TVLINE | Thanks for your time. I know you wanted to talk a little bit about the reason for the one-week delay and why it wasn’t longer. Some people thought maybe it should be.
Well, it’s such uncharted water for me, personally. We had several options. We could delay shooting until November, we could delay shooting until January. But, ultimately, what we decided to do for the cast and crew was start shooting with something that we had already written. We had written two Beatles episodes in May and had been working on that tribute for four years. We just decided that it would probably be the best for everybody to get back together and be working and have grief counselors on set for two weeks, which we’re going to do. But, ultimately, we made no decisions without consulting Lea. [Executive producer] Brad Falchuk and I talked to Lea and really asked her what she wanted to do. We laid out every possible option. And she was very adamant that she thought it was best for the cast and crew to get back together sooner [rather] than later so that mortgages could be paid and people could take care of their families. Cory was so beloved that she felt people really needed to be together in this time. So we sort of followed her lead.
TVLINE | Will you address Finn’s absence in the first two episodes?
I don’t think so. We were supposed to be on in the fall with four episodes, and that’s just not going to happen. So we’re going to go on the air with two episodes and right now we’re writing the third episode, which deals with Finn’s death – which, you can imagine, is a very difficult episode to write. [It] has to be done very carefully and with a lot of taste and really making sure that it’s a tribute to Cory. Then, who knows? Maybe we’ll wait to shoot that. We really have to see how everybody feels… We’re going to take a long writers’ hiatus after that episode to refigure the season and continue to take care of the cast and crew and work on setting things up in Cory’s honor – scholarships, what have you – because that’s something we’re dedicated to doing. It’s just a crazy, really difficult, very emotional time. I think what we’re really trying to do is deal with it as a family, which is what that group of people is. Lea is obviously very grief-stricken but she’s also one of the strongest people I know. She wants people to be better and get back to work. So that’s what we’re going to do.
Read full interview at TVLine
Well, it’s such uncharted water for me, personally. We had several options. We could delay shooting until November, we could delay shooting until January. But, ultimately, what we decided to do for the cast and crew was start shooting with something that we had already written. We had written two Beatles episodes in May and had been working on that tribute for four years. We just decided that it would probably be the best for everybody to get back together and be working and have grief counselors on set for two weeks, which we’re going to do. But, ultimately, we made no decisions without consulting Lea. [Executive producer] Brad Falchuk and I talked to Lea and really asked her what she wanted to do. We laid out every possible option. And she was very adamant that she thought it was best for the cast and crew to get back together sooner [rather] than later so that mortgages could be paid and people could take care of their families. Cory was so beloved that she felt people really needed to be together in this time. So we sort of followed her lead.
TVLINE | Will you address Finn’s absence in the first two episodes?
I don’t think so. We were supposed to be on in the fall with four episodes, and that’s just not going to happen. So we’re going to go on the air with two episodes and right now we’re writing the third episode, which deals with Finn’s death – which, you can imagine, is a very difficult episode to write. [It] has to be done very carefully and with a lot of taste and really making sure that it’s a tribute to Cory. Then, who knows? Maybe we’ll wait to shoot that. We really have to see how everybody feels… We’re going to take a long writers’ hiatus after that episode to refigure the season and continue to take care of the cast and crew and work on setting things up in Cory’s honor – scholarships, what have you – because that’s something we’re dedicated to doing. It’s just a crazy, really difficult, very emotional time. I think what we’re really trying to do is deal with it as a family, which is what that group of people is. Lea is obviously very grief-stricken but she’s also one of the strongest people I know. She wants people to be better and get back to work. So that’s what we’re going to do.
Read full interview at TVLine
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