The Price Of Glee

[Scarlett45]

Quote

Discovery+ and ID are exploring the real story behind Fox’s hit series Glee.

Airs: January 16, 2023

I was a huge gLee fan back in the day, I still love listening to so much of the music. Such tragedy surrounded this cast, I still contend someone needs to bubble wrap Amber Riley!

[SunnyBeBe]

Just found this thread.  I was a big fan too!  I’m watching it now.  ……..hmmmm…..I have a bit to say about this docu series and I don’t think it’s going to be good.  

Edited January 17, 2023 by SunnyBeBe

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Just found this thread.  I was a big fan too!  I’m watching it now.  ……..hmmmm…..I have a bit to say about this docu series and I don’t think it’s going to be good.  

Yeah I haven’t started yet but I’m interest in your thoughts. 

[Sara2009]

I know this will be trashy, but I still have the urge to watch it.

[Annber03]

I liked this show, too, when it was on. My sister got me into watching it - she was a diehard fan from the beginning and when I moved back home the summer after the first season, I was staying with her and she sat me down and played the entire first season for me :p. I was just a casual viewer of the show, in that I watched it, but I never really delved into the fandom side of things. But I do remember my sister telling me about how intense some of the fan sites could be, and I do remember reading comment sections for the show on TV Line and sites of that sort and some of the discussions were...yeow. So that was another reason I stayed away from the fandom side of things. 

And yet, even knowing how wild the fandom could be just from what I heard, I was still surprised by the details of what the cast had to deal with, with stalkers and the wall to protect them from fans rushing at them and whatnot. Indeed, it was clear some of these people had some struggles before the show and the fame came along, but it's clear that all of that certainly exacerbated a lot of those problems. Hearing more about all that Cory went through...just so sad and so tragic. I remember watching the "Quarterback" episode and pretty much sobbing throughout the entire thing. 

And Naya. I always liked her character of Santana on the show. Such a heartbreaking ending for her, too. I hope her son is doing okay. 

Speaking of episodes of the show and whatnot, though, it's been so long since I've seen the show in general, but hoooooooooly crap, those clips with Puck making those jokes about sex tapes or dating an underage girl or whatnot. That...is even more creepy in hindsight. Yikes. So much yikes. 

I didn't realize how many people who worked on the show in some fashion died over the years, outside of the main three cast members. Whether one could connect the deaths to the show and the stress that came with it or not, that's still a hell of a lot of death to experience on one program in such a short amount of time. It does make it all the more surprising the show ran as long as it did. 

[Spartan Girl]

Maybe they should have ended the show when Cory died. It sounds like the cast’s hearts really weren’t into it anymore after that happened.

Yeah, at this point I don’t know what he saw in Lea either. I’ll be generous and say that she probably was devastated by his death, but she wound up making it all about her. And excluding that one guy from the table just because he wasn’t an MC?! WTF?!

[SunnyBeBe]

As a fan of Glee the series, perhaps I’m a little biased, but I thought this docu series was all over the place.  The more I watched, the less I liked it.  It was not very cohesive, imo. 
 

So, was this designed as a dig at Lea Michelle or Ryan Murphy?  Whatever Lea’s faults are,  ( her apology letter link is below) I thought they were poorly addressed here.  Comments like,  I’ve heard from people in NY what she’s like to work with…..ok.  Then, the hairdresser seems to blame Lea for Cory’s death due to her giving him permission to drink alcohol.  First of all, I thought the hairdresser seemed biased and, he must not understand how people addicted to drugs often lie and deflect to excuse their drug usage.  And, relapse is quite common with addiction .  To blame friends, co-workers, etc. because a long time addiction returns is irresponsible, imo. The show  Autopsy: The Last 24 Hours covers Cory’s death much better than this piece did.  
 

https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/lea-michele-apology-glee-samantha-ware-accusations-microaggressions-1234623471/

I’m not sure who the show disliked more, Lea Michelle or Ryan Murphy.  It was their fault the show was so successful and working hard was just a sin.  Were these people paid to say negative things about their time on the show?  So, the show was so successful that is caused some of the staff to end their lives?  I sensed a need to blame someone, but it didn’t appear logical.  Perhaps, I missed it.  
 

After Mark Sallings death, most everyone, except for the psychologist, had positive things to say about him, such as he was a good person, though a player, he lost his way,….seemingly they thought he was a good person to work with and his criminal convictions didn’t change that.  But, they held harsh criticism for others.  


Naya’s death was quite sad, but I don’t see how Glee caused her death.  One person even said that she was so hounded by fame that she had no where to go and spend time with her child except on that boat. What?  Naya  seemed to be a very smart lady.  I can’t imagine why she went out alone on a boat with a toddler and wore no life vest.  And swam in a lake alone with a child?  It boggles the mind. To blame a curse and fame instead of the real cause is ridiculous, imo.  The same goes for the other horrible events.  
 

