Cory Monteith Dead: 'GLEE' Delays Fifth Season Production in Light of Star's Death, FOX TV Show to Premiere Thursday Sept. 26

Following the death of GLEE star Cory Monteith, producers for the hit FOX TV show have been scrambling on how to handle his character's development, Finn Hudson. Yesterday (July 19), producers announced that they have pushed back production and the premiere date of the show until Thurs. Sept. 26.

The fifth season was originally going to begin one week earlier, on Sept. 19.

In an official statement, FOX said, "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. Season Five of GLEE will now premiere on Thursday, Sept. 26 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. No further details are available at this time."

It is unknown how, exactly, the popular program will handle the death of Monteith and the future of his character Finn Hudon, the lovable jock who ended up heading one of the McKinley High School's glee clubs.

However, there has been speculation that Monteith's character will pass away, as well, in a move commonly taken by TV shows when a stars die, such as when John Ritter passed away unexpectedly during production of  8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter in 2003.

Surely, in the spirit of GLEE and Monteith's life, fans can expect a musical tribute.

Monteith died on Saturday, July 13, at the age of 31. Toxicology reports discovered the singer/actor overdosed on a lethal mixture of heroin and alcohol.