HBO's Sunday night timeslot remains one of the most popular blocks across TV. A week after airing the finales of Succession and Barry, Sam Levinson’s The Idol is set to take over. While many are excited to see Levinson’s next series following the success of Euphoria, the show has been marked by various issues, including reports of a toxic set culture. In addition, the content has also been deemed exploitative. Now, the star of the show, Lily-Rose Depp, is sharing more comments on the allegations ahead of the show’s premiere.
Lily-Rose Depp has defended the show amid the press cycle. Thus far, she's had positive things to say about her experience working with Sam Levinson and The Weeknd, who stars alongside her on the show. The singer, who’s real name is Abel Tesfaye, also acts as a producer. While she is seemingly comfortable with the polarizing content, in a new interview with EW, the actress shared some honest thoughts on Tesfaye's work as well as how others conducted themselves on set:
I don't think anybody went full method — nobody lost their minds. Well, sometimes when Abel would get — I don't want to reveal too much about where Abel's character goes, but when he would be in full Tedros mode sometimes, I would steer clear of him. I'd be like, 'He's in his zone right now.'
While she's remaining coy about the full extent of the performer’s on-set behavior, assumed crew members have been more open. By April 2022, the HBO show apparently underwent a major overhaul, which saw the original story get changed. As a result, Amy Seimetz, who was originally set to direct, left the project over reported creative differences. Abel Tesfaye has been named as one of the reasons for the series’ change in direction. Earlier this year, the aforementioned report dropped and claimed that the crew was furious over the increase in sex and nudity, as it was a heavy departure from what was originally being planned.
Nevertheless, Abel Tesfaye, Lily-Rose Depp and Sam Levinson all seem to be standing by the HBO series and believe they communicated their vision accordingly. The show premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, though the resulting buzz didn't appear to do much to subdue the controversies. Idol reviews out of the festival were mostly negative, with many critics viewing the drama series as more of a promotion of the music industry rather than a critique of it. Much of the sex and nudity has been considered gratuitous rather than artistic as well.
Sam Levinson is no stranger to controversy when it comes to his work. Euphoria has faced criticism for its perceived sexualization of high school students, and parents of teenagers have expressed outrage over the heavy nudity. The show has also been slammed by anti-drug initiatives for its depiction of juvenile substance use. Still, none of that has prevented the series from becoming a commercial and awards darling -- and arguably one of HBO’s most popular series ever. So while The Idol may be getting slammed for its alleged workplace environment and more, there's still a possibility that Lily-Rose Depp and her colleagues could end up producing a hit show.
The Idol premieres on HBO tonight, June 4 at 9:00pm ET and will also be available for Max subscribers to stream. For more information on other series headed to streaming later this year, make sure to consult our 2023 TV schedule.