Drama The Idol (HBO) - The Weeknd Co-Creates, Stars

[Sawyer]

The Weeknd to Star in, Co-Write Cult Series in the Works at HBO - Variety

The Weeknd is developing a series at HBO which he would star in as well as co-write.

Currently titled “The Idol,” the series follows a female pop singer starts a romance with an enigmatic L.A. club owner who is the leader of a secret cult.

Wow.

 

[Kaleb]

Sounds like a typical music video from The Weeknd but in long form.

 

[Sawyer]

Should be fun. @Kane52630, are you in?

 

[Kane52630]

You know why im here.

 

[Kaleb]

The Weeknd's HBO Show 'The Idol' Adds Six Cast Members - Variety


The Weeknd will star in the show alongside Lily-Rose Depp, Suzanna Son, Melanie Liburd, Tunde Adebimpe, Steve Zissis, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Nico Hiraga, Anne Heche and Australian electropop singer and actor Troye Sivan.

 

[Sawyer]

With Sam Levinson as EP, I’m really hoping Labrinth scores this show too. His work on Euphoria is magical.

 

[Kane52630]

 

[MadVillainy]

The crux of the issue appears to be that Tesfaye, who headlined Coachella this year and played the Super Bowl halftime show last year, felt the show was leaning too much into a “female perspective”, according to sources, with co-star Lily Rose Depp’s character rather than his own. Rose Depp remains on board and a key part of the show following its creative overhaul.

Yikes....

I know that doesn't sound as bad as it is, but that's still not a great reading sentence
But they filmed most of it already, that just sounds a bummer

 

[Sawyer]

Surprised to see footage so soon with all the reshooting they’ve been talking about.

 

[Kaleb]

Looks like it will bring in the 'Euphoria' crowd.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

‘The Idol’: How HBO’s Next ‘Euphoria’ Became Twisted ‘Torture Porn’ – Rolling Stone
Thirteen sources tell Rolling Stone that The Idol — Sam Levinson’s new show with The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp — has gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails

In interviews with 13 members of the show’s cast and crew, Rolling Stone has learned the drastic delay was caused by Levinson taking over as director and scrapping the nearly-finished $54-75 million project to rewrite and reshoot the entire thing.

With Seimetz out of the picture, HBO handed the reins to Levinson, only to have him weaken the show’s overarching message, many sources say, by dialing up the disturbing sexual content and nudity to match — and even surpass — that of his most successful show, Euphoria.

“What I signed up for was a dark satire of fame and the fame model in the 21st century,” one production member explains. “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.” However, they add, “It went from satire to the thing it was satirizing.”

Four sources say that Levinson ultimately scrapped Seimetz’s approach to the story, making it less about a troubled starlet falling victim to a predatory industry figure and fighting to reclaim her own agency, and more of a degrading love story with a hollow message that some crew members describe as being offensive.

“It was like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better,” one production member explains of Levinson’s version.

A report from April blamed the show’s overhaul on Tesfaye, who was reportedly unhappy that the story was focusing too much on Depp’s character, according to Deadline. A source with knowledge seconds that Tesfaye was the reason behind the shakeup, wanting to tone down the cult aspect of the storyline and pivot into something else entirely, dropping the “feminist lens” through which the show was being told as a result. “It was like the Weeknd wanted one show that was all about him — Sam was on board with that,” another source explains to Rolling Stone.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Discussing Film: "The Weeknd responds to the recent Rolling Stone article about the alleged production nightmare on his series ‘THE IDOL’ with a clip from the series that takes shots at Rolling Stone."

The Weeknd also tweeted to Rolling Stone along with the video, 'did we upset you?'

