The Price of Glee: 4 key things to look out for in ID's new documentary

The Price of Glee will premiere on January 16, 2023, at 9 pm EST/8 pm CST on the ID channel and will be available to stream on the same day on discovery+.

The show will take a closer look at the on-screen and off-screen lives of the cast of Glee. It will also feature never-before-seen interviews and dark behind-the-scenes drama from relatives and friends of the actors on the show.

Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of suicide, child p*rnography and celebrity stalking. Discretion is advised.

While most of the actors became famous, some suffered unfortunate fates.

In 2013, Cory Monteith died of a drug overdose, later Mark Salling was caught with child p*rnography material which led to him taking his own life in 2018. Following that, in July 2020, Naya Rivera drowned in a lake while trying to save her son's life.

---

What will ID's new documentary The Price of Glee cover?

1) Glee behind-the-scenes conflicts in the inception of the social media era

When Glee made its debut in 2009, social media was just taking off, and platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Orkut and Tumblr were booming. In the show's trailer, entertainment reporter Andy Swift said that it was great that fans of the show could come together and connect over things.

However, he added that the fights began almost immediately, as with social media, stars could track who had the most followers and who the fans were into.

Former hair department head Dugg Kirkpatrick said that he often saw actors talking about how many followers they had acquired, and that there was a competition there. Kirkpatrick added that in the beginning, the actors had to tweet every day and that was when Lea Michele had the numbers.

The hair department head added:

"The head gets a little bit bigger, to say the least."

---

2) Cory Monteith was constantly stalked

Fans of Glee constantly ransacked the show during its filming.

However, Cory Monteith and Chris Colfer were the ones who suffered quite a lot. While the former was constantly stalked by a female fan, the latter was forcefully ki***d by a fan on the mouth without consent.

Comedian Stephen Kramer Glickman said that the production had to build a wall from the actors' trailers to the set so that the cast could travel "safely" without fans bothering them.

Monteith, who was a private person in real life, got sick of headlines about his relationship with co-star Michele. Justin Neill, his former roommate, said that he remembered the actor specifically saying that he wouldn't wish fame on his worst enemy.

---

3) Lea Michele's obnoxious behavior on the set of Glee

Lea Michele was often known for misbehaving with co-actors. She has a rivalry with Naya Rivera and Amber Riley. Accounts of her behavior by Dabier Snell and Garrett Greer were described in the trailer.

Greer said that he'd had friends in New York who had friends who grew up with Michele, so he knew of "her reputation before that." The former said that the actress had a rap for being a little difficult.

He continued that Michele wanted to keep her character Rachel Berry at the front and center, so if there was any threat to that kind of attention, there would be conflict. He added that when Amber Riley sang a song, Michele would sing live for the makers and:

"Amber’s song was more showy than what Leah was singing. And I remember being like, ‘Oh, she’s not gonna like this.’ … Lea’s a narcissist.”

---

4) Monteith might have relapsed because of a because of fellow actor

Cory Monteith was written off from Glee's fourth season so he could attend rehab, but he died four months after his return from an overdose. When he returned from rehab, Cory was attending a party where he didn't drink. Reportedly, he wanted to drink but due to his addiction issues, he knew he shouldn't.

Dugg Kirkpatrick revealed that Cory was told by a certain cast member on the night of the party that if he wanted to drink, he should drink, and that the cast member will be there for him.

The former hair department head added that the statement confused and infuriated Cory, and he drank and began drinking because he had permission from someone who loved him. Dugg added:

"He (Cory) resented it, but he also took the direction. It took him on a path to destruction."

Monteith was dating Lea Michele at the time of his death.

---

The documentary will premiere on Monday, January 16, 2023 at 9 pm EST/8 pm CST on the ID channel. It will also be available to stream on Discovery+ on the same day.