Cory Monteith Death: Glee's Fifth Season Delayed
Following the death of Cory Monteith, Fox's hit series Glee has delayed production, as well as its fifth season premiere date, the network announced Friday.
"In light of the tragic passing of beloved Glee cast member Cory Monteith, the series' executive producers, 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Broadcasting Company have jointly decided to delay the start of production of Glee until early August," the statement said.
The premiere has been moved to Sept. 26 from its original Sept. 19 date.
Monteith's final episode, which aired April 18, focused on Finn and Puck partying like typical college students at the University of Lima. At one point, Finn said, "I have the rest of my life to be a grown-up and for now, it's OK to have fun."
While producers want to be "as sensitive as possible," they may use Monteith's death as an opportunity to explore the hazards of drugs and alcohol, a source told EnStars.
On Tuesday, the BC Coroners Service confirmed Monteith died from a mixed drug toxicity, involving heroin and alcohol. The post-mortem testing, which included an autopsy and toxicological analysis, seem to confirm this was an accident.
Monteith was found deceased in his room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, shortly after noon on July 13. He had checked into the hotel on July 6 and had been expected to check out on the 13th. When he had not done so, hotel staff checked his room and found him deceased.
