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The Price of Glee aired on January 16, 2023, at 9 pm EST/8 pm CST on the ID channel.
Investigation Discovery's three-part docuseries enlightened viewers on the behind-the-scenes drama with conversation by interviewing relatives, friends, and publicists of the Glee cast. It also has interviews with former crew members and journalists who covered the TV show.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of drug overdose, suicide and possession of child p*rnography. Discretion is advised.
While most of the cast made it big in the world of stardom, some suffered unfortunate fates. The tragic and early deaths of Cory Monteith, Naya Rivera, and Mark Salling being the most infamous ones.
The Price of Glee Cast reveals that nobody knew about Cory Monteith's problems with alcohol
1) A co-actor gave Cory Monteith the nod to restart drinking
Cory Monteith tragically passed away at the age of 31 in his hotel room on July 13, 2013, after a drug overdose. It is widely believed and claimed that it could have been avoided if hadn't relapsed earlier
Dugg Kirkpatrick, the show's hairstylist, shockingly revealed a conversation he had with Monteith once where the actor revealed how he started drinking again. The actor was attending a party and not drinking but a co-star allowed him to drink.
Kirkpatrick said that Cory was told by a cast member who the actor considered a friend that he could have a drink and that the friend will be there. The person also reportedly told Cory,
"I'll be here. You can always trust that I'll be here for you"
The actor was apparently confused, upset, and angry that a person he loved told him to drink.
He also said that because Cory had the permission to drink from someone he loved, the hairstylist believes that it was what led him on a path to destruction.
2) The cast competed with each other when it came to garnering social media followers
When Glee premiered in 2009, social media was just taking off, and platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, and Tumblr were booming. The show's stars hopped onto the bandwagon and competed against each other when it came to more followers, but the rivalry was not friendly.
Dugg Kirkpatrick said:
"I would often see the actors gathered talking about how many people they acquired as followers, and it was a competition. In the beginning, they had to tweet every day. It was Lea who really had the numbers."
Journalist Andy Swift revealed that the cast would immediately begin fighting each other for the follower count.
3) A crewman's brother took his own life because of Glee
The show gradually got bigger and bigger, and it was becoming stressful for everyone to keep up with its schedule and working hours. Everyone in the crew was expected to work hard and long, for up to 72 to 100 hours a week.
Not just actors on the show but others lost their lives, including Julia Roberts' half-sister Nancy Motes and Matthew Morrison's stand-in Mark Watson.
Art director Michael Rizzo said that after the deaths, it felt like a "pattern of horrible things." Rizzo added that the cast and crew were a family but that the times were tough for everyone.
J.A. Byerly, who handled camerawork for 5 seasons of Glee blamed the show for his brother Mitchell's death. Byerly's brother also worked on set before taking his own life at the beginning of season 6.
4) Lea Michele's problematic onset behavior
Even before Glee's filming began, Michele had a reputation for being someone who was hard to work with. Garrett Greer, an assistant to the executive producer during seasons 1 and 2, claimed that the actress was a narcissist who was always overprotective of her character.
Late Naya Rivera's father George revealed that his daughter was always bothered by Michele. Rivera was temporarily let go from the show after complaining about it to the production.
He said that there were a lot of fights between the two and everybody knew about it as everyone could see it. George added that while Naya and Lea hated each other, they also respected each other's talents.
However, Lea's behavior did impact everyone on set. Actor Dabier Snell revealed how she didn't want him to sit with the rest of the cast as Snell "didn't belong there."
5) Some crewmember's believed something was wrong with Mark Salling
Mark Salling was arrested in 2015 on suspicion of possessing child p*rnography after one of his ex-girlfriends reported it to authorities. He eventually pleaded guilty to the charge of receiving and possessing child p*rnography, which included a reported 25,000 images and videos.
While this news shocked most of the Glee crew, some weren't as stunned as they had claimed to have sensed something off about the actor. They said that he was usually quieter than his co-stars and often kept to himself.
Greer even noticed the cracks in his relationship with ex-girlfriend Naya Rivera. He said:
"Mark's relationship with Naya was kind of toxic. It was really dramatic. And I didn't like that for her."
The Glee actor took his own life on January 30, 2018.
The Price of Glee is available to stream on discovery+ worldwide.
