The Drama Surrounding HBO's The Idol, Explained

What is The Idol?

The Idol is a series created by Sam Levinson (the guy behind Euphoria), Reza Fahim, and Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd. It follows a rising pop star (Lily-Rose Depp) who falls in with a night club owner (Tesfaye) who turns out to be the leader of a modern-day cult.

Early Troubles

The series was ordered for six episodes back in 2021, but production has allegedly been hampered by Levinson and Tesfaye stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

Director Amy Seimetz departed the series last year, despite 80% of the show already having been shot. At the time, Deadline reported that Tesfaye was upset with the direction the show had taken, claiming that it was too focused on “the female perspective” rather than centering on his character.

The Latest Drama

Sources told Rolling Stone that Levinson took over as director and rewrote the entire thing — allegedly throwing $54-75 million out the window to redo it his way (an infuriating waste when you remember WB is now axing projects like Batgirl for tax write-offs). What was once meant to be a satire about pop culture and fame has reportedly now become something more akin to “a rape fantasy,” according to a crew member.

“It was a show about a woman who was finding herself sexually, turned into a show about a man who gets to abuse this woman and she loves it,” one source said.

Budgeting issues, incomplete scripts, last minute rewrites, and difficult shoot days are all things people involved with the show say have plagued production from the start — none of which sound surprising given Levinson’s history on Euphoria, which has been the subject of its own fair share of drama. Add on the disturbing turn the actual contents of the show have alleged taken, detailed further in the Rolling Stone article, and the entire thing sounds like a huge mess.

The Cast Responds

Despite multiple sources contributing to Rolling Stone’s article and all telling virtually the same story, The Idol’s leads have defended Levinson.

Depp told the publication that she has never “felt more supported or respected in a creative space” or had her “input and opinions more valued,” even calling Levinson “the best director” she’d ever worked with.

Tesfaye, meanwhile, responded by insinuating the article only exists because there’s a clip in the series poking fun at Rolling Stone, which he shared on Instagram, with the caption "@Rollingstone did we upset you?"

Public Backlash

Euphoria has already left fans wary of Levinson, and people who actually read the Rolling Stone article rather than just look at Tesfaye’s Instagram post have not been happy about the alleged behind-the-scenes of The Idol, or HBO’s decision to keep letting Levinson do whatever he wants.

The Idol is expected to premiere on HBO sometime this year, although a date has not yet been set.