The Glee cast has dealt with the deaths of multiple co-stars, weathered numerous tabloid scandals, and now, they are being asked to relive every struggle thanks to the new docuseries The Price of Glee.
(Warning: Discussion of suicide, addiction, and domestic abuse ahead.)
The Price of Glee which premiered on ID this past Monday and is now streaming on Discovery+, is an insult to not only fans of Ryan Murphy’s hit show, but also an act of disrespect to the Glee cast. The three-part documentary examines several scandals and the three main cast deaths (Monteith, Mark Salling, and Naya Rivera), blaming the show’s popularity every step of the way. Thinly sourced and dramatized to the high heavens, The Price of Glee should be ignored and discarded like the gossipy trash it is.
None of the issues the show investigates—from Cory Monteith’s death to Blake Jenner’s alleged domestic abuse against Melissa Benoist—are connected by some sort of Glee curse, which has been crassly referenced in the past to connect these tragedies. Simply put, this doesn’t exist. The word “coincidence” exists for a reason, although The Price of Glee would rather ignore this truth.
The show boasts interviews with people who were involved with Glee, but no cast members were involved. The closest you’ll find are the stand-ins for Chris Colfer (Kurt) and Naya Rivera (Santana) and a few background dancers who purport to have all the facts. (They do not. Most of the stories are pure speculation.) Others who are interviewed include the show’s director of photography from Seasons 1-3; a hairdresser from Season 3, who claims to know the truth behind Monteith’s struggles with addiction; and a few more crew members. There are no producers, main cast, or even guest stars. Instead, there are nearly a dozen entertainment journalists speaking in their place.
This glaring omission has led a number of the show’s OG actors to speak out against The Price of Glee. Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz, who played Artie and Tina on the show, have a podcast specifically dedicated to more lighthearted (but still juicy!) Glee gossip. Both actors have slammed the docuseries for lacking any cast members and, therefore, having no credibility. Chord Overstreet, who played Sam on the series, also called it "bullshit." Before it aired, fans were mixed about their expectations for the series;some had faith in the crew’s involvement, others stood with the Glee cast. But after watching, any Glee fan should realize this show has no ground to stand on.
Perhaps its only redeeming source is George Rivera, father of Naya, who speaks candidly about his late daughter and her 2020 accident. The sequences with George reveal the dedication of Rivera, who began acting and singing at a very young age, and her disappointment in lack of opportunities following the ending of Glee. It’s a lovely tribute to a star who passed so young, with touching home videos of her as a child—but then we return to the thesis of this show, which states that there was some sort of “curse” that forced all these poor Glee stars into darkness.
Rivera, who accidentally drowned in July 2020 while boating with her son Josey Dorsey, should be allowed to rest peacefully. This show accuses the Glee star of needing space from the world around her because she was struggling to book roles after the series ended. What’s the point in speculating? Everyone involved should be allowed to process grief in peace. In the series, Rivera’s father says he has to “compartmentalize” her death, to put his daughter “in a box” in his mind and not open it for the rest of his life. It’s tragic. A scene later, an entertainment journalist sails out with a coroner to attempt to understand why she passed away. They reach no conclusion—but they did post a photo smiling on the same lake where Rivera died.
Justin Neill, a friend of Cory Monteith, in The Price of Glee.
Investigation DiscoveryWhen it comes to smaller scandals, like when people on the show accused Lea Michele of racism, or when Melissa Benoist made domestic abuse allegations against co-star and ex-husband Blake Jenner, everything is rehashed from old headlines. We get the same story about Michele kicking a Black actor out from his seat at a table because he “didn’t belong there.” We have to sit through the Instagram video Benoist posted to open up about being abused. None of this is new information. The Price of Glee is real-life trauma porn, repackaged from tweets and clickbait articles about the so-called Glee curse.
The doc doesn’t go in-depth about Salling, who died by suicide after pleading guilty to child pornography charges, though it doesn’t hesitate to use his image to defend their theory of the “price” of starring on Glee. But it does reach the same conclusion about him and it does for Monteith and Rivera—that the stress of Glee may have been partly to blame for the circumstances behind their respective deaths—even though the three incidents are completely unconnected.
Monteith takes up most of the discussion, filling almost the entirety of the first two episodes, and there’s clearly the most background about him. The series interviews his friends, his old roommate, and his publicist, who all offer up tearful memories of the late star as they recount his final days. But even though the doc has all these sources, they rely on his Season 3 hairdresser for a big bombshell—that one of his Glee co-stars allegedly encouraged him to drink after he had left rehab—that feels incredibly cruel. Again: Let Monteith rest in peace. There’s no need to speculate or point fingers in his death.
The Glee stars need not feel responsible for any part of Monteith’s death. Nor do the producer’s or show creators, who also are loosely blamed for overworking the young actors. The show tries to put a band-aid over its gossiping at the end of the show, discarding the idea of a curse to instead argue that “it’s just life” and tragedies happen. Sure, that’s all true. But in that case, there shouldn’t be a whole docuseries dedicated to unpacking a string of unconnected deaths and other controversies. Each of these incidents referenced is tragic—but there’s no need to hunt for answers after the fact, especially when most of the folks involved only want to move forward with their lives.
If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. You can also text or dial 988.
