As the Glee cast copes with the sudden death of Cory Monteith on Saturday, July 13, Fox confirmed in a statement to Us Weekly that the fifth season premiere date has been moved to Sept. 26 from its original Sept. 19 date.
"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. "No further details are available at this time."
Monteith, who played Finn Hudson on the show since its inception in 2009, was found dead on July 13 in his hotel room at Vancouver's Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel. As Us Weekly previously reported, the 31-year-old Canadian native died of a lethal mix of heroin and alcohol.
Since the tragedy, the close-knit Glee cast, which includes Monteith's girlfriend, Lea Michele, 26, has been trying to remember the kind-hearted costar who will be very much missed.
In a statement to Us on July 17, Dianna Agron, who played Quinn Fabray on the show, said, "I have never lost a friend. In this difficult time, I am leaning on all of the wonderful memories we shared with Cory, how many ways he was able to make us smile. Glee was a gift to all of us. It gave us a family in this industry."
She added, "My heart goes out to his family, to Lea, to everyone that is struggling with the loss of our friend. We will miss you Cory. We will always carry a piece of you with us."
Jane Lynch, who plays Coach Sue Sylvester on the hit series, tearfully spoke of Monteith to Jay Leno on July 17. "Cory had one of the biggest hearts, a real bright light. He was one of those guys," she said. "He knew he was breathing rarefied air — the gift that this wonderful show gave us."
She continued, "I don't think he left one day unlived. He was a real bright light in our family we've lost a really great guy."
