Less than two months after Leslie Jordan‘s death at the age of 67, his final episode of Call Me Kat aired on television. While seeing the actor’s last moments as his beloved character Phil made fans emotional, his co-star Mayim Bialik was also moved to go on Instagram and share her thoughts about the moment.
On December 2, the Jeopardy! host opened up about the significance behind the episode entitled “Call Me Fancy Puffenstuff.” As she revealed behind-the-scenes facts in a heartfelt clip, she also shared that she wasn’t ready to see Leslie’s final scenes in the Fox sitcom just yet.
“Last night, we aired the last episode that Leslie Jordan ever filmed of television,” she said in the Instagram video. “We didn’t know at the time that it was Leslie’s last episode. I couldn’t bring myself to watch it, because I’m not ready.”
She continued: “It was Leslie Jordan’s first on-screen kiss … He and John Griffin, who plays his boyfriend on the show, were very specific about their appreciation for our writers’ sensitivity and writing a gay couple that was navigating the newness of living … I guess a truly authentic out life that their characters wanted to live. It was a very important episode for Leslie in particular.”
Reacting to The Big Bang Theory alum’s honest message, many fans immediately rallied around her with kind and supportive words in the comments.
“Hugs to all of you. I can’t imagine the depth of your sadness over Leslie’s loss. He was such a gem,” one person wrote on Instagram. “It’s been hard to watch [Call Me Kat]. Leslie was such a light on the show! ♥️,” another added. “Tears run down my cheeks while reading these comments 😢. He was something special to all of us 💔,” a different fan said.
Apart from discussing the impact Leslie’s final episode had on her, Mayim updated viewers on how Call Me Kat plans to honor his character as the show continues. She also made sure to thank everyone for tuning in to see his last time on television.
“I do plan to talk more about our Christmas/Hanukkah episode, which is upcoming, which was the episode where Leslie passed away while we were filming,” she said in the snippet. “But for now, I just wanted to say that for those of you who watched and appreciated seeing Leslie’s final episode, we thank you.”
“It was very, very special to us for so many reasons and in the coming weeks, you’ll be hearing more about what we’ve decided to do with Leslie’s character and how Vicki Lawrence is going to be part of that reveal,” she concluded.
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As the entertainment and news editorial assistant for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.
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