Get ready to witness the wild rise (and possible fall?) of a new megalomaniac pop star in HBO’s upcoming drama series, The Idol. After a tumultuous production, the show finally has a release date of June 4, with a premiere at the prestigious Cannes film festival.
And to tease fans, HBO has dropped a sizzling sneak peek, created by the talented trio of Euphoria’s Sam Levinson, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, and Reza Fahim. Brace yourself for a rollercoaster of sex, drugs, and pop music, all set to Britney Spears’s iconic bop ‘Gimme More.’ It’s gonna be a wild ride, folks!
The series has already made waves with its star-studded cast and behind-the-scenes drama. Reports circulated that production on the show had “gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails,” adding to its reputation before its premiere. The Idol saw Levinson taking over as director after Amy Seimetz exited due to a “change in creative directions.” Sources shared that the series was taking a “disturbing” turn, creating a hectic working environment, claims which HBO and Lily-Rose Depp both refuted.
The Idol is a departure from the high-school-based Euphoria but features the same gritty and beautiful cinematography. It plunges further into the more lurid themes of Levinson’s oeuvre, which includes the 2022 Ben Affleck-led erotic thriller Deep Water, which he co-wrote with Zach Helm.
The story follows the pop star Jocelyn, played by Depp, who is determined to reclaim her title as the sexiest pop star in America following an intense and public nervous breakdown. When Jocelyn meets Tedros, played by Tesfaye, a nightclub impresario with a checkered past, her passion and creativity are soon reignited. But will this affair take her to new heights, or plunge her back into her own demons? The series will explore the pair’s intense, erotic, and fraught relationship as it pushes both of them to the extremes of their own psyche.
The latest teaser for The Idol introduces Jocelyn, the self-proclaimed “nasty pop girl” who’s here to shake things up. Posing in a steamy photo shoot, nonchalantly puffing on cigarettes, the trailer asks “when was the last time we had a truly-f**king-nasty, bad pop girl?” But wait, it doesn’t matter because Jocelyn is the reigning queen of badassery, seen being whisked in and out of clubs like a whirlwind.
And to set the mood just right, Britney Spears’s iconic hit ‘Gimme More’ plays in the background, adding an ominous tone as we witness the protagonist’s own spiral, reminiscent of the pop star’s infamous 2007 breakdown.
Aside from Depp and Tesfaye, the cast includes Troye Sivan, Dan Levy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Adams, Jennie Ruby Jane, Mike Dean, Moses Sumney, Rachel Sennott, Ramsey, Suzanna Son and Hank Azaria.
