How Mid-Century Modern Wrote Out This Main Character After Actresses Death

A brand-new television series, Mid-Century Modern, premiered last month on Hulu with a ten-episode first season. The show follows Bunny Schneiderman, played by Nathan Lane, after he invites his friends Jerry, played by Matt Bomer, and Arthur, played by Nathan Lee Graham, to room with him in his mid-century Palm Springs home. Bunny shares the home with his mother Sybil, played by Linda Lavin.

However, Linda passed away suddenly during production of the series at the age of 87. Show creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick were then in the difficult position of writing out Linda’s character. While this was a tough task, the team behind Mid-Century Modern managed to create an episode that not only honored Linda’s memory, but maintained the show’s comedic nature.

Ryan Murphy Suggested The Fate Of Linda’s Character Be Addressed Right Away

Linda Lavin’s passing was overwhelming for everyone involved with Mid-Century Modern. When show creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick spoke to TheWrap, they opened up about how they handled the sudden turn of events.

“She had a relationship with everybody on the stage, everybody in the production office,” David told the outlet. “She was universally beloved, and I’m not just tossing that off the way you would say about somebody you work with — She was really, really adored.”

David recalled someone saying that when they met Linda for the first time, they felt they had just made a “new, old friend” based on how comfortable she made everyone feel in her presence. “That was her relationship with virtually everybody on the stage,” Max added.

Linda died on December 29, 2024, due to complications from lung cancer. She was diagnosed during production of Mid-Century Modern and the news came as a shock to everybody. “It really is shocking that someone 87-years-old is getting on, but she seemed so vital and so vibrant that it really was a shock,” David said.

Linda played the role of Sybil Schneiderman, the mother of Nathan Lane’s character, Bunny Schneiderman. Her character was critical and had a sharp tongue, but was ultimately loving to those around her. At the time of her passing, Linda still had three more episodes of the show to film. Hulu gave the team an extra week to grieve Linda before returning to work after the holidays. Ryan Murphy, who is the show’s executive producer, encouraged David and Max to address Linda’s death in the series right away.

“It was actually Ryan that suggested that we deal with it immediately,” David revealed. “‘Don’t put it off till the very end of the season. Do it now and then, what? How does the show go on?’ That became the directive for the last three episodes.”

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Max said they “never” considered having another actress play the role of Sybil, saying there were several “tacky agents at tacky agencies” who made that very suggestion. “There would be no replacing Linda,” Max said. “We would have to reinvent how the show held its shape.”

Linda’s Character Passed Away Of A Heart Attack In An Emotional Episode

Sybil’s death comes in Episode 9, titled “Here’s to You, Mrs. Schneiderman,” where Bunny tells Jerry and Arthur the terrible news. In the emotional scene, Bunny recalled picking Sybil up in his car when she asked him to take her to a hospital, before dying from a heart attack.

While the scene is emotional, the show still maintains its comedic nature. This is evident in a scene where Bunny is struggling to write a eulogy for his mother, which is followed by Jerry and Arthur reading their last texts from Sybil to help inspire him. What audiences might not know is that these were the actual final texts the team received from Linda herself.

“We had the gift of phone messages that she had left for many of us over the season, so we had her with us, and we still do, because no one’s getting rid of those messages,” Max said. He said that they were considering using those phone messages with Linda’s voice, but ultimately determined they were “a little too real.” “It really helped us in writing that episode, and then it really just helps us just remember her, and somehow stay in a dynamic with her.”

“Something like this happens, and it either cleaves people apart or cleaves them together,” David said. “In this case, it brought everybody together in the mutual goal of wanting to honor her memory, and because she meant so much to everybody.”

Thankfully, the creators didn’t have to add a new character to the show at the last minute. David and Max explained they were “lucky” to have previously introduced Bunny’s sister, Mindy, to the series. Mindy is played by Pamela Adlon, who had a touching scene with Linda earlier in the season. It is revealed that her character, who was visiting from out of town, is now moving to Palm Springs. “It was just one of those things that a lucky detail took place in the writing that we had that to lean on,” Max said.

David and Max have worked together for decades, even creating the legendary sitcom Will & Grace. Max said that he and David have both handled the difficult times in their lives with humor, which helped the two in “creating and carving out this episode.”

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“One of the things about being our age now, is that you’ve been thrown curve balls in life, and you deal with them — it’s not like, ‘I’m going to fall apart and … everything’s going to come to an end,’” David said. “It is thematically consistent with the age of the people on the show — this is what happens in life and you persevere. What choice do you have but persevere?”

Nathan Lane Spoke With Linda Just Three Days Before She Passed Away

Max referred to Linda as the “spiritual showrunner” of the series in an interview with Variety. Nathan Lee Graham said the season’s best episode was, “Here’s to You, Mrs. Schneiderman.” “It was genuinely funny and genuinely heartfelt – very hard things to do without it becoming ‘a very special episode,’” he said. “That episode is one of the best episodes I’ve ever done in television.”

Nathan Lane and Linda talked just three days before she passed. It was then that he learned about her lung cancer diagnosis. “She was about to start radiation, and she was optimistic about that and being able to finish the season,” Nathan remembered. “She went out at the top of her game, and I know she was incredibly happy doing this.”

James Burrows, who directed the series, previously worked with Linda on episodes of Rhoda, Phyllis, and B-Positive. However, he said this experience was particularly significant. “She blew me away,” James said. “She was so great.”

Matt said he felt “blessed” to have been in Linda’s presence while working on the show. He also said he values the time he spent learning from her. “She was always there if you needed help or to find your way, because it’s a tricky, almost a different style of acting in this medium,” Matt said. “The last time we talked, we had the most beautiful conversation. I’m really grateful that we were able to have that.”

In addition to the personal memories the team behind the series made, they want the show to bring some happiness to people in these tough times.

“If it makes someone in Chabuti, Miss., feel good about themselves, then I’ve done my job,” Nathan Lee said. “I don’t have to be on the front lines of a parade. What I have to do is do my job very well. Bring some levity and some laughter in someone’s life or moment, and always show up.”

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Although the two have not worked together since fans are waiting for their return to the big screen someday in the future.

“Here’s a show that’s about found family,” Matt said. “We all need to be seen and accepted and loved for our most authentic selves. [It’s] something that I wanted to be a part of putting out into the world, so hopefully we can make some folks laugh along the way.”