Euphoria is currently one of the biggest shows on HBO Max, and creator Sam Levinson was expected to release another, even raunchier series with The Idol starring Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye. So far, HBO has yet to give us a solid release date for the series, but as it turns out, things have apparently turned into a real shit show behind the scenes.
In a recent article from Rolling Stone, it has been revealed by several members of the crew that The Idol has been a nightmare for the production, and it’s all thanks to co-creators Sam Levinson and Abel Tesfaye. From what was expected to be the next Euphoria, the series has apparently been written and rewritten over and over again and has been reduced to what some are calling ‘Torture Porn.’
Members of the crew had been opening up about how director Amy Seimetz had left the project due to creative differences, and everything just started going downhill when Levinson had taken over and decided to do a massive overhaul of the story (which was allegedly 80 percent done).
It was also said that Tesfaye was also responsible for the change in the script because he felt the show as ‘heading to much into a ‘female perspective’’. The show was said to have originally featured a smart satirization of the current fame culture, but now it’s just being described as this male rape fantasy where the protagonist woman is happy to be used by a cult leader (played by Tesfaye).
if anything, this shouldn’t come as a surprise for some people who have been following the news for Euphoria. Levinson was also said to have made shooting that series difficult as well, coming into the set with no plans and stretching production more than it needs to.
What’s terrible is, since Euphoria is a hit, and the show makes money, it’s said that Levinson is free to do whatever he wants, and HBO won’t really do anything about it. One source said, “I got the vibe that the mood on set was, ‘What’s HBO gonna do, pull the plug? Yeah, right. If they want a third season of Euphoria, they’ll give me what I want… We’re just gonna shoot what we want and if [HBO execs] have a problem with it, that’s their problem.’”
As of now, there is still no release date for HBO’s The Idol.
