Sam Levinson’s “The Idol” is cancelled after one season at HBO. The show was shrouded with negative press and reactions.
The series starred Lily Rose Depp and Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) as grieving pop star Jocelyn and contemporary cult leader Tedros. The series was shrouded with controversy since its inception, after the Weeknd initially allegedly played a role in the firing of screenwriter Amy Seimetz. The show intended to highlight the female perspective of pop stardom, and the Weeknd allegedly intended for the show to follow a different pursuit.
Levinson, notably the writer/director behind HBO’s acclaimed yet divisive “Euphoria”, was brought onto the project in a later stage, and allegedly scrapped almost the entire script and began anew. 13 crew members alleged this writing room kerfuffle and more on-set mistreatment to Rolling Stone in the months leading up to the show’s release.
The crew members told the magazine that the script now reflected “torture porn” and did not center a female narrative that it once promised. Upon the show’s release, it was racked with low Rotten Tomatoes scores and largely negative responses from viewers on X and TikTok. The cancellation comes after months of widespread criticism.
Social Media Reactions
Critics of the show were excited to see it cancelled. Many praised Depp’s acting, but criticized the Weeknd’s creative choices and Levinson’s direction.
https://twitter.com/IamMoone94/status/1696297626704961576?s=20
Others feel that the Weeknd ruined his music career by taking on an acting role and producing role in such a highly criticized series.
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The weeknd should really just stick to music pic.twitter.com/JKPeHTeyfT
— jah ???? (@club21member) August 28, 2023
Elsewhere, some lament that the show had plenty of positive potential prior to Levinson’s rewrite. Set photos from the first round of shooting with Seimetz’ script revealed the original plot would examine Jocelyn’s past as a child star.
This show had so much potential before the rewrites pic.twitter.com/PB2QmMfS81
— sailorstarstore (@sailorstarstore) August 28, 2023
Many claimed that they were not surprised at news of the cancellation, but happy to see the show go nonetheless.
— ໊ (@featurespice) August 28, 2023
Elsewhere, fans of the show’s soundtrack are hoping that Lily Rose Depp tries music next, after her track “World Class Sinner” for the show received praise from viewers as one of the few bright spots of the series.
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world class sinner still a bop tho pic.twitter.com/JwJYeZzmKf
— steven (@stevenartpop) August 28, 2023
The Weeknd’s acting choices were continuously the subject of mass memes and criticism across X.
his acting was terrible that’s why pic.twitter.com/7B66Q8UQmr
— ???????????????? ★ (@beyXwill) August 28, 2023
On TikTok, many critiqued the show’s overall “written by a man” telltale plot lines. Some viewers felt the intimate scenes were too violent and inappropriate for television while others felt that they simply did not serve the plot at all.
@thejackieaccount Replying to @kb82489 don’t forget Lily is practically neked the whole show
Amid the rampant criticism before the show’s wide release, Levinson once referred to the show as “the show of the summer” at Cannes in France.
Levinson and the show’s cast members are yet to comment on the cancellation.