I wonder if a more open approach might have been more successful.  It wasn’t for me.  

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by SunnyBeBe

[Vivigirl10]

Most of the time, criticism of an actor/actress seems hush hush and not really attributed to a particular source.  More like a rumor mill.  "I heard she's difficult to work with".  Wow!  This was a total smear piece for Lea Michelle and nobody bit their tongue!  It just seems so rare to see people on camera coming right out with how much they despise a person.  As someone who has never been a fan of hers, I was like, pass the popcorn.  

[jcbrown]

I agree this was all over the place and it kinda made me feel like I wanted a shower. There may have been a good piece to make on this topic; this was not it.

[Annber03]

9 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

After Mark Sallings death, most everyone, except for the psychologist, had positive things to say about him, such as he was a good person, though a player, he lost his way,….seemingly they thought he was a good person to work with and his criminal convictions didn’t change that.  But, they held harsh criticism for others.  

Yeah, on the one hand, they went through his downfall pretty fast, in a way that made it seem like they just wanted to avoid having to talk about it as much as possible (mind, I wouldn't blame them for feeling that way, 'cause it's such a disturbing story), but on the other hand, it was weird to see some of the comments from others after his death, yeah. I get it might be hard to know exactly what to say in a situation like that, when it's someone you've worked with and known, but still... 

[Kiss my mutt]

These five minute commercials between five minutes of the program is killing me! 
I’m on the first episode, and I agree they are all over the place. It comes across as a trailer.

[RoxiP]

I haven't managed to get through this yet because like many of you mentioned before, it was basically a smear campaign on Lea Michelle.  Having lived with an addict I will say that it was not my job to police him, as much as I would have liked to.  Addicts will do what they are going to do and hide it from the people they love for as long as they can.  Maybe one day when I'm really bored I will watch the rest of it but I loved Glee for the joy it brought people, not to look at the dark underside of fame.  

Let's face it - nobody gets into the entertainment industry NOT to be famous.

[PurpleTentacle]

To be honest, this was pretty much a nothing-burger. Nothing but publically availible information. Maybe it could have made for an interesting 1 hour documentary, but stretching it to over two hours was just painfull.

Also at the beginning of episode 2 that message from Corey shortly before his death "Every day has been better than the last!" and everybody saying how weird and/or tragic that was... Guys, that dude was on a ton of drugs. He was literally high when he wrote that message. Of course he felt great. That's how it is before you crash.

[PurpleTentacle]

On 1/17/2023 at 7:05 PM, Kiki620 said:

Most of the time, criticism of an actor/actress seems hush hush and not really attributed to a particular source.  More like a rumor mill.  "I heard she's difficult to work with".  Wow!  This was a total smear piece for Lea Michelle and nobody bit their tongue!  It just seems so rare to see people on camera coming right out with how much they despise a person.  As someone who has never been a fan of hers, I was like, pass the popcorn.  

Considering some of the things I read about her, this was pretty tame.

On 1/17/2023 at 4:42 PM, SunnyBeBe said:

I’m not sure who the show disliked more, Lea Michelle or Ryan Murphy.  It was their fault the show was so successful and working hard was just a sin.  Were these people paid to say negative things about their time on the show?  So, the show was so successful that is caused some of the staff to end their lives?  I sensed a need to blame someone, but it didn’t appear logical.  Perhaps, I missed it.  

There is working hard and then there is being a slave driver. Traditional Network shows with 20+ episodes are grueling at the best of times, this seems to have been a whole nother level, with all the extra work, like singing, dancing, etc., normal Network shows don't have to deal with. It would have been more realistic to have ~16 episode seasons, but then the studio and Ryan Murphy would have raked in slightly less money.

Also probably would have made for a more quality show. By season 2 the auto tune got to atrocious levels. But I guess that didn't bother the fans, so why would it bother the people running the show?

On 1/26/2023 at 6:15 PM, RoxiP said:

I haven't managed to get through this yet because like many of you mentioned before, it was basically a smear campaign on Lea Michelle.  Having lived with an addict I will say that it was not my job to police him, as much as I would have liked to.  Addicts will do what they are going to do and hide it from the people they love for as long as they can.  Maybe one day when I'm really bored I will watch the rest of it but I loved Glee for the joy it brought people, not to look at the dark underside of fame.  

Because the hair dresser intimated that somebody gave Corey premission and wouldn't even name names, it is a smear campaign against Lea Michelle?

Let's say that wasn't her and/or it isn't true at all, all the other things said about her are still true and were pretty down played in this documentary...