Cory Monteith Death: 'Glee' Will Address Drug Use During Episode Paying Tribute To Finn Hudson

Writers at "Glee" are working on a tribute episode for recently deceased actor Cory Monteith, but nothing is for sure yet, said Fox entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly said on Thursday while speaking at the Television Critics Association. All that is known is that the episode will be the third of the upcoming Season 5 for the show. Reilly explained that the first two episodes, a tribute to The Beatles, had already been filmed.

"The third episode will be Finn Hudson being written out of the show," Reilly said. "It would be difficult to come out of the gate right away and then recover," he explained. The show will try to use outtakes and unused footage to include Monteith somewhat in the final episode. Reilly didn't establish whether Monteith's character will die as well, but he acknowledged that drug abuse will be addressed during the episode. Police found Monteith dead in a Vancouver hotel last month, as the result of a combination of heroin and alcohol.

Writer Ryan Murphy seemed to suggest that the character will die, based on his choice of words. 

"The right thing to do for the show, at least at this point, is to have that character pass," Murphy said. "When we do the tribute episode to that character, we'll have to do it in a way where the cast members will not have to re-create feelings of grief that they've had [following Monteith's death] -- but do it in an upbeat way. If we can do this responsibly and help young people through these feelings, that's the best that we can hope for."

The episode will feature public service announcements from members of the cast speaking on the subject of drug abuse, and proceeds from the third episode will go toward a fund established in Monteith's name.