Everything we know about the upcoming and very juicy ‘Glee’ docuseries

The series will explore the various controversies surrounding the iconic show including the deaths of Niya Rivera and Cory Monteith.

As one of the most popular TV series ever to hit the small screen, Glee is getting its very own docuseries exploring the show’s many controversies.

The Ryan Murphy-directed show had a six-season run in between the years of 2009 and 2015 and saw almost nine million viewers tune into each episode. However, despite its popularity, several controversial stories emerged during and after its time on TV, including a child pornography scandal and several unexpected deaths.

For those who are blissfully unaware, Glee centred around a fictional high school show choir club in Lima, Ohio. The series became popular for its combination of acapella pop music covers whilst tackling a myriad of relevant topics, including homophobia, teen pregnancy and disability. 

But none of the content throughout Glee could hold a candle to the stores that would eventually come out of the production. In 2013, it was reported that Cory Monteith, who played Finn Hudson, had been found dead in a hotel room due to a combination of heroin and alcohol. In 2017, another cast member, Mark Salling, pled guilty to being in possession of over 50,000 images of child pornography. The actor committed suicide just a few months later in 2018.

The controversies didn’t stop there. In 2020, the actor Samantha Marie Ware revealed to Variety her experiences on the show, describing the ways co-star Lea Michele made her life a “living hell.”

“I knew from day one when I attempted to introduce myself. There was nothing gradual about it,” she said. “As soon as she decided that she didn’t like me, it was very evident.” 

Ware initially spoke out when Lea posted online in support of Black Lives Matter: “Remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?!?! Cause I’ll never forget. I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would ‘shit in my wig!’ amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood [sic],” she wrote in a now deleted tweet.  

That same year, Niya Rivera went missing whilst on a boat trip in Lake Peru. It was later discovered that she had drowned. 

The new docuseries is said to investigate some of those stories via a three-part structure, with interviews from key cast and crew members. The project will also feature interviews with “family and friends” who will tell “never-heard-before stories,” as reported by Deadline.

The untitled series is the latest project for streamer Discovery+ and true-crime brand ID following The House of Hammer featuring the Armie Hammer controversy, as well as a series about the Menendez Brothers, British au pair Louise Woodward and Biggie and Tupac.

A release date has not yet been confirmed for the series.

Writer
Chris Saunders
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Fox