Some movies and shows have such troubled and problematic cast members that it’s almost too hard to go back and rewatch. One such show is Fox’s Glee. Now, Discovery+ has announced that they will release a docuseries about the many controversies surrounding smash TV series Glee.
Deadline recounts numerous controversies around Glee, the most famous being the death of Cory Monteith, who was found dead from a heroin overdose in 2013 not long before production on season five was set to begin. His character, Finn Hudson, was killed off; Monteith was honored in the season’s third episode.
Monteith’s girlfriend, Lea Michele (glee club superstar Rachel), was later accused of bullying by co-star Samantha Marie Ware, who had a short run in the final season as classmate Jane.
Other notable instances the child pornography arrest and 2018 suicide of Mark Salling, who played jock Puck, and the accidental drowning death of Naya Rivera (Santana) in 2020. Series co-creator Ryan Murphy has had his own share of controversy, with Netflix’s Dahmer being deemed “cruel” to survivors and victims’ families.
Despite its frequent corniness and bubblegum demeanor, Glee does deserve credit for tackling a number of hot-button–and important–issues for its target audience, including bullying, sexual orientation and more.
The planned three-part docuseries will be produced by Ample Entertainment, who were also responsible for HBO’s documentary series The Invisible Pilot. Discovery+ hit on a relevant, headline-grabbing topic earlier this year with House of Hammer, about the crumbled Hammer family.
Throughout its six season, 121-episode run, Glee earned more than 30 Primetime Emmy nominations, nine Golden Globe nods and a handful of WGA and DGA nominations. Collectively, it garnered nearly 80 awards from the most notable academies and guilds.
What do you think of this news? Is Fox’s Glee worth giving the docuseries treatment?