Not content with turning the American high school experience into an opioid-fueled, high-octane fever dream in Euphoria, writer and director Sam Levinson has now turned his eye on the sex, drugs, and cults of Los Angeles for his new project with HBO. The Idol is a provocative drama series which Levinson co-created with Abel Tesfaye, better known as R&B star The Weeknd.
What’s it about?
The Idol follows Jocelyn, an aspiring singer whose career is faltering after she was forced to cancel her tour due to a nervous breakdown. When we meet her at the start of the show, she is resolving to make her dreams of becoming the world’s sexiest pop star a reality. This mission is complicated by her tumultuous and toxic relationship with Tedros, a self-help guru who may or may not be the leader of a cult.
The cast also features The Weeknd
Abel Tesfaye / The Weekend stars in The Idol as Tedros, while Jocelyn is portrayed by Lily-Rose Depp. The cast also includes K-Pop singer Jennie Kim, horror maestro Eli Roth, Dan Levy, Troye Sivan, Suzanna Son, Moses Sumney, Rachel Sennott, Hari Nef, and Hank Azaria.
Recurring cast members include Elizabeth Berkley, Anne Heche, Melanie Liburd, Tunde Adebimpe, Nico Hiraga, Maya Eshet, Tyson Ritter, and Karl Glusman.
The trailer promises some real depravity
HBO have dropped three teaser trailers for the show so far which hail The Idol as coming “from the sick and twisted minds of the creator of Euphoria Sam Levinson and Abel ‘The Weekend’ Tesfaye,” the most recent of which focuses on the character of Jocelyn and her quest for pop stardom.
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The controversy behind The Idol Season 1
Rolling Stone recently ran a story on some of the issues plaguing The Idol behind the scenes, including constant script rewrites, going over budget, and poor working conditions for the cast and crew, in addition to the show’s arguably exploitative content, concluding that The Idol has “gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails” and describing the show as “torture porn,” in part due to the scenes which depict Tedros beating Joceyln, who smiles and begs him to rape her as she believes he and his abuse are the key to her musical success.
HBO has disputed claims that The Idol is a “rape fantasy,” and Tesfaye responded to the article by sharing a clip from The Idol in which his and Depp’s characters question the relevance of the long-running magazine title. “Did we upset you?” he asked in the accompanying tweet.
Depp, who plays Jocelyn, has defended Levinson against allegations of exploitative behavior.
“Sam is, for so many reasons, the best director I have ever worked with,” she told Variety. “Never have I felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input and opinions more valued. Working with Sam is a true collaboration in every way — it matters to him, more than anything, not only what his actors think about the work, but how we feel performing it. He hires people whose work he esteems and has always created an environment in which I felt seen, heard, and appreciated.”
When is The Idol released?
No official release date has been confirmed for the show yet, although HBO has confirmed that it is slated to air at some point in 2023.
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
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