ABOVE: ONE OF FOUR PSAs RECORDED BY STARS OF GLEE. SEE THE OTHERS BELOW
TORONTO – A teary episode of Glee dedicated to late actor Cory Monteith was followed in the United States on Thursday by a public service announcement on drug addiction, but Canadian viewers didn’t get the message.
Global says it didn’t air any of the four PSAs recorded by the Glee cast because U.S. network Fox “didn’t provide an international version.”
The heartfelt episode dealt with the death of the football-hunk character Finn, played by Calgary-born Monteith, who was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room in July of an accidental drug overdose that included heroin and alcohol.
The episode wasn’t about drug addiction and made only vague references to the cause of the character’s death.
However, immediately afterward, American viewers saw a PSA featuring Glee cast members discussing drug dependency and urging anyone suffering to dial 1-800-662-HELP.
That number takes callers to a U.S. federal sustance abuse and mental health services treatment referral routing system, so the spots didn’t air in Canada.
“As a Canadian broadcaster, yes, that PSA was very important, but unfortunately we didn’t have access to an international version,” said a Global spokeswoman.
The four PSAs feature cast members Jane Lynch, Matthew Morrison, Chord Overstreet and Kevin McHale.
“Our friend Cory didn’t look or act like an addict,” Lynch says in one of the spots. “He was happy, successful and seemingly had it all.”
Added Morrison: “Addiction is a serious disease that can hide in plain sight but no one needs to fight it alone.”
WATCH THE OTHER PSAs RECORDED BY STARS OF GLEE BELOW:
Comments