Warning: Spoilers ahead! If you haven’t seen the Thursday, February 18, episode of Mom, do not read on.
On Thursday, February 18, the latest episode of Mom took a somber turn when it was revealed that Jodi (Emily Osment) had died from a drug overdose. Fans of the CBS comedy took to Twitter to share their shock — and now the show’s co-creator Chuck Lorre has given some insight on the surprisingly dark plot twist.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lorre, 63, explained why he felt it was necessary to address the heavy topic of addiction.
“It felt important to the entire writing staff, including myself, that you don’t lose sight of the fact that this is a life and death issue,” he said. “Even though we’re doing a comedy and our first issue is to somehow cause laughter, from the very beginning we’ve tried to make this show about recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction, and to do that without ever acknowledging the harsh reality of it seemed to be a cheat.”
A teenager who had almost become a surrogate daughter to Christy (Anna Faris), who also served as her AA sponsor, Jodi grew to be a beloved character for viewers. Even Lorre had a hard time saying goodbye.
“It was made more difficult when the time came because we all fell in love with Emily,” he revealed. “But the idea was all along to keep the show with at least one foot in the real world where these things happen.”
Lorre also admits that he planned Jodi’s tragic fate from the get-go. “It was pretty much planned from the beginning that mortality had to be dealt with,” he continued.
While the latest episode of ‘Mom’ certainly didn’t have a happy ending, Lorre hopes fans can find a silver lining in the sad story line.
“The episodes that follow this one are impacted deeply. It would have been impossible for these characters to carry on as if nothing happened, as if they hadn’t experienced this terrible loss,” he added. “What can be taken away from this?”
Mom airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on CBS.