 

[OtherwiseKnownAs]

lol, this is gonna be so ****ty

 

[#root]

‘The Idol’ Scandalizes Cannes With Five-Minute Standing Ovation for Lily-Rose Depp’s M*sturbating Pop Star, Explicit Nudity and the Weeknd’s TV Acting Debut

Really goes to show you how meaningless these standing ovations are when this is getting panned literally everywhere . The first 2 episodes (out of 5 maybe? Not sure.) are at 27% on RT right now with almost everyone saying that it’s trying too hard to be provocative. There’s a scene where an intimacy coordinator is locked in a bathroom and Depp’s popstar character then takes her shirt off for a photoshoot. Tells you all you need to know about the show and the people involved in the show.

 

[Drizzle]

‘The Idol’ Scandalizes Cannes With Five-Minute Standing Ovation for Lily-Rose Depp’s M*sturbating Pop Star, Explicit Nudity and the Weeknd’s TV Acting Debut

Really goes to show you how meaningless these standing ovations are when this is getting panned literally everywhere . The first 2 episodes (out of 5 maybe? Not sure.) are at 27% on RT right now with almost everyone saying that it’s trying too hard to be provocative. There’s a scene where an intimacy coordinator is locked in a bathroom and Depp’s popstar character then takes her shirt off for a photoshoot. Tells you all you need to know about the show and the people involved in the show.

It's pretty clear with Cannes now that they don't give a **** about how good or bad something is, they're just happy to be there.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

All things considered, it wasn't as bad as many made it out to be. Not great either, and the dialogue is a bit laughable at times, like when one character says that mental illness is sexy. It was more baffling than bad. Nowhere near as good as Euphoria, of course. I'm more curious about the show than I am actually engaged.

Though, speaking of Euphoria,

Spoiler

Maddy has a blink and you'll miss it cameo.

 

[Kane52630]

The hype/hate for this was way overblown, the first episode is basically Entourage meets Euphoria but not nearly as interesting. It's just very middle of the road.

I can't tell if the "hate" for this from all the critics and entertainment sites is a marketing tactic.

 

[Stringer]

Idk, if those rumors are true maybe sounds like Abel wanted to go against the image of a shady black male preying on a talented white female which would be understandable. Either way, it doesn't look like that show will have much to say regardless of what message they were going for before or after the changes.

 

[Kane52630]

Sam Levinson is desperately trying to go for a European auteur driven show cinematography-wise because it's anywhere from some European movies I've seen to some Brian De Palma stuff. But storywise it feels outdated with the times to think being super erotic is shocking. The part that did work for me is the first half which felt like a modern homage to what Britney Spears or Madonna went through.

 

[Slick]

Saturday Night Live Star Roasts The Idol in Hilarious New Video

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

Maybe it's just the K-Pop fandom, but so many folks on Twitter rave or talk about this Jennie Kim woman on the show. For the life of me, I don't understand why since she hasn't done that much yet. When CL was on Dave, for example, she at least had somewhat of a role for the episode where she appeared. Whereas Kim hasn't done that much, but maybe her role grows.

 

[Kane52630]

Probably because Blackpink was a bigger pop band and they've used her in the marketing for the show. Dave is relevantly an unknown show worldwide because it's only on Hulu whereas HBO is seen throughout the world.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

Only on Hulu internationally? Because Dave does air on FXX. That's how I watch it.

 

[TheFuture]

Maybe it's just the K-Pop fandom, but so many folks on Twitter rave or talk about this Jennie Kim woman on the show. For the life of me, I don't understand why since she hasn't done that much yet. When CL was on Dave, for example, she at least had somewhat of a role for the episode where she appeared. Whereas Kim hasn't done that much, but maybe her role grows.

I could have seen it based off the first episode, as she appeared to be playing a non cliche character, however after the second episode......I suppose we see this type of thing all the time on social media, people latch onto something or character for the most bizarre reasons.

Anyway, 2 episodes in and it's.....something. Some semi interesting characters and developments here and there, but overshadowed by how hollow it comes across as. It's a fascinating train wreck, that's the best way I can describe it.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

So some clips and images from this ''thing'' has popped up on my timeline... and I just thought I would inform you all: I will not be watching this trash.