Rolling Stone article about chaos on the set of HBO’s The Idol

[Tom Wolper]

This story erupted in my social media yesterday. HBO is making a series called The Idol about a pop star who falls into a cult. They shot some episodes, the female director walked, so they brought on Sam Levinson (son of Barry and the creator of Euphoria) to get the series made. He threw out what had already been shot, replaced most of the crew, and started again. The crew that remained calls the series “sexual torture porn.” The series that was thrown out was budgeted at $50-70 million in the current WBD climate.

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/the-idol-hbo-next-euphoria-torture-porn-the-weeknd-sam-levinson-lily-rose-depp-blackpink-jennie-1234688754/

[Bob Jersey]

Music star The Weeknd, who plays Tedros, admitted in a wide-rangingVanity Fair feature on him that he posted a now-viral clip from the series as a "ridiculous response" to the above RS article, which he likewise regards as "ridiculous"...

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/the-weeknd-the-idol-filming-reports-director-departure-1235492713/ (link)

B

Tom Wolper, March 2nd:

[Bob Jersey]

A real-life intimacy coordinator (not involved with the series) reacts to that sequence in the pilot where an I.C. gets what-for 'cuz Jocelyn wanted to show her nipples in a scene...  "So I felt really betrayed that they were making fun of us and the job. They were using [the profession] as the butt of the joke.”
https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-idol-intimacy-coordinator-reacts-controversial-pilot-1235643151/ (link)

B

Moi, to Tom Wolper, May 17th:

[Tom Wolper]

HBO canceled the show with its $75 million price tag after one poorly received season. Here’s a celebration of its demise:

https://www.salon.com/2023/08/29/he-idol-canceled-yay/

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