HBO is disputing a report that its forthcoming drama series The Idol was beset by problems during filming.
A Rolling Stone story published and citing 13 sources close to the show reports that the drama, co-created by Euphoria’s Sam Levinson and music star The Weekend (whose real name is Abel Tesfaye), was plagued by last-minute revisions and a chaotic working environment. The story also says that after director Amy Seimetz was let go amid a creative overhaul in April 2022, Levinson took over as director and “scrapped the nearly finished US$54-US$75 million project to rewrite and reshoot the entire thing”.
The Idol stars Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn, a rising pop star who comes under the sway of Tedros (Tesfaye), a nightclub owner and leader of a NXIVM-like cult. HBO began developing the show in summer 2021 and gave it a series order in November of that year.
Rolling Stone (which, like The Hollywood Reporter), is owned Penske Media Corp.) says in its story that The Idol suffered frequent delays and changes to the production due to unfinished scripts when Seimetz was directing. After her exit, according to the story, what was supposed to be two to three months more of filming stretched into five. People who worked on the show also noted a shift in tone and some disturbing scenes written (but not filmed) portraying sexual violence.
“What I signed up for was a dark satire of fame and the fame model in the 21st century — the things that we subject our talent and stars to, the forces that put people in the spotlight and how that can be manipulated in the post-Trump world,” one source told RS. “It went from satire to the thing it was satirizing”…
