A new series titled The Price of Glee will soon be returning to the halls of William McKinley High School – although things will be a little different this time. An upcoming documentary from Discovery+ and Ample Entertainment will explore the various tragedies and controversies that plagued Ryan Murphy’s hit song “Glee,” both during its airing from 2009-2015 and in the years since.
“In May 2009, 10 young actors made their TV debuts on ‘Glee.’ By 2020, all would be famous and three would be dead,” reads the trailer, which was released Dec. 8.
Over the years, the “Glee” cast has faced one tragedy after another. In 2013, while the show was still on the air, Cory Monteith — who played the lovable jock Finn Hudson and who was also Lea Michele’s on- and offscreen boyfriend — died of an accidental heroin overdose. Then Mark Salling, who played Noah “Puck” Puckerman, was arrested in 2015 for possessing images of child pornography and died of apparent suicide three years later.
In 2020, Naya Rivera, who portrayed Santana Lopez, died in a boating accident, leaving her son Josey Dorsey. That same year, Lea Michele, who directed the show as Rachel Berry and is currently starring in Broadway’s Funny Girl, was accused of bullying on the set of Glee by co-stars Samantha Marie Ware, Heather Morris and others.
“I don’t want to say the c-word — the ‘curse’ word — but that’s where your mind goes,” says one character in the trailer. Meanwhile, another person added: “My first reaction is guilt. I still feel like someone is to blame.”
Not all “Glee” cast members have met tragic or controversial fates. Darren Criss, who played Blaine, won an Emmy in 2018 for his work in The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story; Kevin McHale, who played Artie, was a finalist in Season 2 of RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race; and Chord Overstreet, who played Sam, will star alongside Lindsay Lohan in Netflix’s Christmas movie Falling for Christmas. Meanwhile, Chris Colfer, who played Kurt, is now a successful children’s book author — but apparently he’s still struggling to be with certain members of the “Glee” cast. In an Oct. 11 interview, Colfer said he wouldn’t see Michele on Funny Girl because, in his words, “I can get triggered at home.”
Per meeting, the forthcoming ‘Glee’ documentary will be released in three parts and will feature interviews with cast and crew members, as well as their family and friends. A Discovery+ representative did not immediately respond to POPSUGAR’s request for comment.
The feature is the latest offering from Discovery+ and true-crime firm ID, which is also behind the recently released Armie Hammer exposé, The House of Hammer.
The Price of Joy Trailer
The Price of Glee release date.
The Price of Glee premieres January 16th on ID.
