The Idol, the new HBO show from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, has been mired in controversy since its premiere at Cannes last month. Critics have accused the show of “sexual torture porn” and becoming the subject it was attempting to satirize.
Caution! Spoilers ahead!
The series follows a distressed pop star named Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), who attends a music video shoot that goes poorly. The episode tracks her emotional suffering due to the rigors of the entertainment industry. To drown her sorrows, she invites her love interest Tedros (The Weeknd), who is also a cult leader, and his followers to her house for a night of sex and drugs.
Compared to last week’s pilot episode, “Double Fantasy” ramps up the depravity, which has only furthered the mixed response to the series. The party is filled with graphic nudity as well as sexually explicit scenes. Many of the sexual interactions fixate on Tedros’ pleasure, connecting with previous reports that parts of the show were reshot for centering too much on a “female perspective.”
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Perhaps contributing to the chaotic discourse are The Idol‘s behind-the-scenes reports that reveal it almost fell apart during production.
Director Amy Seimetz left the series in April 2022 when reportedly 80% of the shooting was complete. Levinson then took over direction, and the material was scrapped and reshot, marking a major change creatively.
According to industry reports, Levinson’s alterations increased the sexual content and nudity and arguably weakened the thematic impact of the series, going from a story about a “starlet falling victim to a predatory industry figure and fighting to reclaim her own agency” to one of a “degrading love story with a hollow message.”
