So, here’s what you missed: Discovery+ (the streaming service you’ve totally heard of that will totally exist long into the future) has developed a Glee-focused documentary series with ID, The Price of Glee. “Why would you need a documentary series about a show that people are embarrassed to admit they liked?†you ask, while archiving Instagram photos from Glee Live! in 2011. Well, the new trailer for the upcoming series has some answers. The Ryan Murphy series has been mired in tragedies and controversies even after it ended in 2015, which pairs nicely with the fact that the series maintained a level of chaos where having teenagers twerk and perform “Gangnam Style†was considered normal. The doc has a lot of potential content — from on-set controversies over the behavior of stars like Lea Michele to the tragic deaths of cast members Cory Monteith and Naya Rivera. And for the morbidly curious, there’s also the fact that Mark Salling (who played Puck) was arrested for child pornography in 2015 and died three years later.
The trailer for the upcoming docuseries focuses mainly on the deaths of the three main cast members. “I don’t want to use the C-word, the curse word. But that’s where the mind goes,†one of the interviewees, who is not a former cast member, says in the trailer. Those interviewed include “relatives and friends of Glee cast members; those who were on the set and close to it such as set decorators, hairdressers, stylists, and publicists; and entertainment reporters who covered the phenomenon,†per a press release, notably missing the stars of the show itself. “We’re not really associated with it,†Jenna Ushkowitz, who played Tina on the show and runs the Glee recap podcast And That’s What You Really Missed with her former co-star Kevin McHale, told InTouch on December 5. McHale added that he doesn’t “necessarily want to give something more attention than it maybe deserves or needs.†“But we’ll see,†he continued. “Us and all of our friends have nothing to do with it, so we’ll see what happens.†The series will have three parts, premiering on January 16 on ID and Discovery+ And after, see if Ushkowitz and McHale confirm any truths.
This post has been updated.