Mayim Bialik Says 'Call Me Kat' Tribute Will Make Leslie Jordan's Character 'Live Forever'

Mayim Bialik, who played the titular role in the Fox sitcom "Call Me Kat," has shared that the series will bid its goodbye to Phil, the character portrayed by Leslie Jordan, in a way that will make him "live forever."

Jordan died at the age of 67 in a car crash that occurred in October 2022. His death was confirmed in a post on his official Instagram page.

Following the car crash, "Call Me Kat" production was reportedly paused and the future episodes "needed to be "rewritten and restructured and emotionally rebuilt" to explain Phil's sudden absence from the show.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly in an interview that came out Tuesday, Bialik, 47, explained that her priority at the time was to figure out how they could honor their friend "while also honoring a grieving process that doesn't end with two weeks off production."

She added, "He knew he was beloved. He was a fabulous, fabulous person. And the ability to both celebrate him and honor him in a way that we hope is respectful was really our goal."

Bialik revealed that when production resumed after the two-week break, it was "very hard" to film the episode that would serve as a tribute to Jordan.

"When it came to the episode that is essentially his tribute, the cast felt very strongly and completely unanimously that the thought of doing a funeral episode while we are actively grieving our friend," she recalled. "It felt like a hurdle we weren't sure we all wanted to jump together."

The actress went on to say that by rewriting the episodes, they eventually found a way for Phil to "live forever."

"His character will live forever, and he can have whatever adventures we all imagine," she said. "And because we break the fourth wall anyway, we were able to use that convention to say simply, we gave this character a happy ending, but there's a lot more going on here."

Phil, the character played by Jordan in "Call Me Kat," worked as a baker at the cafe owned by Kat.

The show's tribute episode, titled "Call Me Philliam," will be released Thursday.