graduated McKinley High.
Attempts to reach show creator Ryan Murphy were unsuccessful.
“Glee” was Monteith’s big break, and in celebration of his brief career, Bravo’s “Inside the Actors Studio” is going to rebroadcast his conversation with James Lipton this Thursday at 6 p.m. The episode, originally aired in April 2012.