HBO's The Idol Was 80% Complete When It Was Scrapped And Reshot From Scratch
Update: This piece now contains HBO's official response.
HBO hit the jackpot with "Euphoria," the increasingly successful teen drama capable of crashing HBO Max and dominating the social media zeitgeist for weeks on end. The fervor around the show has been so absolute that it was no surprise when HBO doubled down on working with series creator Sam Levinson. Along with Abel Tesfaye (aka musical artist The Weeknd), Levinson has now created "The Idol," a new series expected to debut sometime in 2023. From the onset, "The Idol" presented itself with the hard edge and glamour of "Euphoria," but traded high school hallways for a world of pop stars and cults. It sounded like the kind of intense drama that would capitalize on Levinson's "Euphoria" success, but recent reports reveal that there's trouble in paradise.
The first hiccup (made public) was the departure of director Amy Seimetz (of "The Girlfriend Experience" and "She Dies Tomorrow"), who exited the series last April; at the time, HBO confirmed that "The Idol" was slated for a major creative overhaul. Rolling Stone journalist Cheyenne Rountree has since interviewed 13 members of the show's cast and crew and learned that "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."
Reportedly, "The Idol" was 80% complete when Seimetz exited and Levinson stepped in. According to crew members, this derailed the already chaotic production and drastically altered the series they signed on for.
'It went from satire to the thing it was satirizing.'
Per the official HBO synopsis, "The Idol" is the story of an up-and-coming popstar (played by Lily Rose-Depp) who is drawn to an enigmatic cult leader and begins a turbulent romance. But according to those close to the production, it's less of a darkly romantic tale and more akin to "sexual torture porn." HBO marketed the show as coming from the "sick and twisted minds" behind the "sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood" and evidently, we should've taken those words very seriously.
The Rolling Stone sources allege that Sam Levinson's revisions increased the disturbing sexual content and nudity to surpass that of "Euphoria," which weakened the thematic weight the series once held. Once pitched as a story about "a troubled starlet falling victim to a predatory industry figure and fighting to reclaim her own agency," the story instead became a "degrading love story with a hollow message."
"It went from satire to the thing it was satirizing," explained one production member. "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."
As originally presented, the show seems a perfect fit for Amy Seimetz, whose past projects more that prove her ability to bring nuance to a story with such complex power dynamics. But Abel Tesfaye felt the show needed an overhaul because it was heading too much into a "female perspective."
Euphoria also has a messy production history
Beyond the content of the rewrites, the sources also describe an overall chaotic and tense set: Reportedly, the series was constantly being reshot and rewritten in real-time. Scripts were finished late and the schedule was rarely followed. These are production issues that closely mirror reports from the set of "Euphoria" season 2. Those sources (per The Daily Beast) claimed grueling 17-hour workdays caused by last-minute rewrites and Sam Levinson failing to arrive with a shot list, in addition to multiple SAG-AFTRA union complaints and a fight between Levinson and series star Barbie Ferreira (who exited the show at the end of season 2).
The most troubling aspect of all of this is the implication that Levinson was shielded thanks to his track record of success a la "Euphoria." As one source explained:
"This was such a strong example of just how far [Levinson] can really push HBO and they will continue to cover [him] because he brings in money. He's able to walk away unscathed and everybody still wants to work with him. [...] People ignore the red flags and follow him regardless."
HBO has since officially commented on the report, and you can read the full statement below:
"The creators and producers of 'The Idol' have been working hard to create one of HBO's most exciting and provocative original programs. The initial approach on the show and production of the early episodes, unfortunately, did not meet HBO standards so we chose to make a change. Throughout the process, the creative team has been committed to creating a safe, collaborative, and mutually respectful working environment, and last year, the team made creative changes they felt were in the best interest of both the production and the cast and crew. We look forward to sharing 'The Idol' with audiences soon."
As for when (or if) we will see "The Idol" anytime soon, Rolling Stone reports that its been months since HBO got a concrete update about when the series would be ready to debut, though teaser trailers promise a 2023 release date.