Several months after the death of actor, comedian, and beloved internet personality Leslie Jordan, FOX's Call Me Kat will bid farewell to the star. Ahead of the farewell episode, the series titular star Mayim Bialik spoke with Entertainment Weekly regarding the series planned exit for Jordan's character.
According to Bialik, the biggest question surrounding the farewell to Jordan's character was “how do we honor our friend while also honoring a grieving process that doesn’t end with two weeks off production?” The task of saying goodbye to such a central character is a difficult task under the best circumstances. However, the sudden nature of Jordan's passing left the production with a more complicated task.
His exit will happen in the current season, following his final appearance in the show on the episode titled “Call Me Fancy Puffenstuff", which aired in December. It was the eighth episode of the current season. The farewell to Jordan will occur in an upcoming episode. And though the exact nature of his character Phil's exit is still unknown, Bialik assured viewers that the series found a way to make it so that “his character will live forever, and he can have whatever adventures we all imagine.”
'Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches' Review: An Only Somewhat Spellbinding Gothic
Jordan began starring in Call Me Kat in January 2021. However, this is not Jordan's first sitcom project. Jordan is perhaps best known for his role in the long-running series Will & Grace. In the popular 2000s series, Jordan played Beverley Leslie, an antagonist to Karen Walker. Jordan's career included work in film, television, and theatre. However, he perhaps made his biggest impact by just being himself. His TikToks went viral during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. His videos often centered on personal narratives and uplifting, Southern stories. Jordan died in a car crash in October 2022.
Of his impact and legacy Bialik said that “in many ways, it was very heartwarming for us to see the tremendous impact that he had,” Bialik said. “And it was obviously also really bittersweet because of our grief and how much we missed him. What I think that many of us felt was that Leslie was a person who really, truly did understand how loved he was when he was alive, and we definitely took comfort in that.”
However, it is important to note that it is not just the adoring public who lost an idol. Bialik made sure to note that the entire cast and crew of Call Me Kat lost a coworker and friend. "Grief is a full process," she said, "and I think there’s a level of authenticity that we feel we want to have as actors.” She also added, “We’re humans, and we lost our friend.”
Call Me Kat airs on Fox on Thursdays at 9:30 PM.